Over the last few months we’ve seen all manner of rumors and leaks pertaining to the Galaxy S III, Samsung’s next flagship phone that’s becoming infamous out of its sheer elusiveness. But the latest photo to claim legitimacy is the most promising that we’ve sen yet. The image below was spotted by a Reddit user, if it’s a fake, it’s a very impressive one. Two things jump out at us from what looks like a snapshot a of a presentation slide: one, this image isn’t obviously based on a previous Samsung PR shot. And two, it’s sporting the logo of Weber Shandwick, an American PR firm that represents Samsung’s mobile interests.
First, the good news. The mockup’s design and branding seems consistent with Samsung’s current trends, even if the black/grey ring around the front of the phone is a little surprising. The homescreen itself looks like an adapted version of the one found on the Galaxy Note, which is certainly possible if those 4.8-inch screen rumors are true. Take a look at the five shortcuts in the “dock” area – a feature found on both Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Note.
Some other features raise alarms. One, there appears to be a dedicated camera button on the right side (the profile image has the phone facing to the left). While we’d be thrilled to see a return to this features among mainstream phones, it seems unlikely. Two, the earpiece speaker appears to be on the bottom of the phone, below Samsung’s customary Home button. Barring some very strange ergonomics, this doesn’t seem altogether likely. There’s no mention of hardware specifications in the photo, but it certainly seems to indicate a big, high-res screen and a thickness somewhere in the 7mm range.
The dates on the slide indicate an announcement for May 22nd in London. We haven’t heard any news about such an event (and Samsung has made it clear that the Galaxy S III will get an event all to itself) but this far out that’s not a nail in the coffin for this rumor. For a phone with international aspirations, London would make sense. If the phone were announced in May that would give it a release sometime in June or July, and we’ve got no reason to doubt that.
This is a long way from any sort of confirmation, but it’s the best that we’ve seen thus far. What say you, readers?
Some other features raise alarms. One, there appears to be a dedicated camera button on the right side (the profile image has the phone facing to the left). While we’d be thrilled to see a return to this features among mainstream phones, it seems unlikely. Two, the earpiece speaker appears to be on the bottom of the phone, below Samsung’s customary Home button. Barring some very strange ergonomics, this doesn’t seem altogether likely. There’s no mention of hardware specifications in the photo, but it certainly seems to indicate a big, high-res screen and a thickness somewhere in the 7mm range.
The dates on the slide indicate an announcement for May 22nd in London. We haven’t heard any news about such an event (and Samsung has made it clear that the Galaxy S III will get an event all to itself) but this far out that’s not a nail in the coffin for this rumor. For a phone with international aspirations, London would make sense. If the phone were announced in May that would give it a release sometime in June or July, and we’ve got no reason to doubt that.
This is a long way from any sort of confirmation, but it’s the best that we’ve seen thus far. What say you, readers?
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