The last thing on our mind would be to smash up the new Galaxy S3 smartphone, although this is what you can see in the “crash test” shown during the video below. Most of these tests are worthwhile if you like to know what happens when you drop your device on the floor from a height, although this video shows a Galaxy S3 getting bashed with a power plug, and while we find it hard to see when this might happen in the real world, it’s worth a watch if you have hit your display hard before.

Our readers that have a good eye will notice this is the Pebble Blue Samsung Galaxy S III – the review was performed in Italy, so this shows another country with the Blue variety available. You might have seen a number of news reports stating there are problems getting this color, although we’d love to know if you have a color preference if you are in fact thinking of buying the Galaxy S3?

Later this year it will be interesting to see how the Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 5 reviews wrap up, of course until Apple reveal specs it will be compared on a rumor level only, although some people will make their minds up already based on the choice of iOS or Android.

Are you waiting for a Galaxy S3 release date in your country? If you live in Canada you’ll be pleased to know that rumors point to a June 20 launch, which should be on Virgin Mobile, TELUS, Rogers, and Bell. Those of you in the United States should expect the Galaxy S3 a little later than this, although we’d love to know your network preference between AT&T and Verizon? If you own a Galaxy Nexus you might want to read how to turn it into a Galaxy S3 here.

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We have previously told you that the likes of Flipboard and S-Voice, two ‘exclusive’ Galaxy S III apps have already been yanked from the handset and become available for use on other phones. Now though, many more aspects are available to try out and if you have a Galaxy Nexus at your disposal, you can essentially turn your device to mimic features that Galaxy S III users will have once the phone launches in Europe at the end of this month.

A complete set of wallpapers, sounds, animations and applications are available to bring over to the Galaxy Nexus, providing that you are already running CyanogenMod 9 and AOKP. If you don’t have this and don’t have any experience in customizing your device, it is best to avoid so you don’t end up with a bricked device.

If this is well within your realms though, you’ll be able to enjoy all this and the likes of S-Voice and S-Memo if you don’t already have them. A short video demo of these Galaxy S3 features running on the Galaxy Nexus has been provided by the good guys over at Droid-Life. As you can see, the interface is as smooth as you like and you have to say that it looks fairly awesome. Instructions on how to download and all of the links can be found over at XDA Developer Forums here.

At the moment, we’re not sure if this works on the Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Note, but if you have already managed to get this working on other Android handsets, let us know in the comments section below. Are these the kind of things that make the Android OS great? We think so.

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You may remember that Apple insisted that Siri was an iPhone 4S feature only and they didn’t approve of unofficial attempts to port the software over to other iOS devices. Samsung is now facing the exact same thing as recent reports suggest that they have had to ‘block’ S-Voice from being used on other Android devices after it leaked out a few days ago.

In their efforts to explain their reasoning behind the block, Samsung has said that S-Voice is still ‘test software’ and that they didn’t want consumers to judge the program before they have had a chance to improve it. Correct us if we’re wrong, but isn’t the Galaxy S III due out in a matter of days in Europe anyway? It sounds to us like they just want to keep the app exclusive to the Galaxy S III as a method of selling more handsets – Apple style and obviously very logical from a business point of view.

With that issue out of the way, how does S-Voice actually compare to Siri for those that have managed to have an early test run on either the Galaxy S III or other Android devices? An excellent video provided by GSMArena tells the exact story and based on what we see, it looks like Siri may still be on top for the moment. Siri performs searches much more quickly, and the speed of S-Voice may grow to be frustrating for Android users.

One thing that S-Voice does do better than Siri at the moment though is open specific apps. Telling Siri to change your Facebook status or open Dropbox results in your assistant politely replying that she is unable to do this. S-Voice on the other hand has no problem doing this, so this may be an area which Apple needs to improve on.

Should Samsung really be focusing on blocking this app from other Android users, rather than trying to improve the speed of S-Voice searches before the device launches in Europe? They won’t want to play second fiddle to Apple of course, but it looks like Siri may be the better assistant for the time being. If you have had a chance to preview both already, let us know which app you think comes out on top.

