Today we would like to bring to your attention a review of the Samsung Galaxy S3 neo smartphone, announced as the GT-i9301i version. This phone is an update to the Samsung Galaxy S3 line. It is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, which is more energy efficient, hence the name Neo. But is it so different from its predecessors?
The smartphone is packed in a rectangular box made of thick black cardboard with the inscription Samsung Galaxy SIII in the center. On the reverse side there is basic technical information, which we will consider in more detail below.
In addition to the device itself, the kit includes:
- Brief guide in Russian.
- Warranty card.
- Inserts with information about Samsung hotline and accessories.
- Battery capacity of 2100 mAh.
- Micro USB cable.
- Charger with USB output and 1A charging current.
- Vacuum headphones with stereo headset and 3.5 mm jack. It has a remote control for increasing the volume and a microphone on/off button.
- Additional ear pads in white.
Design
Samsung s3 neo is available in two colors: metallic blue and white. The dimensions also remain unchanged compared to the standard version: height: 136.6 mm, width: 70.6 mm, thickness: 8.6 mm and weight: 132 g.
The body is still made of glossy plastic with a varnish coating.
Externally, this is a familiar C3 with standard controls:
- On top there is a 3.5 mm jack.
- On the right is the on/off button.
- On the left is the volume rocker.
- At the bottom there is a micro USB connector and a microphone.
At the bottom of the front part, in the center, there is one single mechanical button. On the sides there are two touchscreens that help control the smartphone.
Above the screen are:
- speaker;
- front camera 1.9 MP, as well as light sensor, proximity sensor;
- LED that blinks red to indicate missed calls or other notifications.
Thanks to the relatively small size of the display, the phone is easy to use with one hand, which is very critical for many.
The glossy back cover looks very beautiful, especially in the blue version. There is an 8 megapixel main camera with a flash and a speaker grille. The notch at the top makes it easy to remove the back cover to take a closer look at what's underneath. The lid is secured with latches around the perimeter.
Under the cover of the device there is:
- micro SIM card slot;
- micro SD memory card slot;
- battery.
Display
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S 3 neo has a size of 4.8 inches Super AMOLED with an HD resolution of 1280*720 pixels. The pixel density per inch is up to 306. As a result, we get a high-quality picture where there is no hint of grain. Clear, bright color reproduction.
The display has good viewing angles.
Even at maximum angles, the boundaries of objects are clearly visible, the color does not fade or change. Everything looks very nice and high quality, as you would expect from an A-class company.
The number of touches that can be made simultaneously reaches 10.
Technical characteristics and autonomy
The phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core 32-bit processor with a frequency of 300-1401.6 MHz. The Adreno (TM) 305 graphics accelerator is also installed here. In the AnTuTu Benchmark application test version 5.3, the device showed 19,428 points.
There is 1.5 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory. But in fact, around 10 GB will be available. If this volume is not enough for you, you can expand it using a microSD card up to 64 GB.
Android version is 4.4.2 (KitKat) without further update.
In games, everything looks very bright and colorful on the Super AMOLED display. The image, both drawn into the distance and to the sides, is smoothed out as much as possible by the graphics accelerator. The picture quality is very good. The character clearly slides across the display. There are no problems. There is no graininess. You will be able to play most games comfortably on medium-low settings.
For autonomy, we have a 2100 mAh battery, which is removable.
It is very convenient in many ways, from emergency rebooting of the device to replacing a damaged battery.
The manufacturer assures that the owner can count on:
- Talk time: 8 hours.
- Waiting time: 330 hours.
- Operating time while listening to music: 57 hours.
Camera
The C3 neo has 2 cameras: the main one is 8 MP and the front one is 2 MP. During the day you can get decent photos, but at dusk and at night you can't avoid terrible graininess. There are a lot of questions about the front camera even without this. For example, even in sunlight, you have to add additional backlighting to make the photo look less normal. So this smartphone is clearly not worth taking for selfies.
There are photo modes:
- auto;
- retouch;
- best photo;
- continuous shooting;
- best face;
- photo with sound;
- rich tones;
- sport;
- night.
By settings:
- maximum 8 MP: 3264×2448 (4:3).
