Samsung Game Hub, Video Hub hands-on (video)
Sad that Samsung's rumored S-Cloud didn't appear on the scene? Well the arrival of the company's new Video, Game and Music hubs might heal the wounds. Rather than a unified service, the Galaxy S III will have access to three separate stores that will offer an alternative to Google Play. We spent a few minutes having a play, and you can see what it's like after the break.
We got to spend some time with both the Game Hub and the Video Hub, and if you're a regular visitor to Google Play, you'll already be intimately acquainted with how this works. Inside the video hub are a number of titles available to rent for around £3 ($5) or buy in standard definition for £8 ($12) --- we couldn't see any HD titles on our brief peruse of the store.
The game store offers social gaming (like slice it) and premium titles (like Tetris), which you purchase and then access via a tray that runs along the bottom of the game hub, rather than as separate apps on the phone proper. Performance was smooth and the games resumed where you left off if you switched between titles but we're not sure what its USP is apart from not being a Google-branded store. Unless there's compelling discounts or a unique library of titles, we're not convinced of its utility -- not yet, at least.
Mat Smith contributed to this report.