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While some may see this as a major security breach, others such as the developer who managed to achieve the feat may be thinking that Samsung could have actually foreseen this outcome. Chainfire, the XDA developer who has rooted the Galaxy S3 has said that the process was ‘relatively easy’ and that Samsung is the only high-end Android OEM who are not completely locking away their devices from users who are eager to explore custom alternatives.

If you think about it, Samsung often come under fire for their TouchWiz interface, but if they appear to have minimum barriers in place for people to root their device – then perhaps it’s not so bad. Now that the root has been achieved, it obviously paves the way for other developers to get started on custom ROMS for the device. Samsung may not be too happy about this aspect, but the fact that their latest device appears to be left open for exploration, Samsung probably deserves a lot of credit for this.

The root method isn’t available at the moment, but you can find out how it was possible over at the XDA forums here. Are you surprised that the device has been rooted, given that it is Samsung’s new prized asset? Will you now look to replace TouchWiz with a custom ROM as soon as possible, or are you intending to keep the phone in its original state?

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You may remember that it was LG who decided to announce the Optimus LTE2 on the very same day as when Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S3 to the world. While some of you may call this cheeky tactics from LG, there’s reports coming out of Japan that Samsung may be planning a little act of revenge.

We all know that the International and 4G LTE versions of the Galaxy S3 will pack just 1GB of RAM. However, the Japanese version of the device which will be landing on NTT Docomo has already been confirmed to be shipping with 2GB of RAM, as noted by The Verge. While this may be a horror story for those planning to get one in Europe or the US, it may even end up being exclusive to Japan, as the Galaxy S3 there will also feature a TV tuner, which the other versions do not.

The reasoning behind the move is still up for debate though. Has Samsung equipped an extra 1GB of RAM purely to compete with LG and their Optimus LTE2, or is the extra RAM a requirement due to the added TV Tuner and compatibility issues with NTT Docomo? It’s a shame if this does remain exclusive to Japan, as an extra 1GB of RAM would obviously be well appreciated with consumers over here.

The good thing to take out of this though, is that it looks like 2GB of RAM is no longer a myth so we could see a lot more smartphones announced before the end of the year which also feature the extra RAM. What are your thoughts on this – is it a big deal to you if this is exclusive to Japan, or would you demand that Samsung compensate International and US Galaxy S3 buyers in some way?

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We now have some very useful hands-on videos for you to check out, which showcases three official accessories that are now available to buy from retailers online. This retailer in question Mobile Fun, provides a preview of the official dock, a flip case and also the official Stylus pen dubbed the C-Pen.

Unfortunately, after watching the video we have to say that Samsung could have done a lot better in the stylish department when designing these accessories. The flip case in particular doesn’t really look too appealing to the eye and we’re sure that other third-party manufacturers will be able to come up with something that looks a lot more glamorous and keep that sexiness intact that Samsung’s new flagship surely deserves.

The dock also appears to be very basic, with a simple slot for putting your phone inside, as well as a hidden compartment for storing a battery inside. The stylus is the most impressive of the three shown in our opinion, as Samsung has done well to disguise the stylus as a real pen and it looks like the design will come in very handy indeed when using apps such as Draw Something.

Going back to the flip case though, we can see that getting pretty annoying if there’s no way to stop the front of the case flapping around during use. Like we said above, we’re looking forward to seeing some third-party accessories in the weeks to come, as there is bound to be heavy demand for some other alternative accessories.

What are your thoughts on the three shown here – which do you think is the most practical? Do you think that the official flip case is ‘horrible’ like some social media boards are suggesting?

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Before you ask, no we’re not talking about the LG Optimus LTE2 that the company announced on the very same day as the Samsung Galaxy S III. There is in actual fact another rumored LG handset that is on the way and the guys over at BriefMobile apparently have an image of the back casing for the device already.

While the image doesn’t look glamorous at all and certainly not as slick as the Galaxy S3, it’s the specs which may win you over in the end. The LG Optimus LTE2 will officially pack 2GB of RAM, the first smartphone in the world to do so, but the rumored LG LS970 ‘Eclipse’ apparently comes equipped with 2GB of RAM as well.

That’s not all though, as other purported specs include a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, which again will be another first since we are only just seeing smartphones releases with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip instead. There’s also meant to be a 13 megapixel camera on board, an Adreno 320 GPU and 4G LTE connectivity support.

