Galaxy S III may sell at an MOP of Rs. 40,000

We're down on the ground where Samsung is unveiling their new next flagship handset right now, the Galaxy S III, in India. It's the device that succeeds the very popular Galaxy S II, the S III ups the ante, not only for Samsung, but for Android smartphones as well. The handset, prior to its official launch had been up for pre-booking on several sites like eBay, Infibeam, Snapdeal, among others. It’s officially been announced with a MRP of Rs. 43,180, which is quite a lot. Now, we’ve got news that the product should be in the market selling a price of Rs. 40,000. This should bring some relief to those looking to purchase the device but find the Rs. 43,180 price tag a little too much. Of course, this price tag is likely to be similar across metros but expect some fluctuations in prices in other areas, due to local taxes that may be imposed on it. Of course, dealers are likely to be enthusiastic about the product and like with the S II, the product is expected to fly off the shelves. Prices might even dip in a few weeks from now, depending on the supply chains.

Likely to be a hit in Indian markets

The Samsung S III’s design is heavily inspired by pebbles, which is reflected in the curved design of the phone. It measures just 8.6mm in thickness and weighs 133g, making it thin and light. The screen size is slightly larger, as compared to the One X at 4.8 inches and will sport a resolution of 1280 x 720. 

If one has missed out or just wants a quick look, here are the highlighted specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S III:

• Android 4.0 with TouchWiz
• 1.4 GHz quad-core Exynos 4212 processor
• 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720
• 8MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 1080p HD video recording
• 1.9MP front camera with a resolution of 720p for video chat
• 16/32/64GB Internal memory, expandable upto 64GB
• 1GB RAM
• NFC, Wi-Fi, DLNA, GLONASS, micro-USB 2.0, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0
• 2100 mAh battery

The Galaxy III, of course, sports the Siri-esque voice recognition system, Samsung is calling S Voice. There are other unique features as well, such as Smart Stay, a technique that uses the front facing camera to track your eye movement, so it keeps the screen on for as long as you're looking at it. Social Tag uses face recognition that scans the faces in your gallery and maps them to your friends on Facebook or other social media sites. S Beam lets you bond and share data instantly between two S III devices using a combination of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct. AllShare Play uses DLNA to share your photos and videos on compatible TVs.

Coming to the camera, it’s an 8MP shooter in the rear with a BSI sensor and a 1.9MP front facing camera. The camera also features new modes, like Burst Mode and Best Buddy mode. The S III will have TouchWiz running on top of ICS, so extra multimedia features, like DivX playback is possible out-of-the-box.