This phone has been perfect so far May 7, 2013

Reviewer:  R. Brossart "2rhino53"  (Kentucky, USA) -

I just recently upgraded to this phone from my previous HTC Droid Incredible II, and the Galaxy S III is AWESOME! The speed is amazing, battery life is about 2 days for me, and I haven't had a single crash since I bought it. I am really impressed.

Everything it's cracked up to be January 23, 2013

Reviewer:  stacy  (KURE BEACH, NC, US) -

Love it! Comes with great instructional video loaded that explains how to use everything including how to turn off background running programs to save battery life. Simple setup, easy learning curve, Looks amazing, nice sim card feature although I have not used it out of the US yet - we'll see about that. Amazing features, not sure I'll use them all but nice that they are there. My battery held for a day and a half - after I finished messing with it every minute of the day.
Enjoy it, I am.

Great phone, terrible camera December 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Jason Neal "Hunter"  (Seattle,Wa) -

Got this phone a few months ago, so my comparison is to my old HTC Incredible, this phone is a tad faster, great battery life, the Incredible had to be charged every 6 hours or so, this one lasts all day with the same usage, 4g is wicked fast. Easy to use.

Downside is the camera, it takes terrible quality, out of focus pictures. I have messed with all the settings and rarely get a good one, in comparison the HTC Incredible rarely took a fuzzy picture. Unfortunately, I take a lot of pictures, and wish I had realized this before buying this phone.

S III Outstanding easy step-up and fast December 9, 2012

Reviewer:  GrampaTampa 

I received it set the phone up the same day easy conversion from my Droid X; I used the My Backup Pro app to convert applications and data. Much faster very lite and excellent picture quality.[[ASIN:B008HTJMY6 Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Phone, White 16GB (Verizon Wireless)]]

Ambivalent about this phone November 28, 2012

Reviewer:  jsmessick 

I purchased the Verizon Galaxy S III this past summer before i left for school in August. I have very mixed feelings about the galaxy sIII but have found that most of the time this phone works great for me. Personally, I feel that the size of the phone and the slim feel are great attributes but others may find it a tad too large for their hands. Also, I found that with a large case the phone can be very bulky, thus i purchased a smaller slimmer case and was much happier. The screen is great, no cracks and I have dropped it multiple times (whoops...). My only problem with the screen is in comparison to an IPhone, the resolution and pixels just are not as clear. Most of the physical aspects of the phone are great and fit me perfectly. My faults with this phone come in the operating system and software. The software is iffy with Verizon. I feel that on jellybean, the next android operating system, this phone would work much smoother and have less of a lethargic feel to it when scrolling through and general everyday use would be easier. Also, although the market is catching up, there are still some apps available on the apple market that are not available on the Google play store. Don't get me wrong i'm an android lover and really support all the great opportunities with android phones but compared to the newest Iphone 5 this phone does lack a little. Even with mixed reviews on the iPhone 5 and the lack of any real improvements to the phone, it still outperforms and looks sleeker than the GSIII in my opinion. Overall conclusion about this phone is that it looks and feels great, the operating system is a little slow and different from apples IOS which some may prefer but with JellyBean hopefully being released for this phone soon, we could see a huge improvement in this phones stats. I would recommend this phone to any android lover or someone in search of a smartphone cheaper than an IPhone 5. Its great for apps and everyday use and is very sturdy compared to many iPhones i have seen. Hopefully this helps!

Best phone on the market right now. November 26, 2012

Reviewer:  Shawn D. Medeiros  (Mass) -

Best phone on the market right now. Hands down. Better than Iphone5 or any other Android phone out there. Great display. Lightning fast 4G LTE. This is still the phone to get.

Excellent November 19, 2012

Reviewer:  mara 

Since I turned the phone on it has been wonderful! I was nervous about switching to a phone that didn't have an actual keyboard but it is definitely worth it! Since I have a Samsung tablet all my apps and pictures from my tablet automatically came up on my phone! I loved that!! It is simple to use too, my mom who is a die hard apple fan actually used it for ten minutes and lets just say she no longer uses her Iphone.

Great phone! October 22, 2012

Reviewer:  Bookluvr7  (USA) -

I switched to this phone from an iphone 4s. I really wanted the iphone 5, but could not find one in stock anywhere and got talked into this phone. I am glad that they talked me into it. I love the large screen! My eyes aren't what they used to be and it's so easy to read!

I had never used an Android phone before so I had a bit of a learning curve because things weren't where I was used to them being. I do miss the apple style software and if apple made a phone this size I would probably prefer it. I am not crazy about Android based sofware, but it is OK.

I do love the phone, can't really say I have any complaints about it at all excpet for accidentally hitting the volume key when I turn the power off. Wish the power button was on the top, it would make it easier. Other than that, I am a happy camper!

