An exact copy of the flagship smartphone of 2012 from Samsung with improved specifications and support for two SIM cards is the Galaxy S3 Duos. Despite the fact that quite a lot of time has passed since the start of sales of this device, its characteristics still continue to be relevant. They, as well as reviews about this gadget will be examined in detail in this article.
Smartphone niche
From a performance standpoint, the Galaxy S3 Duos can be safely attributed to entry-level solutions. But at the same time he has a slightly overpriced price. But this significant drawback is easily compensated by a number of characteristics (for example, the increased diagonal size of the touch display, the impressive capacity of the integrated drive, and the improved parameters of the camera’s base). Therefore, this smartphone model is of most interest precisely for those who want an entry-level device, but with slightly improved parameters compared to competitors. Well, for these improved options you will have to overpay. But, on the other hand, it is quite justified, because you get a device on which it is much simpler and more convenient to work.
Equipment
Phone Samsung Galaxy S3 Duos boasts standard equipment. It includes such components and, of course, accessories:
- Smartphone.
- A 2100 mAh battery (it is inside the gadget and is removable).
- Advanced stereo headset with a set of nozzles.
- Charger.
- Interface cord.
- Quick start guide and warranty card are combined in one booklet.
The body of the device is mostly made of plastic. To avoid possible damage during operation, you will have to immediately buy a cover. Moreover, this device is almost an exact copy of the original flagship S3, and covers from the latter are ideal for S3 Duos. For the same reason, it is strongly recommended that you purchase and stick a protective film for the touch screen. This will also allow in the future to avoid possible damage during operation. Another important accessory is a memory card. She is also not on the list of supplies, and therefore have to buy separately. Although, in principle, the owner of this device can do without it. The capacity of the integrated drive allows this.
Design
In terms of design, the gadget is completely identical to its predecessor Galaxy S3 Duos. A review of the appearance of these devices even allows you to distinguish between them. The only difference is the inscription on the front panel, at the end of which the word Duos was added. The front panel of the gadget, as expected, displays a display with a diagonal of 4.8 inches. Below it is a familiar control panel, which consists of a central mechanical button and two extreme touch buttons. Unlike most similar devices, in this case, the buttons have a backlight, which greatly simplifies the work on the smartphone in low light conditions. Above the screen is a conversational speaker, a “peephole” of the front camera and light sensors and distance sensing. On the upper edge of the smartphone is only a wired audio jack 3.5 mm. On the left side of the device, buttons for adjusting the volume are disconnected, and on the right - locks. At the bottom is the micro-USB connector and the hole of the conversational microphone. On the back cover, in addition to the logo of the manufacturer and the inscription DUOS, there is also a hole in the main camera and LED backlight. The main speaker, which is hidden behind a metal mesh, is also displayed here.
CPU
Galaxy S3 Duos uses a time-tested and highly reliable chip as a computing platform - this is the Snapdragon 400 developed by Kualkom. It consists of 4 computing models of the Cortex A7 architecture. Each of them can at maximum load accelerate to 1.4 GHz. It is also made according to the 28-nm process technology. All this allows him to combine an acceptable level of computational performance and high energy efficiency. To solve most everyday tasks, this semiconductor crystal is more than enough. This list includes playing videos, listening to music and radio, reading books, browsing the Internet. But the most demanding games of the latest generation certainly will not start on this device. Most of them are optimized for 64-bit computing, and this chip can process only 32 bits in one clock cycle. Hence the problems with their launch.
Display device and graphics
Very high quality display in the Galaxy S3 Duos. His characteristics are as follows:
- The manufacturing technology of the matrix is SuperAMOLED.
- Resolution - 1280x720.
- The diagonal of the display is 4.8 inches.
Such technical specifications require a good graphics accelerator. In this case, Adreno 305 is used. Of course, he certainly can’t boast of a sky-high level of performance, but you certainly can’t expect such an entry-level device. However, to solve most everyday tasks, its presence is quite enough.
Cameras
Just a great main camera in the Samsung Galaxy S3 Duos. She has an 8 megapixel sensor. Also implemented autofocus technology, there is a digital zoom. Well, in the dark, a high-quality image will allow you to get, albeit a single, LED backlight. As a result, the quality of the photo is very good quality. With video recording, everything is fine too. The resolution of the rollers can reach 1920x1080. In this case, the image will be updated 30 times per second. More modest options in the front camera. She has a 1.9 megapixel sensor. Therefore, in this case, there can be no question of a high-quality “selfie”. But for video communication this is more than enough.
