Samsung Galaxy S3 Sports 2GB RAM On NTT Docomo In Japan: Can We Expect The Same For The US Variant?

Before the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3, expectations of the awaiting consumers revolved mainly around 2GB of RAM, a 12 megapixel camera and the ceramic case. But all these features didn't find a place in the flagship smartphone that was officially unveiled by Samsung earlier this month in London.

As announced by the South Korean tech giant, the international model of the Galaxy S3 comes with 1GB of RAM and the Exynos 4212 Quad chipset with Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU. However, there's apparently a slight tweak when it comes to the Japanese variant of the device.

Both Samsung Japan and NTT Docomo have confirmed that the Galaxy S3's Japanese variant, named the SC-06D, will be packing 2GB of RAM, instead of 1GB. The device will also swap the quad-core Exynos for a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. The reason for this significant modification is to make the Galaxy S3 compatible with Docomo's Xi LTE network, The Verge reported.

Considering the changes with regard to the Japanese Galaxy S3, many people tend to believe that the US variant of the smartphone will also follow the same path and get that extra gig. The idea is based on some earlier reports saying that the LTE variants of the Galaxy S3 in the US will feature a dual-core processor as the Samsung Exynos 4412 lacks an integrated LTE radio, something that has become a fact with the Japanese model.

According to media reports, the extra gig of RAM will be exclusive to Japan. The Verge noted that NTT Docomo's model is a separate version with other features specific to the local market such as a 1seg TV tuner, so the expanded RAM may well remain exclusive to Japan.

The report, however, mentioned that with LG's Optimus LTE 2 featuring the same amount of memory, 2GB of RAM is very likely to become the standard for high-end Android smartphones sooner than later.

Running on Android 4.0, LG Optimus LTE 2 smartphone boasts 2GB of RAM. LG said that the extra memory should ensure high stability even with multiple applications running at the same time. Apart from that, the device also claimed 40 percent longer battery life than the original Optimus LTE.

A report in Motoringcrunch, on the other hand, tends to bet on the US Samsung Galaxy S3 also getting 2GB of RAM. Given that there are expected to be 4 different US Samsung Galaxy S3 variants, there is a high likelihood that some (if not all) the US models get 2GB RAM as well, said the report.

Whether the US variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with 2GB of RAM or not, it would basically be the same phone as far as other specifications are concerned.

Let's take a look at the features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S3 (both the Japan and International variant):

Size/Weight: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.99 mm and 138.5 grams.

OS Support: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Display: Super AMOLED Pentile capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (306 ppi pixel density), multitouch, Corning Gorilla Glass 2, TouchWiz UI v4.0.

Processor: Exynos 4212 Quad chipset, Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU (International model).

1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor (Japanese model).

Internal Memory: 2GB RAM, 32GB ROM (Japanese model); 1GB RAM, 32GB ROM (International model).

Maximum Memory/External: Up to 64GB

Camera: 8-megapixel with 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection and image stabilization.

In addition, there's also a 1.9-megapixel secondary camera, 720p@30fps.

Battery: 2100mAh

Network: 2G Network (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), 3G Network (HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100), 4G Network LTE (regional).

Data Speed: HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, EDR.