By Well that didn’t take long at all, now did it? Samsung and T-Mobile may have had plans to announce this device later this month – with a launch headed our way in the latter portion of July – but the internet had better plans (as they often do): Cellphone Signal’s gotten the first official-looking shots of the Samsung Vibrant.
Much like what the Samsung Captivate on AT&T is, the Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile looks like a slightly reworked Galaxy S (at least on the external). As T-Mobile had been hinting to on their Twitter account for a few days now, the device will come with the Sims 3 pre-installed, the movie “Avatar”, Amazon’s Kindle app, native GoGo in-flight internet support, and HD video recording capabilities.
It’s being powered by Android 2.1, will have a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and chipset, a 5-megapixel camera, and an interface Samsung is apparently calling “Smart Life”. WiFi N, Bluetooth 3.0, FM Radio, and 16GB of internal storage do their part in making up a pretty desirable device.
Once T-Mobile and Samsung are ready to pull the wraps off of this now-almost-certainly-but-not-really-confirmed device, we’ll bring the details to you at once. Until then, be sure to stop by CellPhone Signal for the full gallery of press images.
[Update]: According to T-Mobile USA’s Twitter, we could be in for a pleasant surprise tomorrow. They’ve also dropped another clue: “It’s easy to be a bookworm with this library at your fingertips.” Is anyone else suddenly thinking about the Amazon Kindle App that we just referenced in the text above?
Wonder if this phone will have front facing camera like the regular Galaxy S or if it will be more like the AT&T version? But I’m excited about this phone
Looks pretty nice. (iPhone 3GS killer? Oh wait. That was the iphone 4)
Appears that the front facing camera was dropped here as well… There is no circular window there for it…
LED flash?
I’m more concerned about the lack of flash than the front camera. Might as well not have any camera if there’s no flash.
Is that really what the UI looks like! If I wanted something like an iPhone, I would get an iPhone. Let’s stop flattering Apple and giving them excuses to sue. And please, no more devices with “pad” in the name. We hated the name when Apple released it, let them live with it alone.
LED flash sucks. I don’t know why people would want it for camera use. It’s good to use as a flashlight, but that’s it. If it was Xenon flash, then that’s a whole different story.
Btw, the pictures above looks similar to Howard Chui’s supposedly “T-Mobile’s” version.
front facing camera is not a most but would be a nice treat for tmobile fans that have been waiting for a flagship phone..Flash is a big deal why is it that such a simple item…that’s common sense to have on any camera is missing ?
@DKYang: No way to tell if it is or not. Howard pulled the video ( at you know who’s request ).
1. No Flash of any type. Fail !
2. No forward facing camera in this day and age. Fail !
3. Wonderful track record of providing updates ala Behold 2. W…oh, sorry. Fail !
I think no FFC is the deciding factor for me. I’m sure in a few months there will be another super Android WITH a FFC. Then I would be selling this and ending up paying like $600+ for a new phone
only concern is this is still a samsung device… and I remember the horror w/ the behold 2.
Unless Samsung has changed the way they support their phones I’ll keep my N1 :)
Ahhh. No front facing camera. That was one of the big selling points for me. And to add that the phone is now rooted is awesome. We shall see if it is worth the time now.
This better have LED Flash if no Front facing Camera
2FR35H it looks like it has neither.
This phone does not come with a flash? Will that affect picture quALITY?
Odd considering the original Samsung Galaxy had an LED flash if I remember correctly.
There’s a reason Samsung Android phones are way behind in sales to HTC and Motorola. This phone won’t change that. There’s being “inspired by” and then there’s “blatantly ripping off.” This is more the latter of the iPhone. It will probably be priced similar to the iPhone as well, so why won’t customers just get the real thing? At least HTC’s Sense is much more original and gives Android it’s own feel. Let’s not even go there about how committed Samsung will be to update Android releases in the future for this phone.
tmobile + samsung + android = fail
i would not buy this phone
and just to be clear, i’m not ripping on android. i will be an android user for life (or at least until google comes out with something new to replace it)
Will this be updated like the behold II as well?
@Pimpstrong
Unfortunately I see that :/ this is a huge disappointment for me. I guess I will just have to wait and see if tmobile gets a galaxy s pro like sprint even though I hate physical keyboards with a passion and afraid of more disappointment.
