By There is a lot to be said for a phone that so boldly has attempted to corner the smartphone market by getting out on almost every carrier imaginable all over the world. The big four US carriers are — with some concessions made — even getting in on the game with the first two variants (AT&T’s Samsung Captivate and T-Mobile’s Samsung Vibrant) already out and about doing their thing. Sprint and Verizon’s offerings will come later so as not to compete directly with their recent big handset launches. To get the purest experience possible, we dove-in head first with the international version of the Galaxy S (not slated for US release) to see just how out of this world it really is.
Hummingbirds and AMOLEDs, Oh My! Galaxy S Hardware Review
The Samsung Galaxy S is dominated by two main hardware powerhouses: the 1GHz Hummingbird processor and GPU and the 4-inch, 800×480 WVGA Super AMOLED touchscreen. Neither element can I praise highly enough, as both easily perform to their expected capabilities and then some. Even though the Galaxy S obviously takes its design cues from an extremely popular non-Android smartphone we won’t name, the internals easily set it apart. Now that isn’t to say there aren’t some things we wish Samsung had done differently, but their final product hits many of the right notes.
Again, I can’t say enough about the Super AMOLED display, it almost deserves a review of its own. When T-Mobile dubbed their version of the S the ‘Vibrant’ they weren’t kidding. This screen simply kicks ass. The contrast ratio of 50,000 to 1 is on par with your HD television at home. The blacks of the screen are so dark that they simply blend right in with the outer screen bezel, making it hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It seems a bit cliche, but images truly do pop on this thing. And the technology makes for a super responsive touchscreen with virtually no lag between what you want the phone to do and what it does. That of course may also owe something to the Hummingbird processor powering the whole thing.
And that processor kicks too. Aside from some lag that seems to be more brought on by a sluggish UI and with no fault to the chipset, applications jump open, homescreen slide left to right and back effortlessly, and video and 3D rendering never skip a beat. We are dealing with truly powerful stuff here, and it would seem between the screen and shear power we would be dead sold on the Galaxy S, but here come the caveats.
A few design decisions have led to the hardware of the S leaving us wanting more. For starters, the navigation buttons below the screen take a turn from what we are used to, and we can only thing the single hardware in the button was again designed to emulate a certain iProduct. That isn’t so bad, but the hardware button’s position dead center comes at the expense of one of the four traditional Android buttons. We lose the ‘search’ touch button (though search can still be accessed by long-pressing the menu softkey), something that almost seems organically linked with a Google-based phone.
Also missing is any sort of LED notification light, something I personally have grown very accustomed to finding on almost every cell phone I have ever owned. Fair enough, as the Galaxy S does feature a front-facing camera, something that is almost becoming a standard on today’s top phones. Of course, for now it’s usefulness is rather limited — apps like Qik and Fring aren’t supporting the Galaxy S’ FFC just yet — with video calling coming built in, though I am not sure just who we can video call as I have yet to ring one other phone with a FFC that I can connect to. While on the topic of cameras, a dedicated camera button is also missing. Something we would have liked to have, but not a deal breaker by any means.
The phone feels light, if not a bit cheap and plastic-y in hand. You get the impression if you handle it too much it might break. It is a small price to pay for a phone that has the slim profile and low weight of the Galaxy S. The actual physical appearance is pretty neat as well. There is a nice sort-of multi-demensional pattern covering the back battery cover of the phone.
And while on the topic of battery, the lifespan of the Galaxy S wasn’t the greatest I’ve experienced. I can’t say how many times I went to wake the handset from standby just to find it wouldn’t wake, and in fact had drained all of it’s juice in standby. I’m sure some energy saving tweaks to the display and modified usage habits could improve the longevity of the battery’s charge, though.
Oh, and the phone part of the Galaxy S? The call quality was good, but nothingI haven’t experienced before. The phone I was using was on AT&T so I can’t say much for the network, but using the phone for messaging and placing calls was a painless experience.