- The photo can be taken by tapping on the preview screen if the appropriate setting is used.
- face detection;
- exposure metering;
- image stabilization and others.
The maximum video size for the main camera is 1920*1080 (16:9) in Full HD format.
Results
This is how the update of our good old friend Galaxy S3 turned out, which has a successful design and technical characteristics even now:
- an excellent screen that has a large margin in both brightness and contrast, with good viewing angles;
- presence of radio;
- power that allows you to play modern games, albeit at low-medium settings;
- the package of necessary programs is already at the start.
What's frustrating is the poor camera.
Is it worth taking the Samsung S3 neo or not? The choice is yours.
Video
Kindly provided a smartphone for review
In 2012, the Samsung Galaxy S III, which was jokingly nicknamed “soap” due to its rounded design, was the top bestseller among Android smartphones. And now, two years later, it returned in the form of a dual-SIM Galaxy S3 Neo Duos (i9300i). Compared to the original, nothing has been simplified, but even slightly improved. At the same time, they are asking only $200 for the “old new” Galaxy S3.
Does it look cute?
Externally, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos is no different from the original Galaxy S III - the same glossy “soap” with rounded corners, available in three color options: black, white and blue. Only the blue version (this is the one we tested) has an unobtrusive striped texture underneath the varnish layer, making future scratches less noticeable. However, the glossy back covers of Samsung smartphones do not become covered with scratches as quickly as you would expect (I personally checked Galaxy Ace 3).
Is the screen good?
The Galaxy S3 Neo Duos display has a diagonal of 4.8 inches, a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and is made using Super AMOLED (PenTile) technology. It is protected by tempered Gorilla Glass 2 with oleophobic coating. There is not even a hint of grain (dot density over 300 per inch), viewing angles are maximum, black color is truly deep. Other colors are traditionally slightly “acidic” for AMOLED, and there is no option to change the color profile to natural, like IPS. But the text on the screen remains clearly readable in the sun and there is a correctly working light sensor.
Is there enough power?
Unlike the original Galaxy S III with an Exynos Quad processor (the US version had the Snapdragon S4 Plus), the heart of the S3 Neo Duos is the Snapdragon 400 chip (MSM8226). In terms of processor cores, it is slightly inferior to the Exynos Quad (1.9 versus 2.5 DMIPS/MHz), but in terms of integrated graphics and energy efficiency it is significantly superior. The S3 Neo Duos operates quickly and smoothly, which is facilitated not only by a well-chosen processor, but also by one and a half times more RAM compared to the original and fast flash memory (high result in the AnTuTu “Memory Read/Write” subtest). Resource-intensive games Real Racing 3 and Asphalt 8 run equally smoothly, however, the first one launched with low, and the second one with medium graphics settings. When playing games, the smartphone does not heat up very well.
How to update the firmware?
In Ukraine, the Galaxy S3 Neo Duos is sold with the Android 4.3 operating system, on top of which the TouchWiz graphical shell is installed. Software features are standard for Samsung smartphones of this class: a two-window mode for launching applications, a proprietary calendar, notes and a music player, as well as a video player with support for most common codecs (with the exception of AC3 audio tracks) and FM radio. For a number of countries, for example Russia, a firmware update to Android 4.4 is already available. You can manually update the Ukrainian version of your smartphone to KitKat (link to instructions), but this may lead to loss of warranty.
Does the camera take good pictures?
The main camera of the Galaxy S3 Neo Duos has a resolution of 8 MP, a sensor size of 1/3.2", F/2.6 aperture and image stabilization function. Burst photography (3.5 fps) and HDR mode are available, video is recorded in resolution 1080p with a frequency of 30 fps and mono sound. Autofocus is established quickly, white balance is rarely wrong. Photo quality is very decent for an 8-megapixel camera, the noise reduction algorithm is moderately aggressive, I especially liked macro photography. Test photos were taken on a very cloudy day and without using flash.
More examples of photos, as well as a test video, can be found in the review original Galaxy S III, which has exactly the same camera module.
How often do you have to charge?
