In case you’ve not noticed, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has just been announced, and we’re a bit excited about it. The phone’s a beast, with a quad-core processor and 4.8-inch HD Super-AMOLED display. It’s got a raft of Samsung-only features that make it stand out, but only one has really made me actually guffaw with amazement. Pop-up Play. Here’s why it’s a game changer…

A while back I wrote a piece suggesting that we’re not yet ready for quad-core phones, because the infrastructure’s not here to support it. In my head, a quad-core phone is a laptop waiting to happen, but – I reasoned – until I can wander into Starbucks, dock my phone and start using it as a PC, that much power would be wasted.

I think I’m wrong. Among the many cool features nestling beneath the surface of the pebble-like Galaxy S3 is a very special one by the name of Pop-up Play. And it’s a complete game-changer in the field of multi-tasking.

Must read:

- Samsung Galaxy S3 official! 

If you’re watching a video on the Galaxy S3 – and believe me, you’ll want to on that display – but feel the need to surf the web or check what else that bloke’s been in by way of iMBD, Samsung’s fixed it so that you don’t have to stop watching.

Press the Pop-up Play button in the bottom corner of the playback menu and you’ll see the video shrink down to a thumbnail size on the homescreen. From here, you can navigate around and launch any app you like, and the video will still merrily play away. It’s amazing.

You can move the little screen around the display until it’s not obtrusive to what you’re doing, too. This means you could be watching a video while checking Facebook on your phone. That’s multi-tasking to PC-level degree, and it’s something I’ve never seen before on a phone.

I’ve no idea what that kind of multi-tasking will do to your battery, but the fact remains: this couldn’t be done with a dual-core processor. This is all-out, balls to the wall mobile power the likes of which has never been stuffed into such a small device before.

Long story short: I was wrong. We are ready for quad-core. Or at least, I definitely am now. Bring it on, Samsung.

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  • Stephen Winchester

    I’m maybe missing something but the pop up play is nothing new.  Try the app Stick It

  • Anonymous

    Existing android phones can do pop up video play, pop up web browser, pop up calculator using apps like stickit, aircalc and overskreen. You dont need a quadcore for that. It works fine on my samsung galaxy note when all three apps are ‘popping’ and you can use the rest of the phone too.

  • Anonymous

    Existing android phones can do pop up video play, pop up web browser, pop up calculator using apps like stickit, aircalc and overskreen. You dont need a quadcore for that. It works fine on my samsung galaxy note when all three apps are ‘popping’ and you can use the rest of the phone too.

  • sert00

    what stupid thread.not needed quad-core for apps like this.i use that on transformer, ( tegra2 dual-core at 1.0 ghz)galaxy nexus(omap 4460 dual-core 1.2 ghz,)and old hummingbird (nexus s cpu,single core at 1 ghz).
    this is the prove that a quad-core is not needed.i think that as of now,nothin’ requires a quad-core in snmartphone’s world.also the games plays well with a mediumgood dual-core cpu,like a snapdragon’s krait s4 or others older chipsets,like omap or exynos of q2 2011 (like s2 or note)

  • http://twitter.com/backwardsaint Mikael Vidar Simon

    It’s being ported to international galaxy notes in the 4.0.4 update. Can’t wait

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