This is why tmobile sucks
galaxy pro has FFC, a camera flash and keyboard so it has everything I could possibly ask for in a phone. I’m not really interested in t-mobile but it would be nice if everyone had the same options.
why is everyone complaining about the desktop? this is android remember? i heard you can switch off the touchwiz UI. there are also several AWESOME desktop launchers out there like ADW Launcher for FREE (no root necessary)! anyway, i think i can live without the flash (havent heard anyone that has a phone with a flash say that flash works great anyway)! The problem might be the fact that it doesnt have a front-facing camera. it’s hard to determine just from the pics. i think i see a front-facing camera on the upper left-hand corner, though.
I don’t quite get it. They take away features that would make the phone appealing as a top of the line device. I can’t quite figure out the rhyme or reason for that one. The only big question is whether this was done at t-mobile’s request. At this point, the only thing appealing about this phone is the super amoled screen, other than that, there is no reason for me to replace my nexus one with this phone.
Look i just want a powerful android smart phone from lame ass t-mobile!! but not having a front facing camera and flash is some dumb SHIT!! lets hope they listen to what the people want. and do whats necessary to make us happy>! i mean WTF, don’t that supposedly be the goal??
the front facing camera has not been dropped if that is a picture of the version tmo is releasing. its kind of hard to see, but the camera is there.
if this phone dose not have a fount facing camera ill just buy an European one. but i have a felling just like all the American cellphones this one will get f@#ked up just like the rest of them
No front facing camera NO BUY!
I second most comments on the no front facing camera. Just have to wait for the Nexus Two. Prototype has a 8 Megapixel back facing camera and 5 megapixel front facing camera.
Once again T-mobile screws over their customers, can’t say I didn’t see the lack of front facing camera coming.. Why can’t they just release something like the galaxy s pro for Sprint that includes a hardware keyboard AND the front facing camera???
By years end almost all superphones will sport video calling, thats why the lack of front facing camera is a deal breaker for me
I’ve been waiting for a decent T-Mo phone for a while, since I’ve had a G1 for 2 years now. Considering this has no front-facing camera, I’d have to go with the Galaxy S. Like coolMANDINGO said “No front facing camera NO BUY!”
@Marcelo L
Search it on youtube dude. Just because Howard pulled it out from his channel doesn’t mean it isn’t on the internet anymore.
@swehes Waiting for a Nexus Two? Good luck waiting for that.
I can’t believe T-Mo doesn’t have a high end Android yet. The front facing camera was a selling point for me but sounds like that’s gone, too. I already had a list of 4 strikes against this phone. I guess I’ll have to give up and get a myTouch 3G Slide like my wife’s – at least it is a solid, smooth Android.
Here’s my 5 strikes:
1. No camera button
2. No physical keyboard
3. No trackball, D-pad, or thumbpad
4. No camera flash
5. No front facing camera ****the new one
mt3gs blows this phone out of the water. *sigh*
@Daniel
No one has had a G1 for 2 years; they came out in October 2008.
What you guys are seeing that looks like a front facing camera is probably just a proximity and/or light sensor. Can’t go by looks to say it has a camera. If the specs don’t list it, it ain’t there.
@Blair S – It was a prototype about 6 weeks ago. I have patiently been waiting for 1 1/2 years already. I can wait some more if needs be.
wow everyone stop complaining about no front camera! boo hoo! get over it! damn!
For those complaining about how screen mimics the iPhone? Guys, it’s an android. You can have the screen the way you want it. I do have a problem, however, with Samsung using an iPhone like desktop on their pics of the Galaxy S. Come on Samsung, that’s just a little too much “we’re just as good as an Iphone, just look at the screen icons” attitude.
This is what piss me off for being a AT&T customer. AT&T gets the GALAXY S and T-Mobile gets the GALAXY S but instead T-Mobile S is THE BETTER LOOKING THEN OUR CRAPPY POS GALAXY S hardware. Just fucking hate AT&T. Oh and SAMSUNG YOU DIDN’T PUT FLASH IN THE FRONT & STILL NO FLASH. How you expect people to take pictures when it’s dark at night
Urmom and carmex chill out. I work hard just like everyone else. We pay for what we want.if something doesn’t have all the components you need you won’t buy it correct? Same here. If the basic in the “super phones”. Is a fron facing camera why come out with a super phone without that same feature tmobile.I too have had my g1 since september 2008. Everyone phone that tmobile has sold as far as android is concerned has been middle level at best. The g1 is prolly the best just because its the first.the latter brethern have failed.I still have my g1 because the past every android phones made little improvements over the g1.samsung and tmobile link up for a secong go around and fail once again Womp Womp woooooomp.is it me or is tmobile 1 step behind everyone as far as phones go? We need to start a site of g1’ers that want to upgrade but can’t because no good android phones are coming for tmobile.verizon went from eris to droid to incredible in less than about 7 months. Wow tmobile has. Had android since september of 2008 and made hardly and drastic changes.whom ever is choosing the phones for tmobile needs to get fird. That person also nneds to leave with robert dotson.I am so disscusted with tmobile.
