In less than two weeks Samsung Galaxy S3, the successor of Galaxy S2 will be unveiled in London on the Olympic ground. However, at the same time, at the May 3 event, tech enthusiasts who are eagerly awaiting the next gen phone, will also witness the launch of Samsung's latest service S-Cloud with the new device.
Previously, the Korean Giant was rumored to be working on a cloud-based service project to outdo its stiff rival Apple, which already has a successful iCloud service prevailing in the industry. But with the latest reports floating around the media by a Korean website Maeil Business, it has been confirmed that Samsung could launch S-Cloud, its answer to Apple's iCloud, on the same day that the S3 is announced.
For those who are not aware of the cloud-based service advantages, this component basically helps users to store data remotely (in a virtual cloud) and then the user can have access or sync in to the same data from various devices manufactured by the company supporting the feature.
The cloud-storage market is becoming viciously competitive. Apple and Samsung are going at it with original services. HTC's latest phones feature a whopping 25GB of cloud space through Dropbox. Nokia's Windows Phone models feature Microsoft Skydrive functionality. It will be interesting to see how Samsung S-Cloud compares to iCloud, Dropbox and Skydrive.
As of now, this bit of information includes that Samsung may have partnered with Microsoft to offer this cloud-based service and to ensure that the global launch goes well. The Korean report also mentioned that Samsung has not responded and has remained tightlipped as usual when asked to comment on the new rumors, however, these rumors have been prevailing since February and it was earlier reported that the S-Cloud would launch sometime around August.
Well, it can be assumed for now that Samsung will unveil its S-Cloud along with the sure shot hit Galaxy S3 smartphone. The big question now is how is the company planning to compete against the already successful iCloud service by Apple? Although, there are minimal details available around the net regarding this new cloud-based sevice, the latest Korean report has mentioned a few spectacular features of the S-cloud, which will definitely capture the attention of tech maniacs. Lets take a look.
Storage Space More Than 5GB
According to the Korean publication Maeil Business, S-Cloud will let users sync data between phones and store their files in the cloud. It is just like iCloud, but has no limits on what sort of content users can store in the cloud. S-Cloud storage space will be "more than 5GB," but it is not clear if users will have to pay for extended storage.
Full User Access to HD videos
S-Cloud is also said to give users access to TV shows, movies and music, with free and paid content for each. Presumably the content will work with the media hub apps Samsung puts on TouchWiz phones like the Galaxy S2.
Upload Files Directly
From the description, S-Cloud sounds like the type of service Google Drive could be, which is to say iCloud with more features. Apple's iCloud lacks the ability to upload files directly, it can only store files from apps that support it, and even then it is impossible to get to those files without using the app.
Dropbox-like Cloud Storage
S-Cloud can make that better by offering iCloud's data syncing along with a Dropbox-like cloud storage feature and offering a way for users to access the files at any time required.
S-Cloud May Have Support For Windows Phone
The Maeil Business report also noted that Samsung asked Microsoft, KT and Amazon to help build the infrastructure for S-Cloud in order to make the launch as smooth as possible. It seems strange that Microsoft would help Samsung with a product that it will use on Android, but maybe that means S-Cloud will also have support for Windows Phone.
Nevertheless, industry analysts are anticipating that S-Cloud will be made available in a wide assortment of TVs, laptops, smartphones and tablets from Samsung. More details about the service will be revealed later during the launch, while at the same time rumors are also rife that Samsung along with S3 and the cloud-based service is also planning to launch the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1).
According to the news report by CNET Asia, a source familiar with the matter informed them that Samsung will line up a new 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab at the same press event where it would launch its fabled handset. The 10.1-inch tablet will apparently run a dual-core processor and will not be the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, which was previously rumored to come with a quad-core upgrade.
Further, the latest rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S3 are floored in the media by the German arm of Amazon, by making the third generation galaxy phone available for pre-order ahead of the handset's official release date. The price of the phone, specified by Amazon in Germany was around $791 (599 Euros), but the shipping date for the phone was not listed.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Latest Specs
The recent rumors for Galaxy S3 specs have been splashed by the GSMArena latest report which has reportedly received information from the Vietnamese website Tinhte.vn about the handset. They have claimed to go hands-on with a prototype version of the upcoming Samsung flagship and shot a video to help readers understand what the device will feature.
According to them, the iPhone 5 rival will land with a 1.5GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos processor, 1GB RAM, a Mali-400MP GPU and Google's latest mobile operating system, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Further marking the Samsung Galaxy S3 out as the leader of the smartphone market, the latest reports have suggested the handset will boast a 4.8-inch display with a stunning Super AMOLED HD 1080p resolution and a film friendly 16:9 aspect ratio.
Elsewhere, an unnamed Korean source has suggested the handset will boast a wireless conductive charging option. Although the reports have failed to indicate whether or not the required, and potentially costly, charging base station would come packaged with the handset, it is claimed the upcoming flagship Android handset will be able to restore its power reserves at a distance of 1-2 meters from the charging base.
Further reports suggest that the S3 will have a microSD card slot to expand the 16GB of built-in memory. Meanwhile, the super camera is expected to be only 8 megapixel, contrary to the popular belief of 12 megapixel, and the phone will have 2250mAh battery and Near Field Communication technology.
