2012-01-26 Samsung Galaxy S

Android smartphone

Samsung Galaxy S

My current smartphone is a Samsung Galaxy S. It is more than a year old already. I bought it shortly after it was released in 2010. It was the best Android smartphone you could get back then. New and better models have been coming out so quickly, that what was a top gadget is barely average today.

Vibrant Galaxy S

Samsung has made a mess of its phone and tablet names. Samsung has produced variations on the basic Samsung Galaxy S for different markets, and you have to become something of a Samsung specialist to keep track of it all. The closest American variant of the Galaxy S is known as the Samsung Vibrant.

Samsung Galaxy S 16 GB

Luckily, the phones do not only have names, but model numbers as well. This model number for particular Samsung Galaxy S is GT-i9000. However, despite it vanilla model number, it is not a vanilla GT-i9000.
With Samsung phones, even the model number number does not tell you everything. The vanilla GT-9000 has 8 GB of flash RAM, this model has 16 GB. It is known in the trade as the Samsung Galaxy S 16 GB.

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

The Samsung Galaxy S and came with Android 2.1 (Eclair). Few applications demands the latest and greatest Android version, but there are some applications demanding Android 2.2 (Froyo) already, so it is good thing my Samsung is Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) right now.
Google had already released Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

how-to: Galaxy S screenshot

To take a screenshot, hold down the Back button and tap the Home button. The Samsung Galaxy S has a 800 x 480 pixel screen, this TouchWiz feature takes 400 x 240 pixel screenshots.

user interface

Google allows manufacturers to customise Android, and Samsung has done so. The Samsung Galaxy S features Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. Samsung provides that user interface on its Android as well as its Bada phones. The TouchWiz user-interface offers a few extras over vanilla Android, such as multiple home screen and a customisable dock at the bottom of the home screen for up to four favourite apps.
The TouchWiz UI includes many Samsung apps. After more than a year, I still have hardly used any of these. The one feature I do like is the screenshot feature. Android 4.0 has a built-in screenshot feature; hold the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time. Android 2.x and 3.x do not have this feature, but Samsung TouchWiz does. The screenshot for Free Android Genealogy was made this way.

Samsung is slow to release Android updates, if they release them at all.

Samsung upgrades

The top complaint about Samsung's Android phones and tablets is that Samsung is slow to release Android updates, if they release them at all. The hardware seems good value for money, but their software update track records is awful. They release software through their KIES software, and no one uses KIES for fun. The Samsung KIES software is frustrating to install and use.

Samsung has not released Android 3.0 for the Galaxy S yet, and is not likely to do so, as Android 3.0 is meant for tablets, not phones. A third-party Android 3.0 build is available, but has some limitations, most notably lack of phone call functionality.

Samsung has confirmed that they will not provide an Android 4.0 update for the Galaxy S, while the newer, faster Galaxy S II will get it. Samsung feels that the Galaxy S does not have the hardware chops for Android 4.0.
That is not entirely true, as the Samsung Nexus S has practically the same hardware as the Galaxy S and will get Android 4.0. In fact, a custom Android 4.0 ROM for the Galaxy S is already available. The difference between the Nexus S and Galaxy S is that the Galaxy S includes Samsung's TouchWiz, and that takes up so much space, that Samsung cannot cram both Android 4.0 and TouchWiz into the Galaxy S ROM. Although some users would rather have Android 4.0 without TouchWiz than stick with Android 2.x, Samsung might upset many other users by doing so.

