- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Apple iPhone 5
- HTC One X
- Nokia Lumia 920
- Samsung Galaxy Note II
- Samsung Galaxy S III mini
- bada 2.0
- 3.5G
- 4"
- 1.4 GHz
Released October, 2011
by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)The deep blacks are quick to impress and even though the screen is not as bright as LCDs, it has very good sunlight legibility.
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- 4G
- 4.8"
- Dual core 1.5 GHz
Released June, 2012
by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)The first chart shows better sharpness over the S II - it's especially noticeable in the small numbers below the color patches.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Samsung Wave 3 compared to the Galaxy S III
GHz1.4
bada 2.0 3.5G
by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)It has mesmerizingly deep blacks and even though it's not as bright as LCDs, it still offers very good sunlight legibility.
1.5 GHz
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 4G
Rated 100% by by John-Buford (Aug, 2012)I've used my S3 for a week now, and it works great in all functions, as a phone, and as internet instrument, via wi-fi and 3G.
screen size
4"
4.8"
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)The pretty large, sharp display with great colors makes reading a joy.
screen resolution
Wave 3 by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)The resolved detail is lower than we would have liked, but overall the quality is good and will probably fit the most users’ needs.
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (Jun, 2012)The fine detail in the chart also pegs the Galaxy S III camera as one of the sharpest around.
memory
| 0 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
processor
Wave 3 by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)It is gentle on the hardware too and runs glitch-free on the single-core processor.
Galaxy S III by c|net (Jun, 2012)From the outside in, it has a large, vibrant HD display; Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; a sharp 8-megapixel camera; 4G LTE support; a zippy dual-core processor; and tons of internal memory and 2GB RAM.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP |
Wave 3 by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)It’s certainly not a flop (largely thanks to the affordable devices available) but for a high-end phone, you gotta do better than a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording and a 2-year old screen tech.
Galaxy S III by The Verge (Jun, 2012)Full-resolution pictures look sharp and detailed, allowing you to crop in on areas of interest, unlike the HTC One X, which can furnish you with some neat results, but never at the full 8-megapixel resolution.
Performance Real world tests of Samsung Wave 3 vs Galaxy S III
cpu speed
Wave 3 by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)The 1.4GHz CPU will deliver top-notch performance if the Galaxy S Plus is any indication.
Galaxy S III by The Verge (Jun, 2012)Despite the loss of two cores in the processor and the slight downward bump in performance, it remains a powerful phone that's more than capable of handling anything you throw at it.
talk time
510 min
700 min
Wave 3 by GSM Arena (Aug, 2011)The battery is rated at 8 and a half hours of talk time and 480 hours of standby.
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)The 3G talk time ended up the same as with the ICS-running Galaxy S III and is one of the best performers we have seen.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Galaxy S III Dual core - 16GB - North American Edition
| Lighter | 114 g | vs | 133 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 15% lighter | |||
Advantages compared to the Wave 3
| Store much more stuff | 64 GB | vs | 1.7 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 37.8x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Is 4G | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Supports the fastest, most reliable networks | |||
| Supports NFC | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Enables payment by phone and other wireless communications | |||
| Outputs video to TV | Micro USB with MHL | vs | None |
| About half of smartphones can output to TVs; the modern day slide projector, great for sharing your photos & videos | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 1280 x 720 | vs | 800 x 480 |
| Around 2.5x higher resolution screen | |||
| Significantly more battery capacity | 2,100 mA·h | vs | 1,500 mA·h |
| 40% more battery capacity | |||
| More cores | Dual core | vs | Single core |
| Twice as many cores; each additional core lets your phone do more without visible UI slowdowns and jerkiness | |||
| Much better theoretical download speed | 84 Mb/s (HSPA+) | vs | 7.2 Mb/s (HSDPA) |
| Around 11.8x better theoretical download speed; enjoy lightning fast downloads on modern networks | |||
| Sharper screen | 305 ppi | vs | 233 ppi |
| More than 30% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Bigger screen | 4.8" | vs | 4" |
| Around 20% bigger screen | |||
| Records higher def video | 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps | vs | 1280 x 720 @ 30 fps |
| 2.2x higher def video | |||
| Has a gyroscope | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation | |||
| Longer standby time | 47,400 min | vs | 28,800 min |
| Around 65% longer standby time | |||
| Higher resolution front camera | 8 MP | vs | 5 MP |
| 60% higher resolution front camera; Video chat with other people | |||
| Longer talk time | 700 min | vs | 510 min |
| More than 35% longer talk time; go days without charging | |||
| Marginally newer | Jun, 2012 | vs | Oct, 2011 |
| Release date 8 months later | |||
| Thinner | 9 mm | vs | 10 mm |
| Around 15% thinner | |||
| Faster processor | 1.5 GHz | vs | 1.4 GHz |
| More than 5% faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Samsung Wave 3 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
Competition What else you should consider
 | 2 | HTC One X 2-way tie: Most CPU cores |
 | 3 | Nokia Lumia 920 Sharpest screen |
 | 4 | Samsung Galaxy Note II Rated the best by consumers |
 | 6 | Sony Xperia T Really high resolution front camera |
 | 7 | Apple iPhone 4S Longest battery life during active use |
 | 8 | Alcatel OneTouch 997D Transmits music over FM radio |
