Samsung Galaxy S3 Price Drops

This year, many mobile phone users have finally begun to see Samsung Galaxy S3 price drops from various carriers, no doubt as a result of said carriers anticipating the arrival of their stocks of the S3's successor, the bigger, fancier, and more powerful Samsung Galaxy S4. This doesn't necessarily mean that the Galaxy S3 is outmoded or obsolete. The Galaxy S3 is hardly a slouch in the hardware department. In fact, it's still one of the most powerful Android phones out there in the market, and still carries really good brand equity among high end and midrange phones.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 Price and Its Specs

As implied above, the Galaxy started out with a RRP of around £200, which makes it more expensive than no-name Android-based offerings out there on the market, but still significantly cheaper than its closest competitor, the iPhone 4S and 5. Even the original price is more than justified by the S3's specs, which are decent enough to go toe to toe with the iPhones and the Xperias in the market right now.

For instance, it runs on Android 4 ICS, and is powered by a muscular 1.4 Ghz quad-core processor, which is not only enough to run all the latest apps in the market, it’s also way faster than the processors inside most Android tablets, which are mostly dual core ones (with el cheapo brands only containing single core processors).

The S3’s display is also impressive even by current generation standards, as its 4.8 inch super AMOLED screen supports 720p HD resolution. Its camera is also decent enough for non-photographers, with an 8 mega pixel auto focus camera at the back and a 1.9 megapixel front camera, which also supports HD recording at 30 frames per second, with the same zero shutter lag feature that the rear one supports.

Another nice feature of the S3 is its ample user memory, which comes in either 16 or 32 GB variants (with 64 GB ones planned), which can be expanded further through the Micro SD slot – a feature that Apple’s devices lack. The S3 also has a number of extra sensors that serve practical and entertainment-related purposes, such as the accelerometer, the RGB light sensor, the proximity sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, and a digital compass.

Another advantage that the S3 has over other Android devices is its close ties to Google, which ensures that the phone supports all of Google’s mobile services, including Google Search, Maps, Gmail, Latitude, and the Google Play Store (which is only supported on phones that Google approves, which is why there are a lot of Android tablets that rely on third party marketplaces like GetJar and Slideshare, instead of the Play Store.)

Is It Still Worth it To Buy the S3 When the S4 Drops?

The truth is that NOW is the perfect time to buy a Samsung Galaxy S3, even if the Galaxy S4 arrives on the market at a price that is only less than a hundred pounds more expensive, for a number of reasons:

Top of the Line Hardware for a Decent Price – many carriers have started dropping the prices on S3s, and while the S4 will be much better in terms of hardware and features, the S3 still has enough “oomph” to hang with the best Android devices out there. This means unless you want the best hardware that money can buy, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is actually the better purchase right now, as it gives you more bang for your buck.

The S3 Hardware is Tried and Tested Now, While We Have Yet to Test the S4 – the key thing about hardware revisions is that there are times when the newest iteration gets through the market even though there are flaws or glitches. They eventually get fixed once they are found, but hardware like mobile phones can’t always be fixed through software patches. If the S4 actually has a hardware flaw, early adopters will be hit hard. S3 users, on the other hand, don’t have anything to worry about as it is already market-tested and any problems with the hardware (if there are) were already found, addressed, and fixed.

Supplies Could Run Out – many carriers are already dropping the price so that they can get rid of old stock in preparation for the arrival of the S4. Mobile Phone sellers are also doing the same, as they fear that old stock that’s been left behind could go unsold if the S4 arrives and turns out to be extremely popular. So they drop prices, and they promote it more hoping that consumers will buy all their stock. And they will, too. So if you wait too long, you’ll have no choice but to go with the S4 as S3s will run out.

Ultimately, it Boils Down to Preference

At the end of the day, mobile phones still count as gadgets and the gadget market isn’t always hardwired to follow the basic tenets of cost effectiveness. There’s a lot of wiggle room left for people who base their purchase decisions on a wide range of factors, including gut feel.

Basically, if you’re a bargain hunter but don’t want to risk buying cheap knockoffs, you’ll want to hunt down a Samsung Galaxy S3, which should be selling right now at dropped-down prices. But if you want all the bells and whistles that money can buy – and you have the budget for it – wait a little bit for the Samsung Galaxy S4 to arrive. Or just go with your gut feel, and feel safe knowing that whichever one you buy, you won’t be regretting as both phones have specific pros and cons when it comes to price and features and either one of them will be money well-spent.

Sam Jones wanted the best Samsung Galaxy S3 price so he decided to check out the online discounts. uSwitch and other price comparison sites helped him get the best value for his money