Will the Samsung Galaxy S 3's specs -- allegedly a lighter and thinner design with a gigantic 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD screen, a quad-core processor, and Ice Cream Sandwich plus custom software and technology built-in -- exceed the high expectations for the third generation Galaxy S smartphone?

Perhaps borrowing a page from Apple Inc.'s handbook, Samsung Galaxy S 3 has generated extraordinary attention and excitement for its Galaxy S 3 after it declined to (i) preview the smartphone at MWC 2012 and (ii) leak or release the Galaxy S 3 specs and other information prior to launch.

Samsung Electronics has already sent invites for the unveiling of the third-generation Galaxy S on May 3 in London, the site of the summer Olympics. The invitation for the "Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012" event was designed with big drops of blue and white paint alongside its mysterious tagline. The invitation to "come and meet the next Galaxy" confirms a May release date for the Galaxy S 3.

Samsung did previously issue a statement saying that its upcoming smartphones won't feature 3D technology. Other than that, Samsung has opted to keep other Galaxy 3 specs under wraps until after the May 3 unveiling.

Tech Sourcepoints out that Samsung Denmark has posted a teaser on its official we sites that provides a Plus ("+") at the beginning of the announcement. The Web site asks, "Does this mean that Samsung is releasing the Galaxy S2 plus?" As a corollary, would the Galaxy S 2+ name mean that the Korean electronics is releasing a new smartphone that just has minor upgrades over -- and not radically different from -- its predecessor?

Is Samsung doing an Apple, which released an iPhone 4S instead of the mythical iPhone 5 last year? Apple in October unveiled a marginally improved iPhone 4S, instead of the mythical and radically different iPhone 5. While it does have an improved camera, software and processor and a revolutionary virtual assistant named Siri, it retained the 3.5-inch screen, copied the design of the iPhone 4, and didn't have 4G LTE support.

A teaser where Samsung insults Apple fanboys by comparing them to sheep and a tweet about "The Next Galaxy" suggest that Samsung believes that the Galaxy S 3 would be leaps and bounds better than the highly praised Galaxy S 2 or the iPhone 4S or the mythical iPhone 5.

In the teaser video, images of outer space flash and there's a text that says "[t]ruly smart technology becomes a natural part of your life. Where a galaxy fits perfectly into your hand. Your view of the world grows even wider. As you gain the power to explore it freely and swiftly. With technology that fits in this easily, you can now stand out from ... everyone else." The "everyone else" flashes with a flock of sheep appearing on the background.

On Monday, Samsung posted a cryptic tweet 'Destination: tgeltaayehxnx.' Galaxy S 3 enthusiasts quickly deciphered the anagram which revealed the words: "TheNextGalaxy."

The anagram is also being used at http://www.tgeltaayehxnx.com/, which provides a countdown to the May 3 7 pm Samsung Mobile at Unpacked event in the UK where "the dawn of the next GALAXY will soon be revealed before the world".

Here are the LIKELY -- but UNCONFIRMED -- specs of the Galaxy S 3:

* Design: Slimmer and bigger than 4.3-inch Galaxy S2.

* Measurement: 131 mm height x 64 mm width x 8 mm depth. As the Galaxy S II is already thin at 8.5 mm, a 8 mm thin Galaxy S 3 would make the device among the thinnest in the market place.

* Weight: Around 125 grams.

* Display: 720p or 1080P resolution display with 16:9 aspect ratio.

* Screen: 4.7 or 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD screen.

* Processor: 1.5 or 1.8 GHz quad-core Exynos CPU.

* Memory 1 or 2 GB RAM.

* Camera: 12MP rear camera.

* Platform: 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system plus

upgraded TouchWiz software

* 3D Support: None

* Connectivity: 4G LTE network support, optional Near Field Communication (NFC), microUSB version 3.0, assisted GPS with GLONASS, Bluetooth version 4.0, Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct plus hotspot functionality and dedicated microHDMI port.

We'll find out the complete specs of the Galaxy S3 when the device is finally unveiled May 3.

Do the rumored specs entice you to switch to a Galaxy S 3?