Samsung could still provide an Android 3.0-based update, or at least update their Android 2.3.x build with some 3.0 or 4.0 apps or features. This Samsung Galaxy S phone is less than two years old. Samsung is toying with some ten million Samsung Galaxy S owners, most of whom are still on contract, by abandoning them already.

tip: increase battery life

The Samsung Galaxy S has Android 2.1 installed. An upgrade to Android 2.2 or 2.3 increases both performance and battery life.

battery life

Samsung claims that the 1500 mAh battery in the 3G Galaxy S is good for 393 minutes (6h33m) of talk time, or 576 hours (24 days) of standby time. That is not even true in the wildly optimistic alternate reality their marketroids occupy. The hard truth is that battery life is poor. I don't think I feel that way because my experience with Palm devices has spoiled me. The battery will often drain within day. Don't expect to get more than a few hours of web browsing on a single charge. The Samsung Galaxy S isn't the only smartphone with this issue. Other brands and models aren't much better.

connectivity

The Galaxy S has connections. The Samsung Galaxy S is not just a multi-band smartphone with GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope, but supports Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. The Samsung Galaxy has a micro-USB 2.0 connector, and a slot for microSD card. A USB cable for connecting the Galaxy S to your PC is included in the box, a microUSB card is not. Accessing that the microSD slot requires removing the back cover, but you should not have to access it regularly; you can use included USB cable to connect the phone to your PC and access the SD card as a drive.
The Samsung Galaxy S is even DLNA certified, which means it plays well with other electronics, allowing you to stream videos, pictures and music across multiple platforms. The Galaxy S supports TV-out through its headset jack, but you'll need a TV Out cable, such as the 3.5 mm to RCA TV out cable that Samsung sells separately to take advantage of that. The one thing limiting the otherwise excellent connectivity of the Galaxy S is its limited battery life.

screen

The 16 million colours Super AMOLED display makes a great first impression, but the colours are over saturated. The images continues to look fine at all but the most extreme viewing angles. When you look almost edge-on, the screen has a distinctly pink hue. The display does not reflect much, and that is important when using it outdoors.
The display is pretty large. It is tad larger than that of the iPhone 4, but that does not mean it is better. The Samsung Galaxy S display is 800 x 480 pixels, while the iPhone 4 display is 960 x 640. The Samsung display is larger, but the iPhone's higher-resolution display provides sharper image.
The default brightness is set ridiculously high. That really shows of the display, but it also drains the already patheticd battery life. You should adjust the brightness down to a more reasonable level.

camera

Like many other smartphones, the Galaxy S has a decent built-in rear-facing camera. Some of the Samsung Galaxy variants have front-facing cameras, my GT-i9000 does not. It is a 5 megapixel camera and it can record HD video at 720p, but lacks a flash. It does take advantage of the GSP to include geotagging. I mostly use my Galaxy S for running apps, and don't care much for the camera, but do find it handy for reading QR codes.

phone

I'd almost forget, but the Samsung Galaxy S isn't just a small Android tablet, it is a phone. I've experienced no reception problems, but then again, in the Netherlands even the worst networks have decent coverage. The physical volume button makes it easy to adjust volume while calling. The only connection problem I have noticed is having to restart failed app updates. These are app store or network issue.

conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S has won many industry accolades and awards, yet I do not recommend this phone. It is an older model, you should be getting the Galaxy S II (GT-9100) instead. Despite its 1 GHz processor, the Galaxy S can feel sluggish and be slow to respond. The Galaxy S II is a lot faster; not only is it 1.2 GHz, it is dual-core too. The Galaxy S II is better in every way. It has a bigger screen, an 8 megapixel camera with flash, records video at 1080p, and the 1650 mAh battery includes NFC capability. The Galaxy S II is faster, better, lighther and sleeker. The Galaxy S truly is yesteryear's top phone.

By the time I'll be looking for a new phone later this year, Samsung should have released the even better Galaxy S III already. I'm not sure I'll opt for that model. Right now, the Samsung Galaxy Note looks interesting, but I'm not sure I'll buy a Samsung again. I am not eager to reward them for their less then enthusiastic Android update policy. I will be paying close attention to battery life and Android updates.

updates

2012-01-27: added Honeycomb for Galaxy S

That Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) was designed for tablets does not mean it is exclusive to tablets. It means that it was created for devices with bigger screens and more powerful processors. GalaxyComb is a build of Honeycomb for Galaxy S.