New iPhone 5 is here. Should you upgrade from 4S?

The latest iPhone, the iPhone 5 was introduced yesterday that saw the still 'new' 4S being relegated to the mid-tier of iPhone devices. Announced on September 12, it will be up for pre-orders (in the USA and selected countries) on the 14th. Shipment starts on September 21st.

It will be available first in 9 countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, then in other country world wide.

First impression: It looks exactly like the 4S and 4

The slab is made entirely of aluminum and glass. At 7.6mm, many online commentary - including some well known websites - wrongly quoted the new iPhone as the "world's thinnest smartphone". Instead, that should read "thinnest iPhone ever".

Vital stats of the iPhone 5:

Display       : 4-inch
Resolution  : 1136 x 640 pixel
Thickness   : 7.6 mm
Weight       : 112 g
Camera      : 8MP, front-facing: 1.2MP

Prices of the iphone 5 are similar to the iPhone 4S when it was first launched. In the US, the iPhone 4S now available in single variant (16GB) only, sold at $99 while the iPhone 5 will be offered in 16, 32, and 64GB iterations for $199, $299, and $399 respectively. The retail price without string to telcos starts at $649 (USA).


Closer home: Singapore, one of the earliest wave

In Singapore, the iPhone 5 will be available without contract (unlocked) for a recommended retail price of:-

16GB model: S$948    (US$772)    - approx. RM2,399
32GB model: S$1,088 (US$886)    - approx. RM2,799
64GB model: S$1,238 (US$1,008) - approx. RM3,099

Second look: iPhone 5 does look tall, probably disproportionate.
A little bit of effort needed to get use to it.

The narrow but tall design reminds me of the long gone Nokia 9500, a premium Nokia product during its days. Of course iPhone 5 looks much better, but I can't help thinking about Apple's innovation in terms of look, or the lack of it.



They shrunk the 30-pin connector into a digital type called Thunderbolt (Lightning). This new connector made the old one completely obsolete! There goes my docking station, my charger and data cable. They are completely useless without adaptor (additional un-necessary purchase).



My previous iPhones have all been of black finishes. I must admit though that this White & Silver variant of the iPhone 5 is appealing.


Dimensions comparison with its rival's flagship, the S3:

Height x Width x Thick
Galaxy S3  : 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm
iPhone 5    : 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm



The new iPhone 5 compared to the latest offering from Samsung (Galaxy S3): There are a lot of websites offering information on technical & specifications of the two, but you have to feel the slab in your hand to appreciate the uniqueness of both.

Don't discount the iPhone 5 just yet until you touch and feel it. For me, I will stick to my 4S for the time being. With the gradual rather than radical changes in specifications of the latest device, I don't feel that the need to upgrade is sufficiently justified.

New Samsung Galaxy S3 price - Malaysia

When it was first made available in Malaysia on 31 May 2012, some telcos offered the new Galaxy S III for as low as RM999, with data subscription package.

Which telco to go for?

For the world's biggest economy, TECH SOURCE reported that American consumers can start pre-ordering the Galaxy S3 starting June 6, for as low as US$199.99 ( approx. RM632) for a 2-year contract 16GB, at AT&T. Meanwhile, Sprint will sell the Galaxy S3 16 GB for $199.99 (two year contract), and the 32 GB version for $249.99 (approx. RM789).


Galaxy S III Malaysia prices

Click here for detailed specifications of the Galaxy S3.

The recommended retail price for the new S3 is RM2,199 but there is already talk on the street that the price would soon touch RM2,100 (set only). Samsung smart phones are notoriously known for drastic drop in prices after being in the market for a month or two, so, watch out for that and get your timing right.

Maxis
Monthly commitment: RM68 (for data only)
Upfront payment: RM200 to RM500 depending on length of contract
Data quota: 3 GB
Device prices: RM1,399 (24-month contract), RM1,599 (18-month) and RM1,699 (12-month)

DiGi
Monthly commitment: RM63 (applicable to Auto-billing only) + voice call included
Upfront payment: NA
Data quota: 3 GB
Device prices: RM1,449 (24-month contract) and RM1,699 (12-month)

Celcom
Monthly commitment: RM108 + voice call included
Upfront payment: RM300
Data quota : 3 GB
Device prices: RM1,678 (18-month contract) and RM1,748 (12-month).

There are other data plans, such as 1GB and 5GB but I choosed 3GB for illustration as this is the likely amount of data one will be needing. With the capability of the high-end mobile smartphone, the amount of data downloaded as well as uploaded will increase. For smartphone, 1.5GB data plan used to be regarded as the default choice for many. Not anymore.