Lightning fast browser...Awesome! October 12, 2012

Reviewer:  matolaw "cloud"  (ct) -

Coming from BB Bold user, I can't be happier. The browser is lightning fast. Setting up is a breeze. As soon as Verizon registered my new device, everything is synced! I was so happy and regretted not getting it sooner. I am on 150 MB family share plan. Verizon let me keep my plan, and so far I haven't upgraded to 2 GB yet. Mainly use it within Wifi range. Voice call quality is excellent. I don't usually get 3G coverage with BB, however with S3 i haven't dropped a call yet. S3 is intuitive, simple to use. Very pleased with my device.

No Looking Back October 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Jerry Sanchez  (New York) -

Less than two years after purchasing an HTC Incredible, which was a state of the art phone at the time, I decided to upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy SIII a few weeks ago. And what an upgrade it was. I admit, I thought about buying the iPhone 5 and even the 4S on Verizon, but after my wife got the 4S and I spent some quality time with the phone, I was less than impressed with all of the hype. And after being tied in to the Android/Google operating system for the past few years, I wanted some continuity. Let me tell you, I am not looking back.

The SIII is an incredible phone (much more so than my prior phone, regardless of the name). On the hardware, the screen is crisp and the user interface is intuitive through ICS. I like having a dedicated menu button and the lack of such hardware-based menu button on the iPhone made it a frustrating experience for me. The SIII is also an unusually large phone, but it is intended to be a content consumption device, although its size may be a deterrent for some. The only downside is that the lock button is on the right side of the phone directly across from the volume toggle button that also controls the ringer volume/vibrate/silent status and not on the top of the phone. This placement has caused me to unintentionally change the ringer status while trying to lock the phone given how I hold the phone. But besides that tweak, the hardware is solid and the camera is great. Notwithstanding other reviews here, I found the actual design and form factor of the phone to be a positive.

As for the software, I have no complaints. In fact, the more I use the phone, the more I like it. Tap into the Google Play store to load your favorite apps, and the SIII feels and functions as good as or better than any desktop or laptop I have ever had. I recognize that in another few months, there will likely be a better phone in the market, but this phone feels like a jump in technology and innovation from just a short while ago. And the good news - I am glad I don't have the iPhone and don't feel left out at all.

Better Phone Than I Expected; Bugs Seemed To Have Been Largely Eliminated February 8, 2013

Reviewer:  J. Bellin "analog_j"  (Salem MA) -

I have had the phone for about two weeks now and am really enjoying it. If I could design one from scratch, this might not be it, but from what I have seen out there currently as of the first week of February of 2013, this is one terrific option.

The main downside, for me, is its large size. I came from a Droid X and that, to me, was a perfect-sized phone. It had enough of a screen size to read text and see internet browsing well, but it also fit comfortably in my hand. I find that the Galaxy S III is a bit too large for me to comfortably use one-handed, but I'm getting used to using it.

That being said, I had had a few concerns to begin with about the phone. While the phone had come out like gangbusters with great reviews when it was first released the middle of last year, users have had some issues with it, along with less than responsive Samsung customer service, giving me pause.

Two of the issues were the GPS not locking in well, and phone call quality. Both of those would be deal killers for me. I'm not needing this for gaming.

But the phone's upsides intrigued me as well as a great price through Staples of $99. I can tell you that the GPS has locked in VERY quickly, more quickly than my Droid. Secondly, call quality has been adequate. Interestingly, the phone's built-in signal gauge has put the signal at 106, which is terrible. Yet, I was getting very decent quality calls (clear, but a bit tinny sounding). I downloaded a separate meter app and it detected my 3G/4G and interior WiFi reception were both at close to 80, which is fine.

Meanwhile, the screen is sharp and colors are MUCH more accurate than the one on the Motorola Razr Maxx HD. Yeah, perhaps the screen isn't as bright, but it actually works better in dark situations better, and watching video renders a much better, more film-like visual than the much brighter phones. The speed of the processor seems to also help with watching streamed videos, which come out smoother than with the Droid X. I also find that if I turn off the auto-brightness, I can get a much brighter screen.

Touch response is incredibly quick. I can definitely sense an improvement from my Droid X. The built-in speaker is much louder than the Droid X, though somewhat tinny. Still, I can hear my Stephanie Miller Show podcast straight out of the speaker better.

Yes, the camera is also better and the shutter response is very quick. Still, my standalone point and shoot, a Fuji E550 takes better pictures, but I didn't buy the phone for that. On the other hand, the photos I have taken are FAR superior to the ones I got from my Droid X. I'm really surprised as to how good they are. Still, for depth of color and subtlety, my point and shoot is better, not to mention that it takes RAW files, which are completely uncompressed.

