The first time I saw news articles about this phone it piqued my interest. I use my phone all the time, not often to browse the internet or facebook or anything like that - I play games, listen to music and use the kindle app on my android phone a lot!! So when I saw that a phone was coming out that looked to be on a par if not better than an iphone and with the now familiar android operating system to boot I wanted it then and there.

My previous phone was a little Sony Ericcson x10 mini pro with a pop out keyboard and when I first got my hands on the Galaxy S3 I must admit I was surprised by the size of the thing and genuinely thought this thing is too big for me - thankfully I was very wrong and the phone with its slim shape fits comfortably in my jacket and jeans pockets with no problem at all and as it is so thin it doesn't stick out so the danger of battering it off something in my travels is thankfully miniscule...

To the phone itself - not only does it look amazing it's genuinely a very impressive piece of technology. The screen is very large, literally the entire size of the phone and as someone not too used to touch screen I was a bit wary, within 5 minutes of using the phone though those fears where quashed as the touch screen works seamlessly with none of the "multi touch" issues I've had in the past with other touch screen phones and my large fingers. Also with the screen being so large the on screen keyboard is generous without taking over the entire display when typing text messages or browsing the internet. The screen rotation works well in this aspect as well - tilt the phone on its side and you can easily use both thumbs to type out the largest of text messages in seconds or if you more techno savvy you can use the phone's clever voice interface to tell it to send someone a message...

Speed wise this phone is a marvel - the manufacturer rates the processor at 1.4ghz and if like me your thinking "what does that mean then" I'll tell you it means the phone does what you want it to lightning fast, no standing pressing buttons whilst the phone has a conniption fit trying to catch up with you touching the screen repeatedly the screen, it's smooth and fast and a dream whether you're in a hurry to send a text, make a call or find a note to yourself you saved on the phone.

The real draw of this phone for me though is the Galaxy S3's ability to replace multiple devices. As I mentioned before I used the kindle application (free from Google market place on android) a lot on my previous phone and with the Galaxy's huge screen and crystal clear display any thoughts I had of buying a kindle are gone as with this in your pocket you really don't need one at all - why carry the extra item or spend the extra money?

Next is the gaming capabilities of the Galaxy S3, I must admit I was sceptical at first after watching you tube videos etc of games being played on this model before I bought the phone (it really looked too good to be true!) and I was prepared to be a bit disappointed but I really wasn't. There are lots of games available on Google play (the new Android Marketplace) and they don't disappoint. From the classic and highly addictive Angry Birds (free unlike on iphone!) to the cult Grand Theft Auto 3 (the full version from the PC, Xbox and Playstation 2) the games are stunningly smooth graphically and the control interfaces are surprisingly good. There are even some good first person shooting games in the shape of Brothers in Arms 2, Battlefield 2 Bad Company and some original titles such as Dead Trigger and Shadowgun with a lot more on the way as well as games for every taste. Add to that the variety of game consoles and handheld console emulators available to buy and the wide variety of ROMs (games you download and save to your phone's SD card) to be found online means you can turn your phone into a Gamboy advance an Super Nintendo or Sega Mega drive and play all the classic games from your youth on the go!

And lastly in terms of media entertainment you have the excellent built in music player and the frankly superb video player that comes pre-installed. With these you've no need to ever entertain the thought of getting an ipod. The phone's own video player has multi - format capability so it can play back many of your favourite film formats (such as .avi or mp4), all in stunning definition and rich sound with the supplied headset.

Storage wise the phone (I got the 16gb model) has lots of space to download apps and save music files, photos and the odd movie or five; as well as the ability to add an external micro SD card up to 64gb in capacity. I purchased a 32gb card to move my music collection onto and the phone is able to recognise the card easily and access music seamlessly, there's no problems waiting in files to load etc.
The phone has an excellent wireless modem on board and downloads files faster than my old slow laptop and offers very fast connection when browsing the web.

There's also the small issue of the 8mp camera and HD video camera built into the phone too, which gives excellent photo quality with lots of setting on the camera such as burst shots and auto focus to allow you to take good quality pictures.

Battery life I've found to actually be very good. The Galaxy S3 has it's own built in power saving mode which limits processor speed and reduces brightness when you're out and about as well as there being many applications (the majority of them free) you can download from Google Play which help minimise the phone's power usage when idle. I'm averaging about 30 hours out of a single charge at the minute with the kindle app in use for many hours a day and a goodly amount of gaming and music thrown in too boot. Essentially if you set the phone to power saving when in your pocket I've found it only dropped 3 per cent charge during my 8 hour work day with only the occasional sneaky text send when the boss isn't watching. Playing Grand Theft Auto 3 for just over 4 hours on the first night I downloaded the game accounted for 60 per cent of the battery and watching a 2 hour movie accounted for less that 50 per cent of the battery - all in all much better than I expected. Although as mentioned by another reviewer it is slow to charge...

Drawbacks wise, there are a few but none unique to this phone. Being a touch screen it can get very dirty (but it's easily cleaned) and with a screen so large your best to get a case/screen protector asap but any savvy shopper can get those very cheap these days. Being so thin, without a case you will feel you might drop the phone very easily so I would advise anyone getting this phone to get a case for it too. Other than that there are no other drawbacks I've seen so far.

To summarise if you want to have a kindle, an ipod, a mobile phone and a portable gaming device to cover all eventualities whether you're commuting, in the house, on your lunch hour or on the train on your way to see friends or family then don't bother - get a Galaxy s3.