Off to See the TouchWiz-ard: Galaxy S Software Review
Like Motorola’s MotoBlur and HTC Sense, Samsung has brought out their own Android UI along with the Galaxy S. The TouchWiz 3.0 interface (which again seems to take its inspiration from a certain fruit-named cellphone) suffers from the same things those previously mentioned Android skins went through during their early versions. What TouchWiz adds is mostly on the social networking front through Samsung’s SocialHub, including contact list integration and an array of widgets. It certainly isn’t offensive as a UI, and for the most part acts like a slightly more rotund version of stock Android with some more bubbly icons, but here’s hoping later versions get some improvements.
Widgets such as Daily Briefing and Buddies Now allow for quick and easy access to info, contacts, and feeds you follow regularly, and we liked these additions for the most part. The biggest issues with Samsung’s custom widgets is the lack of ability to resize and arrange them to better utilize screen space. As it stands each of these widgets eats up a whole homescreen, so you could very quickly see the number of available panes drop steeply from the max of seven.
Navigating between those homescreens is made pretty simple thanks to a row of small navigation dots at the top of the screen. You can pinpoint a specific dot to jump to that screen. If you don’t need extra screen you can easily reduce that number by hitting the menu button and selecting edit. Then trim away.
In TouchWiz, your contact list is integrated right with Facebook, Twitter, and other feeds. You can access a history of your communications with a contact, quickly see their social media activity, and even get access to their uploaded photos. All of this right in the contact list. It is definitely a nice take on getting all of your needed information in one area.
Perhaps my favorite small tweak in the TouchWiz interface is the addition of a set of toggles for WiFi/Bluetooth/Silent Mode/Vibrate right at the top of the notifications drop down. It saves you from having to install these widgets on one of your homescreens and means you can turn these functions on and off from any screen. Definitely a little thing that could go a long way in terms of usage.
As I said before, I was by no means blown away by TouchWiz. Take that as you will, as I happen to be stock Android fan and tend to stray away from OEM custom skins, but still TouchWiz doesn’t quite match up with the latest versions of Sense and MotoBlur. The Galaxy S runs on Android 2.1 right now and is promised Android 2.2 in the near future. Hopefully some improvements to TouchWiz come with that. We’d really like to see better widget customization and the ability to more easily and quickly organize contacts and their social feeds.
LED Flash? We Don’t Need No LED Flash: Samsung Galaxy S Camera Review
OK, OK. The title of this section is a bit misleading because I definitely think the Galaxy S WOULD benefit greatly from an LED flash. That out of the way, given proper lighting conditions (and probably a much better photographer than myself), the Galaxy S with its 5MP auto-focus camera is capable of some pretty great shots. The added icing on the cake is the 720p HD video recording the Galaxy S is capable of.
I found that the Galaxy S functioned best as a camera in situations with plenty of natural light. It’s a good thing I went to the beach, then, as the rays of sun pelting my supply flesh provided ample ambient light. Using the Beach/Snow setting really got some good results.
But as you can see in the next series of pics, while night mode was serviceable for capturing images in low light, the camera didn’t necessarily get the best focus in such a setting.
And here is an example of the macro focus of the camera. It gets a bit harder to focus in macro mode, and the touch-to-focus refused to hone in on areas a bit to close to the lens, but the result are some pretty impressive closeups (sorry, no flower shots this time).
Finally we’ll take a quick look at some of the alternative shooting modes for the Galaxy S, namely highlighting the panoramic feature and the self-shot mode to give you an idea of what the front-facing VGA camera looks like. Here is a panorama from the beach which blended together real seamlessly and turned out looking pretty alright.
And here is that front-facing camera. Obviously the quality won’t replace your MySpace pose or the classic mirror shot, but it should work just fine as a video-chatting tool.
So let’s talk about 720p HD video. The first thing we must concede is that as of now the quality of HD video recorded by a mobile device just won’t stack up to your typical HD consumer camcorder, but it still provides a pretty nice result. Colors come off looking a bit duller than the still camera (I’m sure this could be tweaked a bit in the camera settings). Check out this peaceful beach scene with some bonus skim-boarding action from Phil at the end:
The result is pretty good. Definitely looks better if you keep it resigned to the 4-inch Super AMOLED display, but on a computer monitor or even a big screen TV it ends up looking pretty darned nice.
