Samsung GALAXY S I9000 Review
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This is a global GSM phone. It can be used with AT&T's 1900MHz 3G band, and with T-Mobile USA without 3G.
Variants of the Samsung Galaxy S I9000 have been announced by all four major U.S. carriers and will be released as the Captivate by AT&T, Vibrant by T-Mobile USA, Fascinate by Verizon and Epic 4G by Sprint.
Introduction:
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- Samsung GALAXY S handset
- Li-Ion battery 1500mAh
- Headset with microphone
- User manual
- Get to know booklet
- Travel adapter
- microUSB cable
- Screen protector
Design:
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The Samsung Galaxy S is a typical rectangular representative of the big touchscreen phone designs these days | ||
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You can compare the Samsung Galaxy S I9000 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
There are three keys right below it – touch home, physical menu and touch back. Long pressing the context menu key fires up the smart search function, so we actually have all four standard Android keys present. The other front elements are above the screen - the earpiece slit, a front facing VGA cam, and the dot sensors for proximity and ambient light. The Samsung branding is visible right above the screen, as well as on the lower section of the battery cover.
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The 4” display | The three keys below the screen | Earpiece and front facing cam |
The back hosts the 5MP camera lens in the upper left corner, and the speaker grill on the right. Below them is the ubiquitous “with Google” branding, which hints this is a full-featured Android device, with the whole set of Google services preinstalled. The dotted back cover makes one think the phone has measles rather than bring the alleged carbon fiber-esque look, but that's our take.
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The back has a nice curved hump | 5MP camera lens and speaker |
On the upper left side is the volume rocker, which is a whole piece with a decent travel click, and on the right is the power/lock key. It is welcome that Samsung has provided a physical lock key to the GALAXY S. You can't accidentally dial on a capacitive screen in your pocket, but it's the quick pressing of the lock key before you slip it in, that completely takes the worries out.
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Another nice idea from Samsung is the sliding lid over the microUSB port at the top of the Samsung GALAXY S – prevents dirt and lint from clogging the port. The same can be found on the Samsung Wave, and takes another worry out of the equation. The top also houses the 3.5mm audio jack, which can serve as an S-video port for TV-out, if you get the additional cable. It would have been nice to have an HDMI-out port, so sound can travel to your TV as well as picture, but obviously Samsung hasdecided to leave the GALAXY S out of the multimedia battles. The only other element worth noting is the microscopic mic hole at the bottom of the device and that's all there is on the outside. Pretty simple and streamlined exterior..
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The microscopic mike hole at the bottom | ||
Another nice idea from Samsung is the sliding lid over the microUSB port at the top of the Samsung GALAXY S | ||
The handset's design is not amazingly inventive, but rather practical and comfortable for holding thanks to a hump at the very bottom of its back cover. We wouldn't actually consider the device too big since it is also very thin with its 0.39” (9.9mm). This commendable achievement is due to the technology behind the 480x800 pixels WVGA Super AMOLED screen. Samsung has disposed of the air layer between the touch sensitive panel and the display, and has placed the touch sensor directly over it – almost like coating, considering it is 0.000040” (0.001 mm) thick. This surely helped to keep matters nice and svelte in the Samsung GALAXY S I9000, despite its powerhouse status. It also sports true black color, wider viewing angles and is very usable in direct sunlight thanks to the lack of air pocket in the Super AMOLED technology. What we didn't like in this display was how you can easily see almost every single pixel in it. We are not sure if it's the low ppi count or the particular technology involved, but it surely has a negative effect on image clarity and even usability, as it makes small texts pretty hard to read.
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The 480x800 pixels WVGA Super AMOLED screen | |
The only gripe we have with the design is the plasticky build, unlike the nice aluminum one, found in the Samsung Wave. We would have preferred more upscale materials or accents, but, oh well, as long as the phone is sturdy as it appears, we will sit tight and wait for the Vanity Fair moment to pass.
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56 Comments
1. ace1122 posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
Looks like the iphone 3gs. Not cool samsung. You can come up with better designs than that. Like the wave. Now that phone is awesome looking. Simple yet sexy.
2. vensudy posted on 24 Jun 2010, 12:38 0 0
Dude, Iphone 3gs is not available to some people Samsung is available to all people, Samsung is cool :) we need to see what is the price of this phone since its coming in 110 countries, it should be affordable.
3. ace1122 posted on 24 Jun 2010, 21:16 0 1
I have a hard time believing you can get this phone in places where you cannot get the iphone...
21. veesion posted on 27 Jun 2010, 22:18 0 0
well actually...many Samsung's mobile are look like these..but all that models are not smartphone...hehehe...like back in the old days Samsung SGH-F700 well...iphone4 model looks like n96 and samsung's model
4. rtimi26 posted on 25 Jun 2010, 09:57 0 0
I believe this is a biased review when compared to the iphone4. besides what happened to the breakdown of points I miss that.
5. four_zero40 posted on 25 Jun 2010, 12:23 1 0
"Plastic look and feel" I'd rather have that than glass that can easily shatter (Iphone 4)
15. skybucks21 posted on 26 Jun 2010, 09:05 0 0
You're right. Apple boast the strength of the glass used in iphone but according to the testing made by customers, 2 drops is enough to shatter that pristine display. Again, not an iphone hater. Just a phonearena hater. By the way, I like the iphone4 'cause it has cool looks! Very cool!