A BIG upside is the removable battery, not only for long days I might be away from an A/C port or charger, but that I can force a hard reboot when I need it. Do all phones with non-replaceable batteries have a hard reboot option, and do they always work?

Two niggling things -- The placement of the on/off button and volume up/down buttons are about on opposite sides about 2/3rds way up the sides of the phone. It makes holding the phone precarious in terms of touching one or both buttons inadvertently. You may have turned off the volume of the phone unknowingly so that you may not hear a phone call coming in.

The other thing is the built-in Samsung Swype-like keyboard. I like tracing the text. Swype worked very well, though not perfectly on my Droid X. As others have noted, the Samsung version has an awful way with predictive text. You could trace "Samsung" and up will come "monkey", leaving both you and the monkey scratching your heads. The actual Swype software is also built into the phone. Great, right? Well, it, too, has some bugs in this version. If it predicts a word that is inaccurate (It is generally more accurate than the Samsung version), you would think backspacing would bring you back to the word to its left. Unfortunately, it deletes the word, but then tabs to the next line and/or also deletes to the right. Even weirder, if I backspace twice, it will paste the whole sentence to the right of it into the space, resulting in repeated text. Very odd.

In any event, I'm still discovering nice things that have been improved in the Android OS (currently Jelly Bean) from the Android 2.x which was running the Droid X. There's a much better cut/copy/paste ability by simply holding down your finger over text. Holding down the menu button renders much more information about what is open on the phone.

Unfortunately, almost all of the US phones are going bigger, not smaller. The smaller smartphones didn't have as much capability such as processor size or RAM. The Galaxy S III is more future-proof, at this point, than competitive phones.

Samsung is rumored to come out with the Galaxy S IV in April. There is also a Mini Galaxy S III, but it's not available in the US. I might have gone for that with the smaller size, but I think I made a great choice. Samsung and Verizon seem to have ironed out most of the reported bugs with this current phone.

Easily broken December 30, 2012

Reviewer:  Ms. P  (WV United States) -

Had this phone exactly one week and dropped it from knee height to a hardwood floor. Entire screen shattered, despite the fact it was in an Incipio case. It would be a remarkable phone, but it has a design flaw and Samsung provided the usual CYA response when I wrote to them. If you must have this phone, take along a silicone or heavy duty case because one tiny drop can mean a disaster.

I simply love it December 27, 2012

Reviewer:  momazon 

It has a great battery life for my uses. I am not a phone gamer so the battery lasts about 10-12 hours with moderate, everyday use and taking pictures. With light use it lasts more than 24 hours, and with heavy use, like taking pictures all day long it dies in about 8 hours.
the Camera is perfect and it has quite a powerful flash.
If you are an android lover as I am you'll love this phone.
I have had it overheat a time or 2 while taking lots and lots of pictures for a long time. But even though it shuts itself down (to protect itself from heat damage) you can turn it on again and it boots up very very quickly (about 30 seconds).
It is lightening fast and can multi task, so you can switch between tasks quickly.

Do you really need the Galaxy S4? Maybe not June 1, 2013

Reviewer:  MT 

Thinking of getting the latest and greatest Galaxy? While the S4 is for sure a fantastic phone, the S3 is still a great one too, and especially now considering the prices have dropped. From what can be gathered on the internet, the S3 will still be supported with software updates at least through the next Android version 4.2.2 (and maybe further). However, there is huge third party development community for the S3, so if you root your phone (like I do) then we will probably see further support for this phone with development community updates! the XDA forums is a great place to start!
As far as any new apps that come with the S4, those are already available for rooted(and some non rooted) owners of the S3.
The few reasons I can see to choose the S4 over the S3 are:

Form factor: The S4 is slightly better form factor (it's thinner with a larger screen), but the S3 feels really good in the hand and my pocket already for such a large phone!

Battery life: The S4 has better battery life than a stock S3 battery. But I have already moved on to aftemarket batteries (see Zero Lemon batteries) for my S3 and have seen improved battery life...Plus I have spare batteries to boot!

Speed: The S4 has the latest and greatest quad core processor and 2G of memory, the S3 has a dual core processor and 2GB of memory, so if you are all about speed, then the S4 may be your best bet. However, I have no issues with the speed of my S3. It runs all of todays apps with no problems.

Cameras: If this is a huge deal breaker, then the S4 does have a better camera (13MP vs 8MP), but I still don't use my phone as my primary camera anyway. I have an DSLR for the important stuff!

Screen: The S4 is bigger (5" vs 4.8") and full HD (1080P vs 720 P). The S3 is simply not as nice of a screen as the S4...but it's perfectly usable and still looks great to my eye.

