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There’s no two ways about it – Sammy’s new mobile looks like a hacked iPhone running Android. Throw in a 4in Super AMOLED sceen and for many, this will sound like a dream device – but the question is whether Samsung can pull it off.
At 118g, it’s no lightweight, but the back panel is flimsier than we’d like and in comparison to Apple’s legendary build quality it ends up feeling poorer by comparison. Luckily, the rest of the chassis is made of sterner stuff.
Super screen
Turn it on, and any reservations about build are blown away. It’s not the first phone we’ve seen with Samsung’s Super AMOLED tech, but the Galaxy S’s responsive 4in touchscreen really shows off just how bright and sharp it is.
It’s primed for HD video and picture browsing, and even in bright sunlight it’s relatively easy to view pics and read text. Side-by-side, an iPhone looks washed out.
Annoyingly, though, there’s no pinch-to-zoom action yet for flicking through pictures and the browser mechanic is uninspiring. Samsung’s music player offsets this with a Cover Flow-style album carousel. There’s a flush 3.5mm headphone jack, too.
Tasty Eclair
The Galaxy S ships with Android 2.1 (Eclair), but it will be getting the 2.2 (Froyo) update later in the year. Thanks to its speedy 1GHz Hummingbird chip, it shouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with all the new tricks to come from Google’s mobile OS; it certainly doesn’t struggle with the current version.
This is the first phone to run Samsung’s latest Touchwiz interface and haptic feedback from the Android touchkeys is a nice, ahem, touch. Again, there’s more than a nod to the iPhone UI, particularly in the app browser, phone and music player – no bad thing.
Our test model was a pre-production device; dare we hope for a slicker final version?
Review continues after the break…
Decent 5MP snapper
The Galaxy S’s 5MP snapper does a fine job, with crisp daytime shots and decent handling in low-light situations, although there is some colour saturation and noise (there’s no flash, either). A second, front-facing camera will get props from the video-calling fraternity (whoever they are).
Video is sharp and vivid at 720p, but there is visible judder with fast movement. As you’d expect, playback is fantastic on the big screen, and the viewing angle is huge.
We got well over a day’s use from the handset from a single charge with fairly heavy usage. Expect it to go for the best part of two days in moderate use.
The Galaxy is an excellent addition to Android’s fast-growing, high-end smartphone crew. It lacks the build quality and slick HTC Sense interface of the HTC Desire, but in terms of performance and features it’s up there with the best, including its Apple doppelganger.
The First Hour
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1
It’s an iPhone! Wait, there’s a Samsung logo here
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12
You could blind yourself with that screen
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34
Silky multi-touch skills on the photo viewer
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40
Touch-focus on the 5MP snapper – nice
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47
Things look lovely on that 4-inch AMOLED screen
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60
The battery is holding up very, very well
Buzz-o-meter
Tech Specs
- Dimensions
- 122x64x11mm
- Main camera resolution
- 5MP
- Memory card type
- microSD
- Operating system
- Android 2.1 Eclair
- Screen size
- 4in Super AMOLED touchscreen
- Storage
- 8GB/16GB inbuilt
- Weight
- 118g
Comments
Brookser4
1 year ago
Samsung’s music player offsets this with a Cover Flow-style album carousel. There’s a flush 3.5mm headphone jack, too. Auslandsaufenthalt
Brookser4
1 year ago
It’s not the first phone we’ve seen with Samsung’s Super AMOLED tech, but the Galaxy S’s responsive 4in touchscreen really shows off just how bright and sharp it is. Moss International
lovellj102
2 years ago
Great phone, can be a bit slow at times but just get a good app killer and its fine. just as good as the Iphone 4 but cheaper with a bigger screen, better battery and is much lighter so your jeans stay where they are suppose to be! oh and no need to have a stupid case wrapped around it hiding its beauty!
