The beast released: Samsung Galaxy S III is official

Samsung has just unveiled its new flagship smartphone - the Android-running Galaxy S III. The ICS-running device has some big shoes to fill, but judging by that specs sheet, it might just be up to it.

Samsung Galaxy SIII official shots

It features a robust quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex A9 processor, operating on an Exynos 4212 Quad chipset. The display is a 4.8" HD (720 x 1280) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen covered by Gorilla Glass.

The camera turned out to be 8MP in the long run, which is capable of 1080p video recording at 30fps, and comes with a 1.9MP front-facing camera for video calls. There's 1GB of RAM, and the S III will be sold in 16/32/64GB internal storage variants.

Connectivity includes Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, TV-out, USB-on-the-go and NFC support. All of this is powered by a 2100 mAh battery.

On the software side, Android 4.0.4 ICS runs under the usual TouchWiz 4.0 UI, and there is the usual DivX/Xvid codec support, Swype text input, as well as improved SNS integration. Additionally, the camera now has voice-activated photo capture and a burst shooting mode which takes 3.3 photos per second, and even suggests you the best of the bunch.

The Samsung galaxy S III also sports a zero shutter lag and a less than a second shot-to-shot time. The cameraphone will also be capable of snapping stills while recording a video.

Accessory-wise, the new Galaxy S III would be kitted out with some neat acesories, though they come at extra cost. There's a wireless charger gadget, a flip cover, an HDMI adapter, a battery charging stand and the S-Pebble MP3 player, which would plays MP3's from your S III wirelessly.

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps; 4G (regional))
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133 g
• Display: 4.8" 16M-color HD (720 x 1280 pixels) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass
• CPU: Quad-core 32nm ARM Cortex A9 1.4 GHz processor, Exynos 4212 Quad chipset
• GPU: Mali-400MP
• RAM: 1GB
• OS: Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Memory: 16/32/64GB storage, microSD card slot
• Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image
stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, 1.9MP front facing camera, video-calls
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, standard microUSB port,
GLONASS/GPS SatNav receiver, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out, USB-on-the-go, NFC
• Battery: 2100 mAh
• Misc: TouchWiz 4.0 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, barometer, Swype text input, RGB light sensor

Samsung Galaxy S III official shots

The international version of the Samsung Galaxy S III (packing just HSPA+ connectivity) will be released on May 29 and Europe will be the first market to get it. The LTE-enabled version will begin its rollout from the US in June.

Checkout our hands-on experience with the device here.