I’m calling photoshop until proven otherwise.
If it does not have the front facing camera I will be buying the pro version if it hits tmo lets pray that it does.
This is not the phone. The Galaxy S has one physical button in the middle and one soft key off to each side. This phones has 4 soft keys.
Plus if you look at a phote of one with Samsung on it. It has the same time on it and the same shadding by the top http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/06/22/t-mobile-samsung-vibrant-galaxy-s-coming-on-july-21-samsung-galaxy-s-now-tipped-to-arrive-on-july-21-two-days-after-the-motorola-droid-x/
i agree with coolMANDINGO!!! but at the sametime if i don’t get this phone. who knows when the next time tmobile will get a powerful android phone. its just sooooo hard staying with tmobile right now!!!!! i’m trying
@Kevin is a goober. This is the most powerful Android phone in the world, and he would prefer the middle-road Slide.
Folks, get some perspective. T-Mo, though they’ve been weak, is offering the most powerful Android phone in the world. It might lack some features, like flash, but will still have the most powerful phone in the world.
I can’t wait. Just to remind everyone what a total dipshit kevin is, I’ve copied his note below.
I can’t believe T-Mo doesn’t have a high end Android yet. The front facing camera was a selling point for me but sounds like that’s gone, too. I already had a list of 4 strikes against this phone. I guess I’ll have to give up and get a myTouch 3G Slide like my wife’s – at least it is a solid, smooth Android.
Hummingbird processor, yes. Samsung…ah, not so much.
The Nexus One isn’t high end?
All of you who are complaining about the lack of a front facing camera are ALL trolls. It wasn’t until Apple announced that their iPhone 4 would have a front facing camera did all of you start jumping on the front facing camera band wagon. phones in europe and asia had these cameras for a few years and no one had even mentioned them. i’m pretty sure most of you won’t even use the camera even if it came with one, so please quit complaining. also, it’s funny how i never heard anyone complaining about the last 3 iPhones not having flash with their cameras…you guys are such losers.
You guys are fools to downplay the phone because it doesn’t have a front facing camera and/or a LED flash for that matter. A LED flash never makes good pictures and I only used it as a flashlight. As for the FFC…what is the point? It is only useful and fun if somebody else has a front facing camera. There are hardly any phone that do. iPhone will only allow it with other iPhone and only by wi-fi. So I don’t see why you guys bitch.
I actually liked the three-button arrangement better with a clickable home button. Can anybody tell if original Galaxy S (one with 3 button arrangement and FF camera) would work on Tmobile’s 3G network or not?? How about AT&T’s 3G network?
Yeah, the Galaxy S, or any variant of it, is an awesome phone. The outrage that some on this thread would prefer the Slide over the T-Mo variant is laughable, and reflects irrational response to minor features (flash for camera and front-facing camera). Use the phone camera for a quick and dirty photo op, but use your real camera for real photos. I don’t care if it’s 3M pixels or 8M pixels. Photos from your camera won’t be anywhere as good as a decent camera. Don’t buy your phone based on these features. Buy it cause it’s an awesome phone.
Alex. You’re both right and wrong about ffc. I only want it because the evo has it. I just want the functionality that my money can buy on the network I want.I have the g1 and I tried knocking and its cool but it would be cooler to to see the other person too.we are all dedicated tmobile customers. Its only fair that we get the newest of the new.yeah ffc is a new thing.so why can’t we have it too?tmobile is a great customer as far customer service but their HIGH end phones if they can say that sucks point blank.name one phone has that can hold any water against the comps ANDROID phone sold by TMOBILE.don’t say nexus one because techinally that’s not a tmobile phone it wasn’t sold by tmobile its just supported. Tmobile needs to do something because they keep fumbling. Why?add the ffc and we g1’ers will be very very happy if not were going to other carriers to pay for what we want. Point blank.
For those saying no need for a flash and that pictures come out bad you dont know how to use your phones. You zoom in to your subject and you use your flash to fill the scene. yes digital zoom sucks but thats where we are in technology right now. And yes this one will have a front facing VGA cam.
I do want a front facing camera. I figure that I will have this phone for 2 years and I will really want that functionality by then. It will be something which makes your phone seem OLD school.
I have kids who live far from grandparents and they frequently skype each other. How great would it be to skype from a FFC at a soccer game or something.
It is something I really want and might be a game stopper.
