In spite of availability of Android smartphones from Indian brands at a very pocket-friendly price, we all like to get a flagship device from a worldwide brand. If you don't know there is a market for imported handsets at a very cheap price, but they are not covered by warranty.
Fortunately there are a few Indian websites who sells genuine refurbished gadgets with manufacturers' warranty at a very attractive price range. Gobol is one of such company which sells such products at awesome prices. Recently they sent us a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S III for a review.
First thing first, Galaxy S III, being world's one of most popular smartphone does not need an introduction and many people reviewed it thoroughly. This article is more about my experience with this wonder phone.
Unboxing & First Impressions
The package was small and cute, just like regular ones. When I picked the S III from the box, I feel the light-weightness and the crispness of the phone. I got the sexy 'Pebble Blue' avatar. It is bit small & thin in 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm if you have used a 5 inch device earlier. The thin battery cover gives a plastic feel, though it is made of polycarbonate.
There are curved edges - giving a smoothy feel. Unlike many phones with Android 4.0 ICS but without physical home key, Galaxy S III has a physical home key in front. There are well-spaced lock & volume up and down key on right and left side.
From the pictures it is obvious, but still I like to add that the phone was just like new one, no scratch or no usage mark over it - anytime better than most Mint condition phones sold online.
Hardware
There are thousands of websites loaded with Samsung Galaxy S III hardware details. I just attached the screenshot of the hardware details as shown by Antutu Benchmark. Galaxy S III packs with Quad core 1.4GHz Cortex A7 processor on Samsung Exynox 4412 Quad chipset, 1GB RAM, Mali-400MP GPU. There are several sensors - Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, 8 MP main camera with LED flash, HD video record and lots of customization options. The 1.9 MP front camera is also there. The display is awesome - 4.8 inch super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 720x1280p, 306ppi, and with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection.
Software
Samsung Galaxy S III is running on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich but Samsung adds a layer of its own tweaked TouchWiz for better UI.
On my usage I find the user experience is just awesome - very smooth. Touch is just like feather-touch and response of the apps are super fast which is due to its excellent technical specification.
Apps
Samsung adds some pre-loaded apps like - All Share Play, Dropbox, ChatOn, Flipboard, Games Hub, S-Memo, S Voice. You will have to install Facebook, Twitter and other apps as you need. There is no Game preloaded.
S Voice is fun to use, though my initial trial with it fails every single time. I tried to search 'Telecomtalk' and it heard 'illegal doc', 'Delete on clock' etc.
Camera
Though S III camera can not win over Nokia's Pureview or HTC's UltraPixel, it takes awesomely good pictures. Even the front camera also takes print quality pictures.
I am adding a sample pictures taken by Samsung Galaxy S III. All mobile cameras disappointed while you shoot at night. Samsung Galaxy S III is not also an exception, still the photo quality is more than decent in night. I find the camera flash is very intelligent, it does not use much power.
Connectivity
It supports micro SIM only, and thus I could not manage a micro SIM in a short time. So I had to use WiFi for internet access. WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS works with out any glitch. Though connection to PC did not work as I am using Ubuntu and Samsung intends that users install Kies - phone management application.
Performance
I tried with Antutu Benchmark. Just check the results:
It plays all videos with out any hicups. Check out the screenshot while playing a HD video on its default video player:
A screenshot from Benji Bananas:
Motions: Samsung called S III as a smartphone made for humans. The Motions are fun and intuitive on Galaxy S III. Take screenshot by hovering your palm over the screen, or pause the music by shaking or taking the palm over the screen.
Battery
As I did not use cellular data, it is not wise to comment on its battery. S III has 2100 mAh battery, and with WiFi and Bluetooth, FM Radio listening & moderate gaming it longs for more than 36 hours.
Conclusion
As I told earlier, Samsung Galaxy S III is the flagship device of Samsung, and you will get official Android updates very fast. And there are lots of third party stuffs for it - like CyanogenMod and other third party ROMs.
If money is the barrier between you and such a premiere device, think about refurbished handsets which are thoroughly checked up by the manufacturer itself and yet sold at huge discount (20-60% on most products) on Gobol . It would be a smart decision I bet on!