6. chaosnightmare posted on 25 Jun 2010, 14:01 0 0
cheap review, this is te only site reporting lag problems for this phone, they don't even wrote properly about the superamoled screen (just like they did with iphone's retina one) and they are more worried about materials than ergonomics and weight, it's a phone not jewelery
16. skybucks21 posted on 26 Jun 2010, 09:08 0 0
You're absolutely right dude! They didn't even mention the superb performance of SUPER Amoled display outdoors. While most of us know that Apple exaggerated their claim that the pixel density of the screen is beyond what the human eye can see. This s proven by an expert. Again, not an iphone hater nor apple hater. JUST A BIASED REVIEW!
39. Jasiejase (unregistered) posted on 01 Sep 2010, 22:49 0 0
Actually, I do experience some lag that was mentioned in the review. Seems to happen more when I use live wallpaper.. But still a great phone to have!
7. arash84v posted on 25 Jun 2010, 17:10 0 0
Does the Galaxy S use the 8GB Memory to install apps???? or does it have a 2GB ROM to install applications???
8. remixfa posted on 25 Jun 2010, 17:44 0 0
from what i understand its 2gb for the install. of course, when apps2sd is involved, that doesnt matter :) and whats the 8.5 for anyways? the only really negative thing the review said was the lack of a flash on the camera. granted i think thats BS that it doesnt have it like 90% of higher end samsung phones, its still not the "norm". So you take 1.5 points from the review? Or is it you just didnt want the score too close to the iphone4??? and i agree, ill take plastic over "glass front and back" any day of the week. in the real world, the plastic will take more than 3 or 4 drops and not shatter :)
9. eokorie posted on 26 Jun 2010, 04:58 1 0
I have always been a follower of PhoneArena but this time i will be taking your reviews with a pinch of salt. With all the superior advantages that the i9000 has over the iPhone4, you still managed to give the i9000 an 8.5 and the iphone4 a 9.5. Well that truly is a biased opinion.
10. skybucks21 posted on 26 Jun 2010, 05:47 1 0
Bad Review! They didn't even mention that this monster phone is capable of SWYPE, a very useful function for texters. SUPER Amoled screen is way better than OVERRATED Retina Display of iphone4. This review is a total piece of crap and very biased. FUCK YOU PHONE ARENA! FUCK YOU!!!
11. ajac09 posted on 26 Jun 2010, 08:03 0 0
LOL I agree but wow lol. Funny how its not snappy to them yet other reviews show if flying.. wonder how many apps they had open the thing uses a cortex processor with powervr and beats snappdragon in benchmarks yeah iphone arena dropped the ball again. I see their looking for a new editor hope they higher a more biased personn.
13. skybucks21 posted on 26 Jun 2010, 08:54 0 0
Lol! I like the "iphone arena" part. I agree to what you are trying to say. I really don't know if the one who reviewed this phone is blind or what. He can't even notice how fast this phone is. I am not an android fan or a n iphone hater. My point is just that they are not giving proper reviews. Personal Reference? CRAP! Look at gsmarena. They balance their review to pros and cons and they don't even rate a phone because one is always different from the other unlike this crap site which criticize other phones and put all the praise in the iconic iPHONE. Again, FUCK YOU PHONEARENA! FUCK YOU!
12. veesion posted on 26 Jun 2010, 08:26 0 0
hauahuha... this is so biased......even..desire and legend score higher than galaxy s [9]...... these are all the things that missing pros: Good battery life... which samsung always known with super amoled uses 20% less power... the awesome graphic processor.... the swype technology... the awesome 1ghz processor.... Wireless tethering... only 9.9mm thin... front facing camera... VGA... which can be used for video calling.. over 3G which work in many country.. australia and in asia such indonesia... Text to speech.. super fast browser....Even faster than iPhone... the great camera quality... for picture and videos the great audio quality Bluetooth 3.0 its 6GB/16GB +microSD ....SO TONS of Storage.... and did they mention that iphone still cant share files through bluetooth...and cant use the 32/16GB as storage drive.... and cant turn off mobile network... Geez....... BAD REVIEW BAD REVIEW BAD REVIEW!!!!
18. gridlock posted on 27 Jun 2010, 06:05 0 0
veesion, all the stuff you list is mentioned in the reviews as pros, what are you talking about?! super amoled is great, but there will be other phones coming with it, and no flash but the phone still costs over 600 bucks, wtf?!? if it was more like $450, like the wave, yeah, but probably samsung didn't want to steal the thunder from the wave, which makes one of the best indoor shots i've seen, (judging from the samples here)...because wave has their own bada os they prob decided to cripple the galaxy s? if this baby doesn't get a flash it will stay just one gorgeous big screen, and i will not be getting it...flash IS the norm in expensive smartphones today...you'll figure it out next time at a party when the guys take out their waves, iphones and sonys and you are stuck with this! but yeah, i agree 9.5 is too much for the iphone, although it's in a leagure of its own with the app store and all, and can only be compared to the previous iphone version for now\ :-)
20. veesion posted on 27 Jun 2010, 21:59 0 0
well i dont know about pricing in US... but in rest of the world...nexus one, desire, galaxy s, xperia x10 are almost the same price....and if we're talking about iphone price...outside US...super expensive...galaxy s is US$570 ... apple iphone4 is US$1060...outside US (such Asia,Oceania,Europe) what do you think of that??? beside... dont compare Wave with Galaxy S......Wave is Bada...Galaxy S is Android... of course Android is better....and 3.2inch compare with 4inch display...thats a huge diff....Super Amoled with 4 inch until today announcement only on Galaxy s... the next one is on Beam 3.7...but beam is fat and i dont need the projector well for me...the review is bad...missing alot of things...its underated to give only 8.5 even HTC Legend scored 9.