Overall we wish the version of the Galaxy S we played with had an on-board flash. For some who choose to go with one of the few US carrier versions that do sport LED flashes, the camera experience should be even better. We didn’t mind the lack of a hardware button after getting used to tapping the screen, either. While it could have been a disappointment, the Galaxy S camera did nothing but impress, and ended up being one of the best things about the phone.
Everything Else: Gaming and Media on the Samsung Galaxy S
Finally let’s take a quick look at some of the things that come packaged with the Galaxy S that really make the whole experience. Good hardware and a slick interface don’t mean anything if there is nothing worthwhile to use them for. Here the Galaxy S doesn’t disappoint. If anything it exceeds what you might expect.
3D gaming on the Galaxy S is an experience we haven’t had much of on Android phones up until now. True, several of the big phones to get a release in the past few months can probably do an equally impressive job of rendering and handling graphics, but the Hummingbird processor makes gameplay so smooth, the Super AMOLED screen makes graphics so immersive, and some pretty responsive six-axis controls really bring gameplay to life. It isn’t just one area or another that the Galaxy S succeeds, but a combination of all elements necessary for a proper gaming experience.
Aside from gaming, the S features several other ways to enjoy your media. An included FM radio built in to the handset is a nice touch, and presets and favorite stations make for an analog radio experience that feels at home on a smartphone. Video and audio playback also are not lacking in the slightest, and web browsing is quick and responsive. Again the responsiveness of the display provides one of the best tracking scrolls I’ve experienced on a mobile browser.
But how does the Galaxy S share all of that media with other devices in its environment? The most basic way is through a standard definition analog TV-out provided through the 3.5mm headset jack. This output provides a one to one representation of everything you do on your phone. You can use this connection to play games on your TV, browse the web, watch YouTube, and even listen to music.
If you want to get your HD recorded videos on your set in all of their glory, you will need to use Samsung’s AllShare app. AllShare is a DLNA application with several functions. You can play media from your phone directly to a compatible device, you can play media from a server on your phone, and you can use your phone to control playback from a server onto another device such as your TV. There are a few issues with DLNA, however. First, it won’t ever provide a one to one view of your screen, so you can’t play Galaxy S games or browse the web over the wireless standard. Second, and the biggest blow to DLNA for the moment, is a lack of standardized codecs, meanings certain devices won’t playback every file type. In my case, while I could connect via DLNA, most media wouldn’t playback on the Galaxy S, and no Galaxy S media would play on any of the other devices I own.
The media of the Galaxy S are easily the final tipping point if lacking hardware features or a needs-improvement interface have you on the fence. I got the most use of my Galaxy S for media purposes, and get the feeling most people would do the same.
So Is it Out of this World?
On paper the Galaxy S is a great phone. The specs put it right at the top of the heap as far as Android big dogs go. The TouchWiz 3.0 interface leaves a lot to be desired, but it is serviceable. Throw in a pretty top-notch camera with HD video recording and it would seem we have a real winner. But somehow the overall experience gets lost to the little things — the missing LED flash, lack of a notification light, no true customization in the software, all examples of factors keeping the Galaxy S just shy of smartphone supremacy. Is it a good choice? Heck yes if you happen to be on a carrier without many high-end Android/smartphone options. But for some with other options to consider you may want to spend a bit of hands-on time with this one in the store before committing.
No notification light! ! ! ….If this is true I’m not sure I will be picking up the Samsung Epic 4G when it comes out….Even my Moto Cliq with Android 1.5 has a great notification light….WOW….I am stunned by this depressing news….Can Vibrant and Captivate owners please confirm if you have no notification light on the front of your phones?….Sad day for me and my Epic 4G hopes and dreams :(
Six-axis controls.. what?
Sorry but there is not notification light on either the Vibrant nor the Captivate.
@seriously
can confirm, no light
Great review overall, but it should be sheer power, not shear power.
I’m on sprint. Would you pick this up over the Evo?