bluepiper61
2 years ago
Great phone, battery life better than other samart phones
jordan118
2 years ago
I just bought dis phone and it is amazin :D i lv it so much it shud be higher up in da top charts :@
abhiwltya
2 years ago
simply excellent!!! why u should have it: Blazing fast,Good camera,Brilliant display,good for bussiness and multimedia too. Cons: No flash...but however camera flashes arent that good neways... This phone has a good speedy processor and with the phone software update to android2.2 froyo, things will get real smooth for galaxy s , those who have problems due to non respnsive screen that is just due to daily briefing widget..nothing serious. Now I am goin to compare GALAXY s and (its biggest rival) iPhone 4 On many sites I have seen a very bad comparison based on many errors. Firstly, the screen. For iPhone,It is IPS technology over standard LCD that gives visually more richer and vibrant colours and increased viewing angle.However none of these variables are as good as on a Super-Amoled. It is the galaxy's more expensive S-Amoled screen that will have the wow factor when both phones are placed side by side, with much more vibrant and vivid colours and true blacks along with full 180 viewing angle. The larger screen is a bonus too. Verdict: Win for Galaxy S Camera: Both 5mp cameras, but the iphone has a flash, therefore win for iphone4. However,Galaxy S has a front facing camera that is 1.3mp (higher than iphone4), and it is the only of the two phones to support true video calling over 3G or WIFI to any skpe device. It is also the only one to output and play any HD content as 720p, both within the phone or wirelessly to your TV via DLNA. Procesor. Many sites got some facts wrong again on this one. Both phones use the same 1Ghz ARM processor (made by samsung!), however the samsung graphics proccessor (GPU) is massively more powerful. Meaning the galaxy wins in raw processing power, and also graphics power Million triangles per second (fastest on any phone ever made). Even the 1ghz snapdragon processors in the HTC Desire, when running Froyo2.2, have more raw power than iphone4/ipad processor. Verdict: Galaxy S win. Operating System. Both operating systems have a very very similar great intuitive user interface that "just works", with simple touches loading apps instantly .A far cry from the buggy and laggy winmo and symbian with their complicated menus. However where android wins is the OS has so many more features whilst iOS4 is still lagging behind, from full multitasking, live widgets, web flash, more free apps in app store, galaxy's ability to play HD Divx, Xvid, Avi, MPG, MKV, FLV etc, HDMI out wirelessly, wireless i-tunes syncing, mobile wifi hotspot, more advanced social networking integration, superior notification system, and the massive customisibility. Verdict: Win for Galaxy S overall: iphone4 :1, galaxy-s: 3 This also ignores the fact that the galaxy s costs less on contract, has removable microSD cars, standard micro-usb card, faster brower, faster app loading, bluetooth 3.0, free google sat nav, etc etc. The only advantages the iphone has over the galaxy is there are more high calibre games currently available, the flash camera, and the materials used on the phone are better quality (although both phones look fab)
philhami
2 years ago
This phone is the business. Its everything you could want and more. So easy to use, great to look at and some brill features. Easy Apps to download, some great games to keep you occupied and the sat nav is second to none. Best phone I've ever owned. If there was one critisim, it would be the battery doesnt last long. I bought a in car charger for £7 from a Vodafone shop and it works a treat. So all in all, I would thoroughly recommend this phone.
hugohugod2
2 years ago
Probably the best feature is the fact that the Galaxy s is not simply limited to grainy .mp4 formats and buggy .3GPs but it can play VIRTUALLY ANY VIDEO FILE. I was even able to play 1080p video from youtube, and full HD divx avi files, which means that ripped DVDs can be viewed in their original quality.
SMG_UK
2 years ago
Another poor review by Stuff.tv ! This is one amazing phone and the iPhone 4 won't even come close. As for Stuff's bad points a Flimsy back case hmmm its perfectly solid. There IS pinch to zoom !. And the Browser is fine plus soon to have full flash support erm can you do that with a iPhone no!