The battery capacity of the Galaxy S3 Neo Duos is 2100 mAh - it doesn’t seem like much, but the energy-efficient processor and especially the AMOLED screen (black color means the pixels are turned off) allow us to hope for a good operating time without recharging. In reading mode (Cool Reader program) at 30 percent screen brightness, the smartphone can last up to 12 hours. And in the mode of viewing HD video from a memory card (VLC player) at 50 percent brightness – up to 8 hours. With a mixed use scenario (phone calls, music, web surfing), the smartphone confidently lasts two days without recharging.
Who are the competitors?
The Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos will have to withstand competition from at least four smartphones: LG G3s , ASUS ZenFone 5 , Lenovo S580 And Xiaomi Redmi 1S. LG's 2014 mini-flagship stands out primarily for its stylish design (soap is no longer in fashion) and a capacious battery (2540 mAh). ASUS ZenFone 5 has a camera with a higher aperture (F/2.0), but a smaller matrix size (1/4.0"). And the Lenovo S580 and Xiaomi Redmi 1S are simply cheaper, although they are inferior to the Samsung smartphone in terms of RAM and built-in memory.
Bottom line
In general, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos fully matches the functionality and quality of the original Galaxy S3, which not so long ago was considered a flagship Android smartphone. Yes, its technical characteristics are no more than average by today's standards. But in addition there are many nice little things: Gorilla Glass, oleophobic coating, light sensor, camera with image stabilization function and a good stereo headset included. All this helped the Galaxy S3 Neo Duos stand out from its classmates and thereby make a successful comeback.
3 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos:
- high-quality SuperAMOLED screen;
- large amount of RAM and permanent memory;
- good quality camera.
2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos:
- boring design a la “soap”;
- you don't like AMOLED screens.
|
Model name |
Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo Duos (i9300i) |
|
operating system |
Android 4.3 (upgrade to 4.4 available) |
|
Display |
4.8 inches, Super AMOLED, 1280x720 pixels, 306 PPI |
|
CPU |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8226), 4 Cortex-A7 cores, 1.4 GHz, Adreno 305 graphics |
|
RAM |
1.5 GB |
|
Flash memory |
16 GB, microSD slot |
|
Camera |
Main 8 MP, front 1.9 MP, video recording 1080p@30fps |
|
Interfaces |
3 G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC, microUSB |
|
Quantity sim- kart |
Two |
|
Battery |
2100 mAh |
|
Dimensions and weight |
70.75x136.6x8.6 mm, 132 g |
Samsung presented a very worthy model at the beginning of 2014. It is not for nothing that this South Korean company is among the leaders in the development of high-quality gadgets. It clearly won the attention of buyers with its quite good characteristics.
Design
The design of the Galaxy S3 Neo consists entirely of plastic, there is not even a hint of metal inserts. The assembly of the case is of high quality and strong, there are no creaks or backlashes. The colors of the model are blue and white. On the front surface there is a display, front camera, speaker, touch buttons, proximity and light sensitivity sensor. On the back panel there is the main camera, the power of which is 8 Mbit, the Samsung logo and the model name. On the left side of the gadget there is a button for adjusting the volume, and the power button of the device is on the right side. It has a MicroUSB output at the bottom and a headphone jack at the top. That is, the design is inherent to all Samsung, made very high quality. The design is quite good.
Performance
The developers equipped the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo with a 4.8-inch diagonal touch screen with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels and a density of 305 ppi per inch. The picture looks bright and rich, about 16 million colors are displayed on the display. The RAM is also good, which is 1.4 gigabits. Also pleasing is the additional memory of 16 GB (11 GB of which are available to the user). There is a processor on board with four Exynos Quad 4412 cores. Its clock frequency is 1.5 gigahertz. All applications will work just fine. If the available amount of physical memory is not enough, you can always install an additional MicroSD card to store your pictures, photos and video files. Fast Android 4.4 system. controls the operation of the phone. The phone is equipped with slots for two SIM cards in MicroSIM format. The smartphone will work up to 14 hours if it is fully loaded. The developers say that in standby mode it can hold a charge for up to two weeks.
Functional
The image is not distorted when rotating, decent viewing angles and color saturation are undoubtedly pleasing to the eye. One of the features of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo is the Smart Screen feature. Thanks to this function, no matter how long you look at the display, it will not go dark. A large number of applications are initially installed. When tested in AnTuTu, the device takes 7th place in the rating, scoring a very good result, 17,651 units. Manufacturers from the same company Samsung are winning.