How about on the Fascinate, that version has the four navigation buttons which is good. Also no chin. If it has a notification light (multicolored would be even cooler) and a USB port on the bottom (not the top) then I am returning my Droid X for it due to issues I’ve had with the DX. I can live with the USB port being on the top, I guess… but no notification light is hard to swallow.
“Light Buulllb -Dispicable Me”….Maybe someone can program under an app or rom for the 4 soft touch buttons to flash or light up for notification?
@J.C.
Good idea
The epic 4g is the only one to have an included notification led as well as a led flash.
All the US versions have 4 navigation buttons. It’s the international versions of the Galaxy S that have the weird middle button.
The panoramic picture was pretty good but the old lady bent over made me want to throw up a little.
Just throw launcherpro or ADW on it and say goodbye to touchwiz forever.
Can you take some photos of the Droid X screen next to the Samsung so we can get a feel for the difference in size between a 4.0 and 4.3 inch screen. Does it seem much smaller?
He took this thing to the beach? Danger.
They are already working on remapping the soft buttons leds to be uses as an led notification in XDA
there is also another idea to use the screen , as AMOLED provides true black , showing black on the screen means a turned off pixel , so showing a black image with one colored dot on the screen won’t use your battery
It’s hard to follow which Galaxy S model you are reviewing.. seems like the stock version not offered stateside, but make a number of references to the AT&T, Tmobile, Verizon, and Sprint versions.. not very clear.
This video shows a good size comparison with the Droid X. The screen looks a lot smaller, but I am sure samoled looks better.
7. john wrote on July 19, 2010
——————————-
what issues?
Woops forgot the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIQJ-3a96oM&feature=related
Did they really just brag about contrast ratio? The non standard fake numbers that companies make up to make it sound better?
If only the GPS worked.
I tested the phone. The GPS is useless.
There are a few people working on a way to notify of missed calls, SMS, and email over on XDA. There has been talk of flashing the buttons and/or putting an “LED” on the screen (since projecting a black image consumes no power then a little red dot will consume just next to no power). There is already a first build available (and the phone has only been out a week). It will be a non-issue soon.
The notification light issue here is a big deal for me. I have mine set up for different colors depending on who texts/emails me. I love having that and I can’t believe it isn’t included here.
Also, who edits/proof-reads your articles? They should stop staying out late drinking. :P
Galaxy S Vibrant doesn’t have front facing camera or has one but is crippled
Sprint got the best version of this phone. Fully physical qwerty keyboard, led flash, led notification, dedicated camera button,4g,etc.
Can’t really complain. I just wish they would hurry up and release it. I could care less how the evo performs, I already returned mine in anticipation for the Epic.
Thanks for all the great info on the notification light my fellow phandroid fans!!!….It is great to see so many people working towards something that should have been included with a superphone of this kind to begin with….I just hope that those of you who are claiming that the Epic 4G has a notification light are correct because that is my dream phone at the moment…..Do any of you guys have a link to an article, picture, or video that discusses or shows the notification light on the Epic 4G?….Keep up the great work Phandroid!!!…You guys are always my first choice for all things Android!!!
The Epic’s notification light is visible on the top right of this photo.
http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/22/0,1425,i=229429&sz=1,00.jpg
I know that somethings should have came with the phone. Something’s I was wondering what hell they was thinking. But overall I LOVE my vibrant! I can barely put pretty bitch down. Plus it’s still early so clam the hell down. Alot of things going be fixed. Also this phone HARDWARE is pure “POWER” and the screen is just INSANE! So if u don’t like the phone don’t fucking buy it. Peaces crybabies
I thinks that’s the front facing camera and not the notification light.
@Dave
Dave are you mistakin the front facing camera for the notification light? I still don’t see a light there.
cwalker…clam the hell down.
I like everything about my Vibrant except the battery life. Because it does so much, you will find you have to be careful with the task manager and shut down aps that run in the background.
Sorry, off topic, but what beach is the Galaxy S’s video of?
Nice phone and definitely some good iFail competition on At&t but nothing I’d give up my Droid X for. Good to see Android turning up the heat. C’mon iFail users you now have a decent alternative on that crap network.
AT&T may be a crap network but if you travel a lot (especially those high powered business execs with $$$ that we need to win over) it is the best option. You can also talk and use the web at the same time.