IR sensor: Simply put, the S4 has them the S3 does not. So if using your phone as a TV remote control, or being able to perform tasks without touching the screen are big factors for you, then get the S4. To me, these sound like cool features I would use once or twice, then probably never again.

Additional sensors: The S4 also comes with an array of humidity sensor, thermometer, and a barometric pressure sensor. Currently, there are not many apps that can use these sensors, but as with anything, there will probably be a lot that spring up in the near future. It will be interesting to see how these get used beyond basic weather measurements.

The IT factor: If you need to have the latest and greatest, then absolutely, get the S4. But if you want a great phone, that is fully capable of running all of todays apps and at a great price, you still can't go wrong with the S3!

There are tons of these comparisons online, here is one I like. http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-vs-galaxy-s3-202924/

Still a great phone May 10, 2013

Reviewer:  Agent86 

I chose the GS3 over the GS4 because the price has dropped so much and I am trying to save money. I don't regret my decision at all because the GS3 is still a very good upgrade from my Samsung Droid Charge. It seems easily as fast as my Nexus 7 and I haven't found anything that won't run on it. Google Now is also much more useful in a phone than a tablet. Overall, I expect to be very satisfied with this phone for the next 2 years.

Potentially bad experience turned great April 22, 2013

Reviewer:  Kat "obsessed reader"  (KCKS) -

I decided to get my Galaxy III phone on amazon at the advice of someone within the Verizon store, who told me that I could get the phone cheaper online. It took about three days after ordered the phone to receive it, and I fell in love with it instantly. Within forty-eight hours, however, the phone had turned itself off and would not turn back on again. Frustrated, I called customer service and spoke with an incredibly empathetic lady who promised to resend a brand new phone to me as soon as I mailed the broken phone to them. I mailed the phone that day and the very next I had a brand new, this time fully functioning, galaxy 3. What could have been an infuriating experience turned out to be easy and stress-free. A dud product can pop up anywhere, but what I love about Amazon is their willingness to fix any problems as quickly and respectfully as possible. I would recommend buying a phone on Amazon to anyone, and will do so again myself, knowing that if I ever have an issue there's a team of good-natured, helpful people waiting to help.

Great Phone April 17, 2013

Reviewer:  MomOf2Boys 

The design and features of this phone gives the user everything they could need in a device that still fits in your pocket. Great camera and camera options. The phone does seem fragile so don't skimp on a good case(otterbox defender). The only thing that I hope that they create an app for is there is no way to turn the 4G on and off. Other than that this is a great phone. All of the one star reviews must be getting paid by Apple because this phone blows the iPhone 5 out of the water.

Best phone out there! April 9, 2013

Reviewer:  matt 

I have used a lot of phone in my day but the s3 is awesome ! Great screen easy to see ,seemless operation ,with smart software not loaded with games and helpful hints along the way! It has a great camera front and rear and great sound ,this phone is on the front line of technology!

Chose this over an iPhone February 10, 2013

Reviewer:  D.Moyer 

This is my first smartphone...very pleased with my decision. I was torn between an iPhone and the GS3. I went with the GS3, b/c I liked the bigger screen. And my brother n' law recommended I go with this phone, he works for a cell phone carrier.

I love listening to audio books on it, making lists, using the calendar and the camera is fun to use as well. There are lots of fun apps to download.

My only complaint is the battery life...from what I read in reviews, that is a common complaint.

Not what Hyped up to be on Verizon January 7, 2013

Reviewer:  gallen22 

S-voice is hard to get to work and doesn't recognize most of what I ask for.

Smart-stay isn't: It is supposed to keep my screen from going to sleep when I am reading an e-mail by recognizing that my eyes are still on the screen with the front facing camera. 99% of the time it doesn't and I have tried it in all kinds of light, both with and without glasses. My screen stills goes dark unless I touch the screen to keep it. The little eye comes on that looks at my face supposedly and is to recognize that I am still looking at the screen, but when it goes away, so does my screen (goes to sleep mode).

The transmitter/receiver on the phone is weaker than the Motorola Droid X that I replaced with this Samsung S3. I get more dropped calls. We are in a supposed Verizon 4G Lte area on the map and 4G is NON-EXISTENT 98% of the time. I only get 2 bars on 3G when I am outside and if I am in a building I only get 1X and sometimes, no signal at all. My Droid X at least had 3G inside buildings and didn't drop calls like the Samsung S3. Samsung S3 when on 1X has what I call choppy audio and I can't hear what the other party is saying as it goes in and out.

Verizon needs to improve its signal, and Samsung needs to fix the two main issues it hyped the phone on: S-voice and Smart Stay!!