The UK's fastest selling phone since the iPhone has been widely accepted as being superior in every respect to even the coveted iPhone 4, with Siri turned off. However, adopters of the phone have noticed that there is one thing it doesn't do, that every previous version of Android phones did.
"It's not the fault of Samsung," said Trefor Jones, manager of the Home Phone Warehouse in Cardiff. "Google's stupidly named Ice Cream Sandwich operating system have taken away some of the facilities that they used to make available."
This has opened the way for Android App designers to sell the features back to the owners of ICS (as the owners prefer to call it).
"I love the S3," said Jones. "I've got one. I'm the only S3 Blue owner in the Village. But then, you need perks in this job."
This highlights the other problem with the S3: availability.
"Apple got it right," said Jones. "They judged the market, they had Chinese factories ready to churn out a million phones in a week and get them shipped, if the demand outstripped even Apple's wildest dreams. Which it did. Some people had to wait for an iPhone, but only for a day or two."
Samsung, misjudged the market completely.
"They produced the same number of S3 White as S3 Blue," said Jones. "It turns out, with a little bit of market research, such as asking us, or even Amazon, what the order balance was between the two phones, that blue was five times more popular than white. Everybody who wanted a white one, got one. Now we are a month after the release date and approximately eighty percent of people who pre-ordered blue are still waiting."
These delays have Apple laughing into their breakfast cereal.
"The iPhone 5 will be out in October," said Jones. "You can bet your house that every single person who orders one, will get one."
One up to Apple, then. Until October.
