Samsung Galaxy S3 JellyBean 4.1.2 Smart Rotation

Smart rotation is a new feature added when my Samsung Galaxy S3 updated to JellyBean 4.1.2. This feature disables the screen auto rotation by using the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy S3 to determine your face’s orientation. This feature good say for example you are using your phone while lying in bed. When you tilt the screen, the phone will then use the phone’s front camera and see if your face is the same orientation as the phone. If your face and the phone are on the same orientation, the phone will disable the auto rotate feature and you can continue merrily with whatever it is you are doing.

This feature can be accessed by going to your phone Settings and scrolling down to Display. On actual usage, this feature indeed works. Personally, however, I have this feature turned off. Why? The moment you turn this feature on, you will immediately notice/feel a lag at times when you actually want to rotate your phone’s screen. This happens because your phone will still try to scan your face whenever the phone’s orientation is changed. Also, as with Smart stay, this feature has problems with poor-lit areas because the phone’s camera will not be able to properly read your face.

What do you guys think? Do you have this feature turned on?

JellyBean 4.1.2 Update For The Samsung Galaxy S3

At last! My Samsung Galaxy S3 is now updated to JellyBean 4.1.2 (DXELK1). I can’t really comment on it performance-wise as it may just be a placebo effect. However, there are a couple of changes that I noticed. The most noticeable of those changes is the addition of a tab that appears on the left side (can be transferred) of the screen that allows you to launch commonly used applications. Another new feature is the multi-window feature -- This feature is a port from the Note 2 and allows you to launch 2 applications at the same time.

Other features include page buddy, rotation, changes on the toggle buttons in the notification area, timeline and spiral view in the gallery application (also from the Note 2), the grid view of the gallery application has also been change to match that of the Note 2.

Also those changes are well and good. However, what I dislike about the new update is the removal of the Sync toggle button in the notification area. I’ve read that I should be able to change the toggle buttons with JellyBean 4.1.2 but that option does not seem to be available for the Samsung Galaxy S3.

How about you? What do you think of the new update?

Goodbye S2, Hello S3

I bought my Samsung Galaxy S2 November of 2011 after my Nokia N8 broke down. All that I can say about the upgrade was that it was well worth it. Not only does the Samsung Galaxy S2 have an all-around better/faster performance than the N8 but the Samsung Galaxy S2 also has a whole lot of other features that make the N8 bite the dust.

Last June 11, 2012 I upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S3. That marked the end of my time with the Samsung Galaxy S2. I can still remember it, the experience I had with the S2, and it was all good. It was also my first Android device and it was where I learned how to flash different ROMs; an addictive thing to do. But as they say, “All things have an end”.

Come, the Samsung Galaxy S3. The first time I turned on the S3’s screen all I can feel was amazement. I never thought there would be another device with a better screen than the S2. But, I was entirely wrong. Not only does the S3 have a better screen than my S2, its screen is also bigger. With the Gorilla Glass 2, the reflections you see on the S3’s screen are noticeably lesser that what I experienced on my S2. This means that reading a book or browsing the Internet on the S3 is easier on the eyes compared with the S2.

I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S3 for almost a month now and all I can say is that the experience is better than the S2. I’ll be writing more about my experience with the S3 as time comes. But, this is it for now.

Take a look at side-view pictures of both my S2 and my S3.