Memory
1.5 GB is the amount of RAM in the Galaxy S3 Duos. 16 GB is the capacity of the integrated drive. The average user will be quite enough for work and leisure. If for some reason you need to increase the amount of memory in the device, you can install an external flash drive. Moreover, its maximum volume can be equal to 64 GB. For greater reliability, it is recommended to store the most valuable information on cloud services. This will avoid its loss in the event of theft or breakdown of the smart phone.
Device autonomy
High autonomy can not boast of Samsung Galaxy S3 Duos. The main reason here is the 2100 mAh battery capacity. In a case with a thickness of 8.6 mm, a larger battery is difficult to put. Add to this the presence of two SIM cards and a diagonal of 4.8 inches. To a certain extent, the problem is solved by an energy-efficient processor, but this is not enough to fully resolve this issue. As a result, all the previously mentioned factors lead to the fact that at maximum load, this smart phone can last a maximum of 12 hours. If you reduce the load, we get 2-3 days of confident work on a single charge of the battery. If this is not enough, then we buy an additional external battery. Of course, this is not an entirely elegant solution, but your phone will not let you down at the most inopportune moment for this.
Interface set
Samsung Galaxy S3 Duos boasts the following interfaces:
- “Wi-Fi” - quick download to the smartphone of data from the Internet in any volume.
- GSM and 3G - with their help, you can download information from the global web, make calls and send or receive SMS.
- GLONASS and GPS allow you to accurately determine your location or get directions.
- NFC - This wireless interface allows you to download files of any size onto a similar gadget in minutes.
- BLUETUS allows you to do the same as NFC, but the amount of data should be much less.
- The 3.5 mm audio jack allows you to output sound from your smartphone to external sound sources (speakers or headphones).
- Using micro-USB, the battery is charged. Also, this wired interface provides synchronization with external devices (PC, laptop).
Software
“Android” is used as the system software in this smartphone. Initially, the version with the serial number 4.3 was installed on it. But after the first Internet connection, the Galaxy S3 Duos firmware will be updated to a more recent version - 4.4. The owners of this gadget do not have to wait for further updates of the system software. The smartphone has been sold for a long time, and for a fairly long time the manufacturer no longer releases updated software for it. On top of the operating system, as in any other device of this manufacturer, a proprietary TouchWiz shell is installed. You also need to highlight the impressive amount of preinstalled software. First of all, it is the Polaris Office. That is, this smartphone can immediately work out of the box with various electronic documents (* .doc, * .xls, * .pdf, and so on). There are also familiar programs from Google. Korean programmers did not forget about social networks. Well, to top it off, there is a complete set of utilities built into the OS. So the smartphone out of the box is completely ready to go.
The price of the gadget today
As noted earlier, against the backdrop of direct competitors, the cost is slightly higher than the Galaxy S3 Duos. Its price at the moment is 180 dollars. But, on the other hand, this can be justified by improved technical specifications. This is an increased display diagonal, and a better organized memory subsystem, and a more productive computing platform. Therefore, the higher cost of this gadget is offset by a number of advantages.
Reviews
There are minor flaws in the Galaxy S3 Duos. Reviews highlight this:
- Glossy back cover. Such a constructive solution leads to the fact that dirt is collected on its surface and fingerprints are clearly visible. At the same time, removing them is quite difficult. A simple solution to this problem is to buy a silicone bumper cover. As a result, the surface of the lid will be reliably protected from various "harmful" influences.
- Small “glitches” in the software related to the work of two SIM cards at once. This problem appears on the old version of the operating system. After installing all the updates it will not be.
- Slippery surface of the back cover - because of this, you can accidentally drop the phone. Again, this problem, like the first, is solved with the help of a cover.
But there are much more positive aspects:
- Productive computing platform.
- The amount of RAM and the capacity of the internal drive are increased.
- A good set of pre-installed software.
- Large enough display diagonal.
- The ability to control using gestures.
Summary
As a result, we get a great entry-level smartphone with a slightly overpriced price compared to similar devices. But this minus the Galaxy S3 Duos is more than offset by significantly improved specifications. This makes the purchase of this gadget more justified. You get immediately out of the box a ready-to-use device that does not need to be additionally filled with application software.