Samsung Galaxy S3 now available in Malaysia

Samsung Galaxy S3 will finally be available in Malaysia through Celcom, DiGi and Maxis beginning tomorrow, May 31, 2012, and other outlets later in June 2012. So, while Sabahans and Sarawakians are in the thick of Harvest Festival and Gawai celebrations, early birds would take delivery of their S3.
 

 
Samsung is confident that Galaxy S3 would surpass the success of the Galaxy S2 which sold 20 million units globally since its launch last year. This smartphone is the first device to feature quad core application processor, which should be translated to enhanced performance, faster web browsing, seamless multi-tasking, supreme graphics quality, and an instantly responsive user interface on a larger screen. That is according to Samsung, but we'll let the users be the judges.


Features and Specifications

The Galaxy S3 is powered by Android ver 4.0.4, Ice Cream Sandwich and a 2,100 mAh battery. Full specifications are as follows:

Check out how the new S3 is compared with its predecessor S2, the iPhone 4S, and the HTC One X.

Android fan or no fan, this should be interesting and it should give consumers wider option. The society will - sooner rather than later - have to accept the fact that computing is going the mobile way and it is coming very fast.

New Galaxy S3 launched and Compared with 4S, S2 and One X

The new Galaxy S3 that many have been waiting for is finally here.

All questions and rumours of specifications of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 has now been answered with its official announcement on 3rd May 2012. In case you were wondering if all the speculated specs materialised, head on to All New Samsung Galaxy S3, published back in March 2012.

First impression is that, the S3 resembles the iPhone 3GS, minus the excessive curved corners when front-viewed. Not that it looks bad; it is something I personally wanted done on the iPhone 4S.

Comparison with its predecessor Galaxy S2, rivals One X and iPhone 4S

The comparison is purely on specifications and not based on practical test on each gadget as at the time of compiling this article, the Galaxy S3 is not yet available to the public. There are two main aspect that consumers tend to pit a particular smart phone against another namely ease of use and 'on-paper' performance. On-paper performance refers to technical data sheet providing details of manufacturer's measured parameters. 

Many instances of tests done in the past tell us that higher specced smart phone does not necessarily perform better when bench-marked hands on with another that is slightly falls below it. The likely winner would be one that could combine the better specifications with ease of use.

 

From L-to-R: Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, iPhone 4S and HTC One X

Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S are included in this table to give you an idea of what kind of improvements the manufacturers of S3 and One X have included in the newer gadgets.

If you ask me, I would say the S3 look nicely built and is is only fair that Android should match that with a more stable OS and improved intuitiveness. Will just have to wait for it to be launched in Malaysia to get to feel the metal.

All New Samsung Galaxy S3

Let's take a time out on the smoking issues of Rare Earth and Lynas, and take a look at updates on New Gadgets.

Ok, you've been deceived, well just a little. The new Samsung Galaxy S3 is not yet out. But here is an interesting possibility of its imminent launch. By the way the S3 is of particular interest as my better half is currently using Galaxy S2 and she may want to check this one out.

Work of the rumour millers.

Galaxy S3 Announcement?

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) over now and nothing happened, the rumour mill will probably be shifting to higher gears once more. It was understood that Samsung performed very well during the recent MWC with some great devices.

In Korea, check out what ZDNet said and the S3 would probably be launched in April, with London and the UK one of the initial launch markets. This would be best timed for this year's Olympic Games. Note that Samsung is an official partner of the games.

Speculated Galaxy S3 Specifications

The Galaxy S3 would be powered by a 1.5-GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos CPU, with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available out of the box. A possible full edge-to-edge HD screen measuring 4.8 inches ans the option to choose from 32 GB or 64 GB internal storage. A big 2 GB of internal memory and an 8MP camera.

Comparing the S2 and S3, but no promise, just hope. Lets see if Galaxy S3 fans would be sorely disappointed as did iPhone fans with the eventual release of the 4S instead of 5.

For the hopefuls' reading pleasure.

Form Factor

Samsung is going to set the bar very high with a thinner phone making it further competitive compared to iPhone 4S. The 4S is currently thicker than the S2. As for dimensions and weight, no single rumour miller has provided any information so far, or at least I haven't seen any on the Internet yet.

Verdict

The Galaxy S3 is going to attract a lot of iPhone fans and it will come in no surprise if the rumoured features become reality. Moreover, iPhone 5 (or whatever they may call it) is still many months away from possible launch.