Since the Samsung Galaxy S3 release there has been a flurry of quality and performance issues darkening user experience. Some have been dealt with already, but some Samsung Galaxy S3 users are having trouble getting their dodgy phones replaced.
Samsung Galaxy S3 issues reported so far
The Samsung Galaxy S3 seems to have a set of critical problems ranging from cheap build quality and irritating performance glitches despite being heralded as the best smartphone money can buy at the moment. Here’s a rundown:
Cheap Build Quality
The Samsung Galaxy S3 back cover has a tolerance problem, thanks to cheap plastic. There are reports of small cracks on the back cover, and despite hopes that the Samsung Galaxy S3 might have a more high-end cover than the S2, it actually seems poorer.
PhoneArena has pics of hairline cracks on the battery cover of white Samsung Galaxy S3 units. These phones were straight out of the box, which suggests a manufacturing defect rather than accidental damage.
There has been several reports of case damage with the Samsung Galaxy S3, though, but no numbers as yet. According to techblog Tweakers, Samsung is – ahem – on the case (sorry).
Samsung has offered replacements for cracked handsets, and users have reported that cracks on the bottom and sides of the handset have appeared after normal use. Similar problems dogged the HTC One S on launch, when the aluminium shell started flaking. HTC jumped on the issue and replaced the phones.
Manufacturing problems with the pebble blue model have led to Samsung destroying more than 600,000 blue battery covers because of defects. This problem was the reason for the delay of the blue Samsung Galaxy S3.
Compared to superior materials in the iPhone 4S, the Sony Xperia S, the Nokia Lumia 800 and the HTC One X and One S, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has a lot of catching up to do.
Camera Bug
The poor Samsung Galaxy S3 is also apparently beset with software problems leading to the rear camera not working. One YouTube poster put a video online showing a workaround in which the user switched from front to rear camera and back again, which sorted it out. Replacement phones don’t seem to have this problem.
Glitch with Flash Video Playback
Another helpful YouTube user has a video showing a software problem while playing flash videos. The Samsung Galaxy S3 may well have decoder problems, with the film freezing after a while, but the audio carries on apace.
Problem with Writing Messages in Word
Problems with writing messages in Word have been posted on YouTube by scroubious. Word seems to be non-responsive and bug-ridden at times, and this ends up with the user having to try several times to move the cursor or insert text.
It’s not sure yet if any of these bugs are isolated or if they’re known problems. Samsung is however, likely to fix them with the firmware updates it has planned for the Samsung Galaxy S3. Some users say that either an update or a replacement have resolved the problems.
Memory Bug Problem
Another YouTube user says there’s a bug with memory discrepancy on the Samsung Galaxy S3.
“After a few days of exchanging emails with Samsung MEA, where they could not understand the problem, they have advised me to do a factory reset….the notification is now gone !” says the user. He adds, “As for the 16GB, my old S1 came with 16GB and had 13GB available! My iPad is 16gb and comes with 13GB too! Why would Samsung GS3 be the exception???? ICS is too big!”