As I have said before, having an N1, I can’t see this as a sensible upgrade, especially when something even more special is in the works for Tmo later this year. If you’re thinking of locking in for 2 years with “this” device, explore what’s on the horizon for TMO first. I won’t lock in to a contract for a cheap plasticky device that just happens to have a great processor and display. I prefer raw android OS too.
I picked up my captivate this afternoon. What a phone! I came from a blackberry bold. This is such a nice phone.
@brianad if you are on Sprint go EVO all the way there’s no substitute period. As for the Galaxy S I am not a fan of Touch-Wiz no matter what you lay it over I wouldn’t take this phone for free. I’ll stick with my 2 phones the Droid X and the Droid .
I have been using the Vibrant for almost a week now. Previously I was using a Nexus One. I love my Nexus One and will never get rid of it. That said. The Vibrant is simply amazing and this review doesn’t do it justice. The biggest and probably the only hang up I have about it is when you remove home screens you can’t choose which screen will be the “main home-screen”. If someone knows please tell me. The videos do not do the screen justice. You have to see it in person.
In my opinion TouchWiz 3.0 is the best UI ever made for Android. I really wouldn’t even call it a UI, it’s more like a Launcher with extras added which are completely optional if you want to turn them on or not. An example of this would be all of your contacts syncing up with Facebook and Twitter. You have the option of what contacts you want to sync, what service you want them to sync with or simply have no sync at all.
I have experienced no Lag yet but that may be do to me being anal and doing a soft reset every night before I go to bed.
I saw someone make a comment on the GPS not working good. I think that has more to do with the user not turning the GPS on before using a GPS app. I have used the GPS in both TelNav and Google Maps and it is as accurate as your going to get.
I could go on and on about everything I like, but the bottom line. This is one powerful/beautiful device.
A cheap phone! LOL I use to envy the n1 but what 4 now? Even with 2.2 y’all ain’t touching us. 4 carrier mean a lot of hacking. So say what u wont but the truth is u really want this phone. Cuz even when I had the g1 I never put down a better phone! Side by side u will put your shit back in your pocket.lol
I wish the GPS and the Compass was tested. I read a lot of people having very big issues with it. I don’t think those are user problems. I want to buy this phone (Captivate) but the GPS is a very big issue for me. Please test!
@obscenejesster try launcher pro from the market for the screen problem.@GPS people, u got to go in the setting to turn on gps with Apps for it to work with maps and so on. At first I had the problem until someone inform me.@Al I am clam lol
Well MoDaCo already has a ROM for this phone, and like the n1 the bootloader is unlocked. pretty easy to root using ADB… i havent bought it yet but i played with it for a while, and what is making me buy it is that you can get it on TMo without signing a contract, and making monthly payments. im saving that upgrade for “project emerald” but this phone is worth buying…maybe not for a contract extension
cwalker : 4 carriers? This will be available all over the world! That means we can see games that use enhanced multitouch (ocarina perhaps?), gyroscope, 16 million colors, 3D sound, etc
great device….a lot better than nexus one or desire….i love it!
@cwalker…I will probably install Launcher Pro or ADW later on down the road. I just want to use this baby stock for a while. As for the GPS issue, you are exactly right. People are really should learn how to use the phone before they start giving out false information and scaring other people out of buying the device. Let me say this again.
Over the weekend I went on vacation to the beach. It was 175 miles one way. On the way down I used google maps and on the way back I used the pre-installed Tel-Nav. I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS AT ALL WITH MY GPS.
TURN YOUR GPS ON PEOPLE!!!! IF YOU CAN’T FIND THE SETTING THEN YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR DUMB-ASS BACK TO A DUMB-PHONE!
It does seems like any issue with GPS is software related. I’m more concerned about the lack of camera flash but since I want a keyboard and Sprint, I’ll get that with the Epic anyway.
and how is the… you know… PHONE funtionality? It is a PHONE after all. How is the noise suppression (if any)? How does it compare to the N1, Desire, Milestone/Droid which have dual microphones?
