Note: Some feel that I need to put a disclaimer when sharing my thoughts and opinions, so here it is: these are my thoughts and opinions, you may feel differently.

Wow. Just wow. Those were the exact thoughts going through my head when I witnessed Samsung’s announcement of the Galaxy S III. Is that really it? Is that really the device that everyone has been hyping about all year? It’s just…a major letdown. Before we dive into this, I understand that yes, it may turn out to be the most powerful device on the market. Yes, I shouldn’t be let down. But truth be told, I am. And Samsung has seriously disappointed me.

First and foremost, whoever designed the handset should really take a peek at what they just created, and then look at a feature phone from a few years ago. The handset looks cheap, like something people bought before the modern age of smartphones. Have you seen the backplate? What happened to the whole ceramic theory? This back looks like it’ll snap after a single drop. And the cases Samsung is advertising? Looks like something I would give to my 2 year old cousin. There’s nothing I love more than a sexy phone, and the S III is far from that.

To some, looks aren’t everything, but the internals have equally let me down. Sure, the Exynos 4 Quad may turn out to be the fastest processor on the market, and that’s good for those looking forward to a speed demon phone. There’s one big issue though: Samsung has not stated whether or not the chip will support LTE. If the rumors are true, we could see the Snapdragon S4 in the US variants of the Galaxy S III. The S4 isn’t necessarily a bad chip, but Samsung’s previous Exynos in the Galaxy S II proved to be the best in its class.

The US is set to get the S III sometime this summer, and if it features a Snapdragon S4 processor, then what really differentiates it from something like the HTC One X or One S? Sure, there’s always preference, and the S III’s cameras has yet to prove itself, but the One series is undoubtably a more sexy line of phones. The S III just looks…gross.

A phone is nothing without a good screen, and Samsung is throwing a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD screen in the newest Galaxy S. You know what that means: PenTile. Some make the debate that PenTile doesn’t matter when a screen has a high DPI, but in my experience, it most definitely does. After using the Galaxy Nexus and its 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD screen for an extended period of time, the PenTile matrix definitely becomes noticeable. On top of that, the Nexus was released in November, and we’re seeing the same screen tech in Samsung’s newest flagship half a year later. By now, I would expect to see PenTile gone. It’s old, annoying, and can really degrade the experience on a phone.

I’m not saying the Galaxy S III is truly a bad phone, but I’m seriously disappointed in Samsung. The original Galaxy S was the most popular series of its time, featuring some cutting edge hardware and software. Last year, the Galaxy S II was released, yet again setting the bar for Android phones. Now we see the Galaxy S III, and it barely tops HTC’s recently released One X.

I’ve long taken preference to Samsung’s offerings over HTC’s, but I just don’t know at this point. After seeing both manufacturers flagships for the year, I can honestly say I don’t really want either of them.

Love the handset? Hate it? Tear it up in the comments!