Samsung Galaxy S III (16GB - pebble blue, Verizon Wireless)

Pros: + Beautiful screen
+ Gorilla Glass 2
+ Smooth running OS
+ Speedy, high quality camera
+ 4G
+ Robust customization options
+ Fast GPS lock (I didn't mention this in the review, but the GPS + Lock on this phone is incredibly fast)

Cons: - Locked Bootloader (Verizon only)
- No Google Wallet (such a horrible move on Verizon's part)
- Battery cover hard to remove (minor complaint but still worth noting especially if you ever need to change your battery)
- Speaker placement.

Summary: The Samsung Galaxy S3 is without a doubt the best phone for ME. Before you purchase this phone I urge you to really think about your needs, and stack them against this review. This review is based on an unrooted phone on Verizon Wireless. If you don't feel like reading all of the specifics, skip down to the end and just check out the pros and cons.

Feel/Design
The body of the Verizon Galaxy S3 is very smooth and fits well in your hand; it is a plastic build which allows the phone to remain light. I personally am terrified of dropping it due to the case. I purchased a silicone case just to keep the back scratch free and provide a little cushion in case dropped. The power button is located on the right side of the phone near the top, and a volume rocker is located on the left side near the top. There is a home button on the front of the screen near the bottom on the center. Very simple. One small complaint is the battery cover: you have to somewhat pry it off starting with a little slip on top center of the phone. Directly left of that is the headphone input. Another disappointment to me is the way the speaker is placed; it's on the rear of the phone and if you have the phone on a flat table, it muffles the sound from the speaker.

Screen
You're going to be working with a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD display. It's an amazing display. Much more bright than my wife's iPhone 4S. It seems to have a more crisp look. If you aren't used to a large screen, the S3 will take a little getting used to. Coming from an original Motorola Droid, I was a little offput by the large size of this phone. In the month that I've had it I've gotten so used to it that now when I pick up my iPod touch, my immediate reaction is, "why did they design this screen so small?" It is also worth noting that the screen is made from Gorilla Glass 2

Performance
1.5 GHz S4 processor and 2GB of RAM? Yes please. I have never had so much as a hiccup with this phone, despite running as many memory intensive programs and games as I can. The home screens run smoothly even using Go Launcher as a home replacement. I haven't found a thing that my S3 can't run flawlessly.

Connectivity (Signal Strength)
I'm currently in San Diego, CA. The only time I do not get 4G is when I'm on the island of Coronado, and even then it just cuts in and out. Everywhere else I have been in San Diego, I get exceptional service. Doing a speed test, I routinely get around 12 Mbps; that is as fast as my home internet connection.

Battery Life
2100 mAh battery. Doing a looped video test, I can squeeze about 9 hours 15 minutes out of my phone. The only time my battery life isn't wonderful is when the phone is maxed out searching for signal on Coronado. Moderate use: playing games, making calls, using Tapatalk, checking my Google+, Twitter, Flipboard, and reading other news articles, I can usually get a good 16 hours of battery life.

OS
I could write several pages just on how much better ICS is than any other Android build I've used, but I'm going to leave it to you to research this. The ability to customize my phone is invaluable to me, which is why I always choose Android over Apple.

Camera
8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9-megapixel front camera. One of the biggest reasons I wanted a phone upgrade was the camera. The Motorola Droid camera was so slow that it made capturing unique moments nearly impossible. The speed on the S3 camera is stellar. The dual-core cpu does a great job at giving great speed and performance with virtually no lag. The quality of the pictures is also fantastic. My S3 outperforms my wife's iPhone 4S in picture quality by far.

Gimmicks
S Voice - The microphone picks up too much ambient noise, especially when driving. When in quiet places, I generally have a pretty good success rate when using S Voice, but I'm really hoping when Jellybean gets pushed to the S3 that Google Now will really pick up the slack.
Pop Up Play - I've never used it, as I see no practical use in it.
Share Shot - would be a great feature if the only phone in the world was the S3

P.S., I suggest you have to check for best deal of the Samsung Galaxy S III (Verizon Wireless) at: 4gverizonandroidphones.blogspot.com/p/samsung-galaxy-s-iii.html

Conclusion: You would be a wise man indeed to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S3. The only reason to not buy an S3 is if you're an Apple Fanboy.