The camera is good, the pictures are clear. It is equipped with a flash and autofocus. And video with a resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels looks quite good. Especially on the screen of the phone itself.
The gadget clearly executes commands and responds instantly to the touch of your fingers. The battery is quite pleasing and surprises with its “survivability”. But nothing big was discovered. The design is similar to the S5 - still the same monoblock. In general, we did not find any special distinctive features from many other models.
Technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo smartphone
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length x Width x Height, mm | 136.6 x 70.75 x 8.6 |
| Weight, g | 132 |
| Display | |
| Matrix | HD Super AMOLED |
| Display diagonal, inches | 4.8 |
| Display resolution, pix | 1280 x 720 |
| Camera | |
| Main, Mp. | 8 |
| Frontal, MP. | 1.9 |
| System | |
| operating system | Android |
| CPU | Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 |
| Processor frequency, GHz | 1.4 |
| Number of cores | 4 |
| RAM, GB. | 1.5 |
| Internal memory, GB. | 16 |
| Interfaces | |
| 3G Network | There is |
| 2G Network | There is |
| WiFi | There is |
| Bluetooth | There is |
| Nutrition | |
| Battery capacity, mAh | 2100 |
Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.
Design
Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.
| Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 70.7 mm (millimeters) 7.07 cm (centimeters) 0.23 ft (feet) 2.78 in (inches) |
| Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 136.6 mm (millimeters) 13.66 cm (centimeters) 0.45 ft (feet) 5.38 in (inches) |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement. | 8.6 mm (millimeters) 0.86 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.34 in (inches) |
| Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 132 g (grams) 0.29 lbs 4.66 oz (ounces) |
| Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 83.06 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.04 in³ (cubic inches) |
| Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale. | White Pink Red Blue Black Brown |
SIM card
The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.
Mobile networks
A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.
Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds
Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.
Operating system
An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.
SoC (System on Chip)
A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.
| SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation. | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8228 |
| Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor. | 28 nm (nanometers) |
| Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications. | ARM Cortex-A7 |
| Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors. | 32 bit |
| Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv7 |
| Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes) |
| Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory. | 1024 kB (kilobytes) 1 MB (megabytes) |
| Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel. | 4 |
| CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1400 MHz (megahertz) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc. | Qualcomm Adreno 305 |
| Number of GPU cores Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications. | 1 |
| Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 1.5 GB (gigabytes) |
Built-in memory
Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.
Memory cards
Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.
Screen
The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.
| Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends. | Super AMOLED |
| Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 4.8 in (inches) 121.92 mm (millimeters) 12.19 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate screen width | 2.35 in (inches) 59.77 mm (millimeters) 5.98 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate screen height | 4.18 in (inches) 106.26 mm (millimeters) 10.63 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.778:1 16:9 |
| Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail. | 720 x 1280 pixels |
| Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail. | 306 ppi (pixels per inch) 120ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
| Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device. | 65.98% (percent) |
| Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics. | Capacitive Multi-touch |
Sensors
Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.
Main camera
The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.
| Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting. | LED |
| Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image. | 3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device. | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
| Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at the maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p. | 30fps (frames per second) |
| Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality. | Autofocus Digital zoom Digital image stabilization Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation |
Additional camera
Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.
Audio
Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.
Radio
The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.
Location determination
Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.
WiFi
Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.
Headphone jack
This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Connecting devices
Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.
Browser
A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.
Video file formats/codecs
Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.
Battery
Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.
| Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours. | 2100 mAh (milliamp-hours) |
| Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices. | Li-Ion (Lithium-ion) |
| 2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network. | 14 h (hours) 840 min (minutes) 0.6 days |
| 3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network. | 14 h (hours) 840 min (minutes) 0.6 days |
| Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery. | Removable |
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.
| Head SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device close to the ear in a conversation position. In Europe, the maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by CENELEC in accordance with IEC standards, subject to the guidelines of ICNIRP 1998. | 0.375 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Body SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by the CENELEC Committee in compliance with the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines and IEC standards. | 0.397 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values. | 0.52 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
| Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard. | 0.9 W/kg (Watt per kilogram) |
