Samsung i9000 Galaxy S review Hot

Can the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S be better than an iPhone?

Features and Performance

Featuring a very large AMOLED touch screen (480 x 800 pixels & 16M colours) and running Android 2.1 (Eclair) as standard (upgradable), it is similarly sized to Apple’s designs, at 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm, weighing in at 119g. Connectivity-wise, the Galaxy S features 3G, EDGE and GPRS network access as well as WiFi, Bluetooth micro USB and a 3.5 mm stereo jack socket.

Internal storage includes either 8 or 16 gigabytes of user memory, 512 megabytes of operating RAM and 2 gigabytes of space for the Android operating system. The design includes an FM radio receiver and is powered by an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor, which is one of the fastest currently available, something which shows when moving around menus or opening applications. Despite containing such a high-powered central processor, with its 1500 mAh removable battery, this phone will typically run comfortably for a full day of normal use (just so long as this doesn’t include leaving the built-in GPS switched on all the time!). On the subject of power, for this phone, Samsung has provided a miniaturised USB charger, which is only as big as it is because of the size of the standard UK 13A plug.

The phone is a pleasure to use. Starting with the basics, when it comes to making phone calls or sending texts, this phone is straightforward and easy to use. Contacts can be imported both from an existing SIM card and from one or more Gmail accounts. Any changes made to Gmail contacts on the phone are automatically synchronised with the relevant account - and vice-versa. Searching contacts is quick and easy, but not needed for regular contacts as these can be found even more quickly in a separate contacts history list. The standard Android SMS client works well, but not nearly as well as the free Handcent SMS client which can be added directly from the Android Marketplace.

In addition to Qwerty and T9 text entry methods the Galaxy S also includes ‘Swype’, a method of entering text by sliding a finger over the screen without breaking contact at any point. Like any new technique, this takes some learning, but after a while becomes very fast. The only real problem is a physical one. For those with smaller hands, holding the phone in one hand and trying to enter text risks the phone being dropped, mainly because of its sculpted and slightly slippery finish. The large touchscreen of the Galaxy S is light sensitive, and can be set to automatically change brightness as ambient light levels vary. The touch screen is responsive and easy to read. One difference between this design and most other Android 2.1 designs is the inclusion of Samsung’s TouchWiz 3.0 interface. This works perfectly well, but takes a bit of getting used to.

Conclusion

Essentially, this is a very good design and a worthy alternative to consider against the iPhone.