There’s a growing feeling that LG like to be ‘first’ to the smartphone spec reveals, but how many of you would put this aside in favor of quality of brand? Not everyone is a fan of LG products and that’s obviously something that the South Korean manufacturer is looking to change. Is it all about having the latest specs at the first opportunity for you, or would you still pick the Samsung Galaxy S3 simply because their brand is more established in the market?

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Focusing in on the problem many fans have with the Samsung Galaxy S3 – the majority of feedback we’ve had about the Galaxy S3 related to the display chosen, and in particular why Samsung didn’t use a Super AMOLED Plus rather than the AMOLED PenTile subpixel layout.

Why did Samsung use the PenTile AMOLED display? In simple terms, Samsung explained that this choice means the screen will last longer. PenTile displays can do with fewer blue or red sub-pixels for a certain resolution, and thanks to this it also means PenTile displays have more green subpixels, which degrade a lot slower. Philip Berne explained to this popular mobile blog that the blue subpixels degrade faster and this also means PenTile AMOLED displays are proven to last longer than RGB layouts at certain resolutions. Obviously there is a lot more to the longevity of mobile phone displays, and the above link goes into greater detail, which is perfect for those that want a detailed explanation with pros and cons for both technologies.

We’ve included a really good video below that shows 100 times magnification of the AMOLED PenTile vs. True HD IPS RGB Display, which gives you an idea of the difference between AMOLED PenTile displays and a screen based on the striped RGB panel – something Samsung state doesn’t last as long and the reason the Galaxy S3 didn’t include it. The video was uploaded to YouTube after CES 2012, and some users commented back then that if the “Samsung Galaxy S3 has a PenTile screen” they would avoid it. Looking at Samsung’s reason and the video below, how do you now stand on the Samsung Galaxy S3 screen?

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Considering that the Galaxy S III isn’t even out yet, it’s pretty amazing to think that an app thought to be exclusive to the handset can be taken just like that and opened up to all Android users. Flipboard is an app that has been available on iOS for a long time, but just like Instagram it has now found its way over to Android.

Rather than being a Galaxy S III exclusive, you can get this working on devices such as the Galaxy Nexus and the HTC One X, simply by extracting the apk file that has been provided over at the XDA Developer Forums. For those unfamiliar with how the app works, it essentially allows you to compile your favorite social media such as Facebook Twitter and other websites into one. You can then swipe with ease and select the things you want to read in more detail with a single click.

If you want to try out Flipboard on your current Android device, make sure you head to settings and select the install apps from non-market option otherwise it won’t work. Let us know how you get on and what device you have managed to get this running. It will be interesting to see if any other Galaxy S III features become available on other Android devices before release.

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There are plenty of reasons users are stating Galaxy S3 disappointment and these include 2GB of RAM rather than the 1GB offered, a Super AMOLED Plus HD rather than a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD, and 8MP rather than 12MP although camera pixels are more about quality than quantity.

Reasoning with Samsung Galaxy S3 haters – blogs are filled with potential Galaxy S3 buyers arguing with each other over the success of a phone that has not had time to prove itself, and those articles that compare the device to an unnamed “next iPhone” are being titled “iPhone propaganda“. It’s fair to say that Samsung is Apple’s biggest competitor and the next iPhone will need to deliver something special, especially for all those that felt the 4S lacked in changes to hardware and design.

The Galaxy S2 successor had a lot to live up to and this alone would be a major challenge for Samsung, although the list of reasons why it failed seems to be growing daily when we look at the majority of tech websites. While some people say fans are just blowing hot air, others have issues on their list that include a “plasticky” build quality, which has fans divided with those that see casing as a “non issue” and those that feel “Aesthetics always play their part in premium handsets“.

We find it hard to believe when haters state “Samsung is trying to cater to the Apple crowd” with features like S-Voice in response to Apple’s Siri, although this could be seen as a novelty feature and not one of the major faults being claimed with Samsung’s Galaxy S3.

Do you feel the Samsung Galaxy S3 failed to live up to expectations, or is this just hot air from those that never intended to buy the new flagship phone? You can see a preview of the Galaxy S3 in a video here via our earlier article.

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