The Galaxy S III "Real-user" Review: Part 2 - Entertainment and media - Music and video playback, gaming, browser

The combination to make you wax lyrical about sound?

Today we’re going to bite off a fairly sizeable chunk of the review, covering a lot of the entertainment aspects of the device – music, video, gaming and the browser. If you haven't read part 1 of the review which covered initial impressions, design/build quality, screen and benchmarks then check it out here.

OK, so to start things off, here is my “I’m no audiophile” disclaimer (italicized since AndroidNZ readers will have seen it before):

Like I seem to do quite often, I have to start here with a disclaimer of sorts - this time in terms of my own listening prowess. You see, in terms of evaluating the audio quality of the phone I have to set the appropriate context - that context being my own limitations as a listener. I think my ear is above average, nearly twenty years of playing guitar certainly helps there, but I am definitely no audiophile. While I’m in complete disclosure mode: I have some high frequency hearing loss from guitar and concert attendances over the years, and I don’t own a set of audiophile headphones. What does all that mean? Well, basically, audiophiles should move right along, my ear isn’t up to advising you about whether you’ll be happy with this phone. Most everyone who isn’t an audiophile will be happy enough with the Note's audio quality, and those same readers will likely find my take on the sound quality is pitched at the right level.

I purchased a few things audio-related since the Note review.

Having said of all that I must say that it’s no longer ringing entirely true. While I still wouldn’t label myself an audiophile, I have been on rather an audio voyage of discovery since I wrote that disclaimer and should probably adjust it accordingly.

You see, since the Note review I’ve purchased the ASUS Xonar Essence One USB DAC for my desktop, an E17 USB DAC for portable use, and several sets of headphones (the Grado GS1000i, Audeze LCD-2, Sennheiser HD-251 II, and ACS-T15, for those who like to know that sort of thing). That’s a reasonably serious outlay on audio equipment, so it’s a little disingenuous to completely downplay my ability to adjudicate sound quality. Readers should realize though that I’m still in my audio lovers infancy. I might be able to discern more than some people, simply on account of having better listening equipment, but I’m hardly a paragon of audio quality assessment and astute listeners will still need to seek their own S III audition from which to form their own opinion.

So, preamble over, what is my assessment of the S III’s audio playback chops?

Apple succeeds in getting Google Nexus banned [u]

Following a Friday hearing before Judge Lucy Koh at the Californial District Court in San Jose, Samsung’s Google Nexus smartphone has been temporarily banned in the US. Apple was successful in convincing the Judge that its claims of patent infringement were likely to succeed based primarily on the validity of the so-called “Siri” patent. Although there are four patents at issue, the Judge has issued the temporary injunction based on the one she believes may be costing Apple sales of its flagship iPhone 4S.

While the Galaxy nexus is not Samsung’s biggest seller, the fact that it’s the latest “vanilla” development device, designed and built with input from Google, gives it an importance that exceeds its mere sales numbers. Judge Koh, in her ruling on the injunction, stated… "Apple has clearly shown that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary injunctive relief”.

However, she also acknowledged that Samsung was definitely going to suffer irreparable harm as a result of her agreeing to the injunction, and ordered Apple to post bond to the tune of US$96 million as compensation for lost sales should the forthcoming patent trial find Samsung was not infringing Apple’s patents.

New instalment of the HTC One X "real-user" review up, 4-way camera shootout ensues!

Hi all, quick note to let you all know that the next instalment for my One X review has gone up at the Telecom Tech Blog. Catch the camera review here, and don't forget to cast your votes on the camera shootout at the bottom of the page - HTS One X Vs Samsung Galaxy Note Vs iPhone 4S Vs a standalone digital camera!