How To: Liven Up Your Background with These Free 3D Parallax Wallpapers for Your Samsung Galaxy S3

The inclusion of the parallax effect caused a shitstorm amongst iPhone users when it was released in iOS 7, especially when it came to creating custom wallpapers. It was hard to control, and even disabling it didn't fully get rid of it, making it one of the most hated new features in Apple's latest mobile OS.

Well, where Apple failed, Android excels. By taking advantage of the gyroscope on your Samsung Galaxy S3, and some cool apps by designer Intcast, you can have some really wicked 3D-feeling wallpapers using the parallax effect and parallax scrolling.

Adding a Parallax Scrolling Wallpaper to Your GS3

Start out by installing Mountains Now, a free wallpaper based off the Google Now app. You can adjust the sensitivity of the parallax effect, change the speeds, and also change what displays on the screen, including the number of clouds.

With all of your settings adjusted, you can now enjoy the parallax effect on your home screen.

While your phone's stationary, it uses parallax scrolling to show the boat sailing in-between mountains, with the foreground moving faster than the boat, and even faster than the mountains in the background.

When you tilt your device, you'll see how the different layers react to your movement, giving you that 3D parallax view. To get a better feel for how this works, check out the video above to see it in action.

More Parallax Effect Wallpapers for Your GS3

Incast also has more wallpapers you can check out, ones that omit the parallax scrolling effect, for those of you who just want that 3D feel. You can see them all in their Google Play page.

And it doesn't stop with Intcast. There are tons of cool parallax wallpapers available in Google Play for your Samsung Galaxy S3 or other Android phone. A few of my favorites are Samsung's own Parallax Fall, which shows you a chill autumn day, and the Galaxy Parallax Live Wallpaper by Wasabi, which gives you a star-filled sky look. Just search the Google Play Store for "parallax" and you'll find many more options.

What's your favorite parallax wallpaper? Share!