Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy S III

Photo courtesy Verizon

Now more than ever we are bombarded by the selection of smartphones. So many choices; what to buy?!

To add to the mix — and possibly to your further confusion — the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III from Verizon Wireless was recently released. Since last year this was considered one of the most anticipated Android smartphones to enter the market, as it is able to take advantage of Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

The first thing I noticed immediately was how thin and lightweight it is. Its eye-catching 4.8-inch HD display makes it perfect to watch videos and easy to view your email. It runs on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and sports a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor with 2GB RAM. Unlike the iPhone, the S III has a microSD card slot to give you options for additional storage. The camera has a quick response so you can shoot multiple pictures relatively fast (for a phone). On top of that, the photos look nice and crisp (8 megapixel rear camera, 1.9 megapixel front camera). Those photos (along with documents) then can be shared wirelessly with other Galaxy S III phones with S Beam by touching the devices’ backs together.

Other notable features include S Voice and the Mobile Hotspot capability. S Voice is similar to the iPhone’s Siri, but I was never able to make it work for me. It’s definitely not as intuitive as Siri. But the Mobile Hotspot feature is included with your Verizon data plan without having to spend extra money (as long as you stay within your data limit).

Overall, I’ve always been an Apple (iPhone) person, but if I were forced to switch to an Android phone, the Galaxy S III would be the one I’d pick.

The Galaxy S III is available in white or blue and 16GB ($199.99) or 32GB ($249.99) with a two-year contract. Plans range from $60 (2GB) to $100 (10GB) per month. Visit your nearest Verizon Wireless store or verizonwireless.com.

Click Chick Mobile App of the Week: Party Wave

The local-grown Party Wave app was created by Mistwalker’s Hironobu Sakaguchi, who is most famous for creating the popular Final Fantasy series with Square Enix. Inspired by Sakaguchi’s passion for the ocean and surfing, the objective of this arcade-style game is to keep as many surfers afloat as possible while guiding them to catch waves and avoid obstacles. You touch the surfers to make them turn and jump so they won’t wipe out.

The game is split into two sections. Before you even reach the waves, you’ll need to steer your surfers to the starting point, which includes a maze through coral or sharks on each level. Once you reach the point where a wave breaks, you transition into the surfing. The swipes of your fingers control the surfers as you keep them afloat, send them flying in the air (bonus points for aeronautical acrobatics) or avoid the obstructions in the water. If any of your surfers come into contact with the creatures (jellyfish, turtles, dolphins, etc.), you will loose them. Each of these animals has an individual movement style to contend with. Download this from the iTunes App Store for $1.99.

Surf’s up!