Samsung Galaxy S3 Accessories Roundup: Official Kit

The Samsung Galaxy S3 (aka S III) release date edges closer and soon eager fans will be able to get their hands on one of the most sought after smartphones.

Now that the device is finally within reach, it's time to think about the accessories that will make the Samsung Galaxy S3 even more useful.

Manufacturer Samsung has created a number of official accessories to complement the smartphone and they include extras to boost the music playback and the sharing capabilities on the S3.

Most of the accessories are available on the same release date as the Galaxy S3: 29 May, 2012.

Only the wireless charging accessory lags very far behind the European launch date and has been delayed until September.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: AllShare Cast Dongle

Samsung has added a superb screen to the Galaxy S3 and the 4.8in Super AMOLED display offers excellent HD playback with a resolution of 720 x 1,280 and a 306ppi pixel density.

Sometimes you are going to want to pump your movies and pictures out to a bigger screen though, and the AllShare Cast Dongle is here to help you do that.

It offers Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity and support for 1080p output and the results we saw at the launch of the S3 handset were impressive.

Even live playback from the eight-megapixel camera on the back of the Samsung Galaxy S3 was good.

The AllShare Cast Dongle costs £79.99 including VAT.

Samsung S3 accessories roundup: S Pebble music player

Samsung described the S Pebble as the "perfect music companion". If you are looking for a tiny MP3 player that attaches directly to your S3 smartphone to share tunes, then it is.

The clip-on player measures 32mm x 43mm x 13mm and holds 4GB of songs, which Samsung claims is around 17 hours of music.

As well as MP3 files it can play music in the Windows Media, Ogg and FLAC files formats ,which will please audiophiles.

Naturally, the S Pebble comes in pebble blue and marble white to match the colours of the Samsung Galaxy S3 handset. Price is still to be determined.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: Flip Cover

The Samsung Galaxy S3 measures 136 x 70mm x 8.6mm, which is a lot wider and taller than its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S2.

It also weighs 133g thanks to the extra glass needed for that impressive screen, which is 17g heavier than the Galaxy S2.

We are not sure you would want to add a case to that to make it bigger, especially as the S3 has been finished with a hyperglaze process that should make it tough enough that all you need to add is a screen protector and you are good to go.

However, at least Samsung is offering a range of cover options at launch: the Flip Cover; Protective Cover; and Slim Cover.

The Flip Cover costs £29.99 at launch, with other pricing still to be confirmed.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: Wireless Charging Stand

The most useful accessory for the Samsung Galaxy S3 is also the one we won't be seeing until September.

Pop the S3 into the stand and it sits there looking at you like the world's tiniest computer monitor.

Open it up and the compartment offers wireless charging, with no annoying wires to worry about.

Reports suggest that a special backplate must be added to the Galaxy S3 handset to use this function and we will know more as we approach the launch date for this product. No price yet, either.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: C Pen

The official phone of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has a stylus that's a cross between a javelin and a shot putt to help you write on that 4.8in screen.

This rather large looking capacitive stylus is essentially a bigger version of the S Pen that comes with the Samsung Galaxy Note.

It has a 3mm rubberised tip and an aluminium body and costs £19.99.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: Docks

As with the cases for the Galaxy S3, Samsung offers three flavours of dock. Perhaps when the designers took their inspiration from nature - as Samsung repeatedly claimed during the launch of the S3 - they were thinking about three bears in particular.

A Premium Audio Dock will handle your music needs if you decide to use the S3 like an iPhone and make it your main music player.

A Desktop Dock will be smaller than the music dock but will still pump out your tunes and charge the device.

Meanwhile, if Samsung was shipping the Universal Vehicle Dock in a tin it would do exactly what was written on the side of that - which is be universal and fit in any vehicle and dock your phone so you can see it and interact with it.

The official Universal Vehicle Dock costs £29.98, with prices of the other docks still to be confirmed.

Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories roundup: HDMI adapter

The Samsung Galaxy S3 does not come with a microHDMI connection, unlike some smartphones these days.

How do you get your content onto the big screen if you don't happen to be using the AllShare Cast Dongle mentioned above?

Samsung has created an HDMI adapter specific to the Galaxy S3 that turns the handset's microUSB connection into a HDMI connector.

The device costs £24.98 and will be available at launch.

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