Could care less about flash or ffc. Neither is necessary. The flash always overexposes the shot. Is this a cheap plastic build. I’m kind of spoiled with the rugged sleek build of my N1 running froyo final build.
If the phone was made with a ffc and we all know that it was, then why would it be removed. Secondly I remember hearing about this phone before iPhone 4 coming put and this had the ffc then. I am gonna assume that this is a photoshopped picture and not the real thing. If so then we would have been let down.
On a personal note, getting a phone with Avatar and Sims on it does nothing for me. It will be erased asap. What’s the purpose
I dont see any Tmo apps in the picture.. only the T-mobile imprint shows any sign that this is the actual Tmo phone (which can easily be photoshopped). I’ll wait for Tmo to anounce phone then review the specs regarding FFC. With HSPA+, FFC should be available.
WTF are you guys talking about.. I see the front facing camera on top left..
Open your eyes b4 talking shit.
@diehard4…. that’s actually not the camera. Go look at a pic of the galaxy s and you clearly see what the camera is supposed to look like.the camera is supposed to be on the right side. And in this pic you see the right side of the pic is blantly shaded dark. Open your eyes and see.
@coolMANDINGO
I wasn’t saying you should buy anything you don’t want. I was, in fact, just pointing out (like you just did) that what people see on the front isn’t necessarily a FFC. I, too, want a FFC, and I also agree with you that I’ve wanted it since I read the EVO would have one, not since the iphone announced it.
Also iphone people have been complaining since the very first model about the lack of an LED flash. It’s not like it’s new technology; my LG flip phone from 6 or 7 years ago had one, and my windows mobile phone after that.
I’m personally not too loyal to any carrier so I’ll jump ship to anyone who gets a “high end” android with a hardware keyboard. I would prefer T-Mob due to price, but at this point it looks like it might be Sprint with the Galaxy S Pro.
What is up with the FFC bs? Are all of you so into your own vanity that you use only use your phone’s camera to take pictures of yourselves? Leave the damn camera on the back of the phone where it belongs!!!
Samsung open sourced the kernel for the Galaxy S (something I would have never expected them to do). That plus the fact that it’s been rooted means that, barring any treachery by T-mobile, this phone should be very well supported in aftermarket ROM community.
some of you guys really need to realize that it’s just a dayam phone.. you will never be happy with any new phone that comes out.. get over it and bitch about something that’s more important in life..
u know… i am not gonna bit** about the flash or front facing camera…. because that is just a waste of my time and energy to bicker on all of that …. i was considering this phone just because it has an awesome review and it has a 16 gb of internal space…. excluding the expandable 16 gb that you can add to the device…. however i am disappointed that this phone will not be able to go on tmo faster network that they are putting in place as we speak… that would have at made me buy it w/o a 2nd thought… but i am having 2nd thoughts about this phone… but as of all the other stuff that u all mentioned…. you ppl sound like little kids that are in junior high or highschool that cant have a decent toy…. look at the facts…. htc and motorola dont even have 16gb of internal memory…. hopefully after this is in the market there would be a better demand of it and even if samsung didnt upgrade the software… i would root it just like i did my g1…. i have been waiting for 2 yrs to find a worthy replacement since i have my g1…. i might just go for this 1
Well I got the Vibrant. Already I see some major issues.
1 – The home key doesn’t work well if an application takes up too much resources.
2 – Android really has a problem with this phone, in that it doesn’t sync with outlook and I have to find an oddball solution. It only syncs online with google, where I do not want to put all my personal stuff. This is a real serious and stupid problem. A simple computer sync tool is absolutely necessary for those of us that actually use comuters and like scheduling with outlook.
3 – because of #2, there is no simple way to back up the phone (apps, locations, settings, etc. without finding a special application. It should be included
4 – wifi routing/tethering should be included and wired tethering should not require a bunch of steps to activate.
5 – the phone should allow MDA communications like the blackberry. I thought it came with it, but only blackberry.
6 – the brightness is not near the blackberry in the sunlight. In fact, its not as bright as my old iphone 3g.
7 – the side lock button gets in the way of the car holder and is difficult to activate when mobile.
8 – its bluetooth sucks. I use my car speakerphone with the blackberry for voice recognition, lookups and dialing, but it doesnt work for anything but a speakerphone with this phone. I thought the later version of bluetooth did more, but it does not with speakerphones/bluetooth.
i dont see what the big deal is with the phone not having a camera. People get all worked up because it doesn’t come with a front facing camera or flash. It’s a phone!, if I wanted to take pictures I would use a regular point and shoot or my EOS 5D Mark II.