@obscenejesster I 1oo% agree
I purchased the Captivate yesterday and here are my thoughts:
-GPS works fine. One little glitch when I activated it the very first time, but, then it has worked flawlessly. Most accurate depiction of where I am at of any of probably 10 or more GPS capable phones and GPS car units I have used.
-TouchWiz 3.0 was OK. After installing Launcher Pro I am even happier. Would like to still tweek a few things, but, nothing I cant live with.
-I would like an LED flash, but, probably won’t come into play *for me* much. I usually have a flashlight with me anyway. Front facing camera has absolutely zero appeal for me.
-Battery is actually pretty good. Lasted me all day at work where is struggles for reception due to the building around me. I used the iPhone 4 before this and it didn’t last as long.
-Reception is slightly above average. Even worked for a while in the bathroom at work, which normally I cannot get any reception with several phones.
-LOVE the silly little charging port cover, though I don’t like the port on the top, as it makes it tough to charge and talk without bluetooth.
-The light weight of the device is actually a minor drawback. When it’s sitting on my desk at work I cannot one finger the SWYPE (love that feature). I occasionally had to hold the phone with my other hand as the phone had a tendency to move.
-NOT a fan of the un-deletable bloatware, but, I knew about that. AT&T even has a couple of redundant apps that cannot be taken off. Nothing years of practice of ignoring things won’t overcome. I do wish I could put them into an ‘ignore folder.
-At times it is SLIGHTLY sluggish in response, but, I believe 2.2 will improve on that greatly when it is released.
**As a phone snob and someone who has used virtually every phone AT&T has come out with in the past ten years (I was a store manager for them until recently) one of the best phones I have used and give it a very solid B+.
Contrary to the belief the international version will be offered stateside on some carriers less than top 4
I just tried out the Vibrant at a T-Mobile store and I almost fainted (just kidding). It was AWESOME! I almost sold my Froyo-enabled Nexus One on EBay! Then I remembered that it only has Eclair and probably won’t get Gingerbread until summer 2011. Too bad. I’m sticking with the Nexus One- at least until the Epic 4G gets Gingerbread.
http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-epic-4g-hands-on
Guys, its true. The Epic 4g has a notification light. Check out those pics
Nobody including Nexus won’t prolly get Android 3.0 by years end lol HTC Ace is the Flagship Android 3.0 device aka 1st device to be released and have 3.0 gingerbread.
I think Samsung is totally on the right track with this offering, and should be given props for creating a device that will be able really show off the features of the android platform. I’m excited to see another player besides HTC and Motorola make a piece of hardware thats really going to push the android in the right direction.
I’m still going to wait till the holidays to get a new phone. I’m hoping and praying the successor to Tmobile’s sidekick line is out by then. Please let it be this much rumored project emerald, and please let it have a physical keyboard).
@ari-free
Actually I talk and use web at the same time all the time on my t-mobile Mytouch 3G Slide. Never a single hiccup or had a dropped call doing so.
I am glad to hear people are enjoying this new device. But I think something more professional is coming and I really want a real keyboard. I think touch screen kbs stink to high heaven.
Sounds good. But Touchwiz is really putting me off.
I know root has been achieved, but are there any decent custom roms for this? Froyo?
A LED flash or xenon flash is absolutely necessary of a top of the range smartphone & if samsung thinks it is not then they are just proving that samsung is treating us like fools.
Paul, no it isn’t. If you want a camera, get a camera.
I’d appreciate a flash, I’m sure all those teenyboppers out there appreciate a flash too. But there are way more important things for a smartphone to do then to take pictures at night.
I’m on Verizon and I’m up for an upgrade from my incredibly dumb phone on Thursday. I was initially excited about the Droid X, but the Blur interface just looks ugly. The Fascinate eye candy has sold me on waiting until later this summer / fall to take a look at it. I’m currently using an iPod Touch and I actually love the rowed up applications on the Apple UI… simple, clean, elegant… For me, the fact that TouchWiz is a blatant iPhone rip off, with Android widget goodness, is actually a very good thing.
