Samsung Galaxy S3: the latest bid to dominate the Android market:-

Samsung has released a new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, including voice control, wireless beaming of content and exclusive apps, as it aims to consolidate its position at the top of the mobile sector.

The S3 has a super AMOLED 4.8in screen, larger than its predecessor the S2, with an 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.9MP front camera which offers "intelligent camera features" that the company says will adapt to what it sees you doing.

The phone runs on Google's Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software, but has a number of Samsung additions – including voice recognition and eye tracking.

The phone will go on sale on 30 May in the UK, with Orange and Phones4U already lined up to sell it. No price has yet been given. It will go on sale in the US this summer. Samsung said it will go on sale with 296 carriers in 145 countries. It can connect at "4G" speeds in compatible countries.

"S Voice" can respond to spoken orders such as "wake up" when its screen is off, "snooze" for an alarm, or to play a particular song, change volume settings, and take pictures. It also responds to gestures, so that lifting the phone to the face while sending a text message will dial the recipient's number instead.

Samsung has also souped up Google's Android Beam (which can pass data such as business card details) so it is capable of sending a 1GB file between two S3 phones in three minutes, or a 10MB file in two seconds by touching them together.

It comes in a 15GB or 32GB version, though the company said a 64GB model would come soon. Buyers can get an optional wireless charging pad, similar to that offered with the now-defunct HP TouchPad last year.

At 4.8in, the screen size is only just below the minimum 5in that most analysts class as a tablet – indicating Samsung's confidence that top-end users will want larger screens. The first-generation Galaxy S in 2010 had a 4in screen; the S2, a 4.3in screen.

The company sold an estimated 44m smartphones across its entire portfolio in the first quarter of 2012, more than any other company. It dominates the Android sector too, selling around 50% of phones on a platform which itself makes up 50% of smartphone sales.

Jason Jenkins, editor of CNET UK, said: "The Samsung Galaxy S3 is a cracker of a smartphone that makes the iPhone look a little like yesterday's model. It cements Samsung's place as one of the leading phone manufacturers and really puts the pressure on Apple to come up with something different for its next iPhone later in the year.

"It's also starting to look like this will be a two-horse race – Samsung and Apple fighting it out for the number one spot with everyone else left to pick up the crumbs. HTC, Sony, BlackBerry and Nokia are the ones with the real work to do."

Ian Fogg, an analyst at IHS Suppli, said: "What's striking is that Samsung is focusing on software and the experiences, more than the hardware (although that is excellent too). Features like Pop over, social tag, and S Voice all aspire to differentiate from the opposition through the user experience that Samsung's software customisation delivers.

"Samsung have been leading up to this for a while, but this is the first time they've led their product positioning on user experience and software."

Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's smartphones analyst, was downbeat, saying: "It is not an eye-catching device that will overwhelm consumers."

He noted that analysts had not been given the chance to try out the voice control in pre-release demonstrations of the phone. Of a brief test, he said: "Overall, [it] seems very similar to Siri, but my first impression was that is not as well integrated with the phone as Siri is with the iPhone."

Carolina Milanesi, smartphones analyst at the research group Gartner, said that Samsung was looking for ways to remain ahead of rivals in the Android space, as well as Apple.

"They need to push the boundaries in order to remain ahead," she said. "It will be interesting to see how many of these new features [in the S3] will be open to developers so that they can take advantage of them in their apps."

However, if developers start to target Samsung APIs for apps, that could potentially split the Android platform still further beyond the individual versions produced by Google – and would also tend to increase Samsung's control of Android.

Such an "embrace and extend" manoeuvre would build its control of the platform, where it already presently has half of worldwide sales and is the biggest profit-maker.

Jeronimo observed: "Samsung definitely embraced Android, and is extending it. We shouldn't also forget that Samsung has a quite opportunistic approach to market trends.

"If Android is now the new kid on the block that can best contribute to its success, they will invest and nurture it to maximise the opportunity. But if the trend changes (and they are very good at anticipating that), they will also change the platform they embrace in the future."

Samsung Galaxy S3 surfaces ahead of launch:

Another leaked photo of the Galaxy S3 surfaces ahead of launch:-

 ‘Yesterday was the day tipsters had decided to reveal whatever they knew about the upcoming flagship handset from Samsung.

First the device was spotted on Samsung Kies database which revealed the smartphone’s official name as the Galaxy S3 and a mini thumbnail image giving those interested a glimpse of what it would look like.

A little later on, the device made its second appearance of the day when a sketch of the handset surfaced in what is believed to be the handset’s service manual.

Along with the render of the device, there was also a list of specifications available for the world’s viewing pleasure which literally foretells everything that will be featured in the device. It seems the leaks had not stopped and mobile website, PhoneArena had received an image which their sources claim is the Galaxy S3.

What is interesting about the leaked image is that it has a lot of resemblance to the image portrayed in the service manual. However, one cannot be for certain if this handset is a prototype or if it is the real deal that we will see in a few short days.

To quote the report, “There is evidently a physical home key, as rumored, and two capacitive buttons, while the whole setup resembles a lot the render from the leaked early manual of a Samsung GT-I9300 Galaxy S3 that we saw yesterday. The side bezel of what seems to be quite a big display is pretty thin, but we'll leave the speculations on screen size aside, as we can't vouch whether this is the real deal anyway.”

 The screen size is expected to be between 4.6 to 4.8-inches and by merely looking at this image one cannot confirm the same. However, if the earlier image of the service manual is anything to go by, then we can expect this handset to feature a display size of 4.8-inches.

The handset will be announced on the 3rd of May 2012, so those gearing up for the unveiling, can hit the link here and download the Samsung Unpacked Mobile 2012 app for Android and stream the event live as it unfolds.