Samsung Galaxy S III: A Look at the Smartphone That Looks Back

The Samsung Galaxy S III, which uses the 4.0 version of Google’s Android operating system, or Ice Cream Sandwich, got its official rollout in London May 3 with much fanfare, and demonstrated how far the smartphone market has come. Calling, messaging, emailing, Web browsing, high-definition video, two cameras—these are all on board, of course, and should perform perfectly. However, these features are far from what Samsung had spent big bucks to show off. "At Samsung, we believe a phone should be more than smart, and that is where the Galaxy S III comes in," said Jean-Daniel Ayme, a Paris-based Samsung vice president, introducing the device. What's more than smart? Intuitive, proactive—a phone that jumps to the right conclusions. Understanding that important emails or calls have been missed, the S III buzzes a specific way in a user's hand to alert him or her. It recognizes friends in photos, helping people to share and organize content, and—with its front-facing camera—it watches the user, staying alert when it knows that someone is looking at it, even if he or she hasn't touched the display in a while. The S III, said Ayme, "knows precisely what we are doing, and it follows our intentions." To help illustrate some of this new mobile technology, eWEEK takes a first look at the new Galaxy S III smartphone.