Why is everyone so down on this phone? I love this phone!
oops hit the button before i was finished. I love this phone! I have the TMO version and it is just awesome!!! LED notification gets on my nerves, I couldn’t leave my phone alone because of the LED. The battery life that i have experienced is great, I can go all day without charging it, and I use it quite heavily(haven’t put it down since I got it). I’m not a fan of the Droid, because my daughter has one and I can never hear her clearly on it, she always sounds muffled and she drops quite a few calls. I don’t think anyone would be dissapointed with this phone.
So the screen is pretty. But we’re minus a button and no LED notifications. Bummer. But no flash either? And Touch Wiz sucks, but no way to turn it back to stock launcher? Big bummer. And the charging port on top means no holder for the desktop or car. Another bummer.
And Samsung’s track record for support means you’ve got about 3 months of updates and no more. $50 says this thing never sees a Gingerbread release from Samsung.
No thanks.
@James
1) Samsung makes a desktop cradle.
2) You can load any home launcher you want and make it look stock.
3) Touch Wiz doesn’t suck. Thats your own opinion.
4) I wish it had a notification LED as-well.
If you don’t like custom skins then Android is not for you. This is what Android is all about. It gives phone manufacturers to build on. Whether you like it or not there will always be more custom UI’s than vanilla UI’s.
The current phone design I really like is the Droid 2. When something similar in design comes to Tmo, I’ll upgrade.
When is the Fascinate coming out? Someone needs to put some pressure on Verizon. I’m tired of their love affair with Motorola. Verizon, get over it already and put the Fascinate out now!
To second another poster, the Captivate (you said you tested AT&T version) doesn’t have the front-facing camera. This is a big inaccuracy in the review you might want to correct.
Hi, this is Shahriar from Dhaka, Bangladesh, using the device for mor than a week, its awesome in a word…
Gosh, I don’t know what to do. I have a Google G1 (with T-Mobile) and I love it but it’s time for an upgrade.
Should I go with a Galaxy or wait for their new “emerald project” baby ?????? I do like a phisical keyboard though :(
FYI —– I just purchased the galaxy S… THE PHONE does have a flash camera and a notification led on it. So to thoses the asked dont worry the phone has what you asked for’ It is truely an amazing phone. Only one draw back the battery life isnt the best. A car charger is a good idea to have. And plug it in wheneever your not using it. Then the battery life will not be a problem. On high use the phone well maybe last 4 hours.Stand by is a joke maybe alittle less the 24 hours.
i have had the Vibrant for a month. It’s OK. I am not gaga over it. It’s a phone. I can check my mail, get messages, and download a few fun apps. Under heavy use days, it has to be charged every night. I strongly recommend getting a task killer app. You will amazed at what is running sucking the life out of your battery.
I personally think that if Apple had put the MicroSD in its 3G or 3GS, they would have totally blown away the market. to me, the Vibrant is Samsung’s version of the 3GS.
I got one. And it’s one of my favorite phones, I just keep it there at my desk just like you show-case your hardly-used cars in the garage.
Overall I agree with review it is a good phone but it does have some frustrating glitches (at least mine does). There have been times when the phone would not let me answer a phone call. Occassionally when answering I will attempt to answer and the phone simply will not answer. Also, there have been time when the phone locks up and will not do anything. The only thing I can do when this occurs is to wait about a minute or so and then the phone functions properly. A couple times the only way I could get it unfrozen was to remove the battery but usually it will unfreeze itself if I wait for about a minute. This is a good phone but it does have some bugs needing to be worked out.
Can someone tell me if the SIM card can be removed without removing battery? Weird question I know but it’s kind of important to me. Thanks.
“The Galaxy S runs on Android 2.1 right now and is promised Android 2.2 in the near future.”
Today is January 4, 2011. One hundred sixty-nine days after this article was written, and the latest I heard was that Froyo is still in the shop being adapted to this device.
Do I misunderstand the meaning of “promised” or is “in the near future” that I’m missing? Isn’t the as-yet-unavailable Froyo a big part of what is necessary to make this phone competitive with others?
thanks the info was really helpful
Thanks for the info. Here is some of it as well http://www.techclue.com/2011/03/samsung-galaxy-s-review/