Samsung Galaxy 3 I5800 Preview

Interface and Functionality:

Our prototype of the Samsung Galaxy 3 I5800 utilizes Android 2.0 (Éclair), but we hope retail units of the smartphone will be equipped with the latest OS version.  As we said, the Samsung I5800 comes with a customized user interface, TouchWiz 3.0, along with quite a few pre-installed applications.

The menu at the top of the screen (can be dragged) allows you to control the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and silent mode functions, as well as take a look at missed events and unread messages. Finally, this is where the audio player gets visualized when running in the background.

The home screen of our prototype I5800 consists of seven pages, although we just don´t know whether or not the number is to be retained. There are four icons at the bottom of the screen that provide access to the main and dialing menus, the phone contacts and messaging. The main menu itself is quite different from the standard one typical of Android, because it´s divided into several pages and is no longer a vertically scrollable list.




Aside from the visual eye-candies and colorful icons of Samsung´s personalized interface, the I5800 comes with SNS (Social Network Service) support, just like the LG GW620, Pop, etc. It enables you to synchronize your contacts with relevant information about them from various social networks. It´s also what the preinstalled application Write and Go relies on in order to give you the option to simultaneously update your Facebook, MySpace and Twitter status.




Media Browser takes advantage of the phone's SNS support as well. This is actually a gallery that, except for the available images, allows for browsing of yours and your friends´ Facebook and MySpace picture galleries.



No matter the text entry mode, you are able to type away with Swype, the new text entry method that allows for entering words by sliding your finger over the necessary letters.



The browser also permits Swipe-entry of web addresses, which is certainly not among the standard text input methods of Android. The application supports multitouch and features tabs. Flash is unavailable on our prototype, but we would be happy if the final units support it.