Dropped my S1 about 5 times down concrete stairs bouncing off walls not to mention all the cobblestone and asphalt it has had to deal with. Sure the rim has some minor dents and scratches, the plastic isn't as shiny as it used to be and the screen has a few microscopic scratches (from some nasty type of fine construction sand not any metal objects). Tried banging the screen on an oak table corner a few times when drunk (to show off) and on one occasion dulled a less solid table corner with the same party trick.
I won't try any of that with the S3 but will find out for sure what will it take to break the S1 (aside dropping it to an urinal which fried the usb data, made the microphone act a bit funny at times and rendered the GPS aerial quite useless on a city street).
Would love to see a bit more scientific drop test video of the S3 than the one everyone's referring to. Just to feel safe (or not).