Related stories Samsung Galaxy S III: Hands-on Samsung unveils Galaxy S III phone with quad-core, …

Smartphone shipments are expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 24.9 percent over the next five years, according to research firm Ovum. With that kind of growth, the firm expects total smartphone shipments to hit 1.7 billion units by 2017, easily outpacing the 488 million devices that hit store shelves in 2011. And as more devices ship …

Samsung says its newest smartphone, the Galaxy S III, has the brains to discern the sound of your specific voice and face from others. Equipped with what the company calls Natural Interaction technology, the handset has a Smart Stay function that uses its front-facing camera to figure out if you’re looking directly at it. In theory, the device will know …