Galaxy SIII hits PH shelves June 9

A model displays a Samsung Galaxy S III, the latest smartphone in the company's Galaxy lineups, during its launching for media in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Galaxy S III will hit the Philippine market on Saturday, June 9, 2012. AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

MANILA, Philippines—After its global launch in late May, the Galaxy SIII—Samsung’s newest bet in the battle for dominance in the smartphone market—will finally hit stores nationwide on Saturday, June 9, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. said.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII, which promises a whole new smartphone experience with its intuitive features, will be sold in the country for P32,999 each. It, however, may be obtained for free or at a much lower price under postpaid and prepaid packages offered by the country’s telecommunications companies.

“The Galaxy S III enables its user to enjoy a seamless and human-centric mobile experience. I believe that its intuitive features like ‘Direct Call’ and ‘Smart Stay’ plus its picture-in-picture function will be loved by Filipino consumers,” said Coco Domingo, head for mobile product marketing at Samsung.

Samsung’s latest smartphone has what the company calls a “natural interaction” feature that enables the device to detect the user’s face, voice and motions.

Its “Smart Stay” feature enables the phone, through its front camera, to track the user’s eye and stops the screen from “hibernating” when it is used for browsing or reading.

Its “S Voice,” an advanced natural language user interface, enables the device to “listen and respond” to the user’s voice commands.

“When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the Galaxy S III “snooze.” You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, send text messages and e-mails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera,” Domingo said.

“The Galaxy S III also understands the user’s motions. If you are messaging someone but decide to call him instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial the number. With ‘Smart alert,’ your phone will vibrate to notify you of missed messages when picked up after being idle.”

With a 4.8” HD Super Amoled display, the device offers a vivid viewing experience. To ensure faster content sharing and connectivity, the smartphone features Wi-Fi Channel Bonding, which doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth.

It also features a 1.4GHz quad core processor, a built-in 8MP rear camera with zero-lag shutter speed and a 1.9MP front-facing video camera.—Corrie Salientes-Narisma