Photo courtesy of SamsungOfficial Image of the Samsung Galaxy S3
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is set to feature prominently at this year's Olympic Games, as the smartphone will be used by sponsored athletes to make payments using the new payWave NFC-powered application.
VISA and Samsung confirmed the news earlier Wednesday. The Korean electronics giant will be distributing a special limited edition of the Galaxy S3 to the athletes who will be able to wave their phones and purchase items at thousands of locations across London such as taxis, retail stores, and the Olympic park itself.
The PayWave app lets users make purchases by holding the phone near an enabled terminal that reads it and deducts the money from the owners account. There are 140,000 of these terminals across the U.K.
While using the app, a passcode is required for purchases above 20 pound sterling ($30 approx).
Samsung finally unveiled the long awaited Galaxy S3 smartphone at the company's "Mobile Unpacked" event that took place in London, England last week.
The company confirmed the device will begin rolling out at the end of this month in Europe.
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It also confirmed the specifications for the device in a press release.
"This sleek and innovative smartphone has the enhanced intelligence to make everyday life easier," wrote Samsung. "With Samsung GALAXY S III, you can view the content like never before on the device's 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display."
The display can also enhance to a 16:9 ratio allowing users to have wider viewing angles while watching video on the smartphone.
"An 8MP camera and a 1.9MP front camera offer users a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly," added the company. "Samsung GALAXY S III is powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, with greatly enhanced usability and practicality to make life easier."
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