The future of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone is here. At a special event, the South Korean multinational conglomerate company unveiled the new Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone to the world, dubbing it as “the smartphone designed for humans and inspired by nature” and saying it is “effortlessly smart and intuitively simple.”

From a software point of view, everyone knew that the new device would be powered by Google’s latest Android version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. What had everyone on edge were the phone’s specs. Everyone was curious to find out what the new device hides under the hood because all we had to go on were rumors (optimistic ones considering the phone’s actual specs). Samsung dispelled all the rumors by presenting what the Galaxy S3 has to offer from a hardware point of view.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Hardware Specs

• Processor – 1.4 GHz quadcore Exynos processor
• RAM – 1GB (the rumors had it that the device would have 2GB).
• Display – 4.8 inch super AMOLED touchscreen, 720 x 1280 pixels, ~306 ppi pixel density.
• Storage – 16, 32 or 64GB, depending on the model. You also get 50GB of cloud storage space on Dropbox for two years.
• Rear camera – 8MP with zero-lag shutter speed (the rumors had it that Samsung would fit the S3 with a 12 or 16MP camera).
• Front camera – 1.9MP.
• Dimensions and weight – 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.55 mm; 133g.
• Battery – 2,100 mAh.
• Colors – pebble blue or marble white (check out the images below).

President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung, JK Shin, had this to comment on the S3:
“With the GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability. Designed to be both effortlessly smart and intuitively simple, the GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. What makes me most proud is that it enables one of the most seamless, natural and human-centric mobile experiences, opening up a new horizon that allows you to live a life extraordinary.”

Switching the focus away from hardware and focusing on the S3’s software, here is what the device had to offer.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Software Info

• Operating system – the device will be powered by the latest Android version, mainly Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
• Eye Tracking Tech – through the front facing camera the device can tell what you’re doing; it can tell if you’re reading a book or browsing the web for example. It will use this info to maintain a bright display and offer the best possible viewing pleasure.
• S Voice – some may say that this advanced natural language user interface is the equivalent of Apple’s Siri. S Voice responds to voice input and lets you search for info and control the device by using your voice. You can for example use your voice to send text messages or emails, organize your schedule, or tell the phone to snooze when the alarm goes off and you don’t want to wake up.
• S Beam – touch another S3 device and a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds. This works via NFC (near field communication), which means you can share data even without WiFi.
• Buddy photo share function – this feature lets you easily share photos with your friends.
• AllShare Cast – connect to the TV wirelessly and transfer content to it.
• AllShare Play – share files with your tablet, PC, and TV.
• Smart Alert – you get a phone call or message but you’re not around to hear it; when you pick up the phone, it will come out of the idle state and vibrate, thus notifying you about the missed call or message.
• Understands motions – lets say that while you’re texting someone you decide to call that person instead. When you lift your phone and take it to your ear, S3 will automatically call that person.
• Pop up play - play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks.
• Burst shot – this camera function captures 20 continous shots.
• Game, Video, and Music Hub – Game Hub provides access to a variety of social games, Video Hub offers high quality TV and movies, and Music Hub is a personal music streaming service. Please note that these services will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.

Now that you know what the Samsung Galaxy S3 has to offer, only one question remains: when will it be released to the masses? Samsung explained that the S3 device will go on sale in Europe by the end of May. Then it will be rolled out to other markets globally.