My Cellphone My Terms

Samsung Galaxy S i9000

Samsung is gearing up for its mammoth simultaneous worldwide rollout of it latest Android Smartphone, the Galaxy S i9000, already available in Europe and expected later this month both in India and US. Canada is listed as one of the 100 + countries expected to get this device but chances are much later in the summer. It would not be surprising to see Rogers carry the Galaxy S as it has the network to support this quad-band GSM phone with tri-band 3G support.

Is the Sky the limit with this New Android Smartphone?

The Galaxy S i900 is definitely a big brother to the Galaxy i7500, Samsung’s first Android Smartphone to hit the market earlier this year. Lots of improvements especially in the look and feel, with added power (1 Ghz processor) to support all the nifty applications made available with this device. By far one  of the more  notable features is its light weight and slim build with  a whopping 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen, ideal for watching movies and even taking in an e-book to pass some time. This device is also packing a 5-megapixel camera capable of top quality snaps, a full HD video and front-facing camera allowing for video calls.

The Galaxy S i9000 runs on Android v2.1 (Eclair) operating system and is the first phone to sport Smart Life, Samsung’s new user interface for Twitter. It also comes with a social networking aggregator called “Social Hub” which manages all your social media from your texts to Facebook messages in one streamlined user interface. Other Smart Life features include Daily Briefing, which lets you customize news, weather feeds and other important information, a Smart Alarm and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) for media sharing.

So is there really anything more to want in a full-touch smartphone? Take a look at the full line up of key features and not so impressive ones.

Key features:

SIZE	Dimensions	122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm ; 118 grams
	Weight	118 grams
DISPLAY	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches
OPERATING SYSTEM & PROCESSOR	OS	Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair)
	CPU	ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor
DATA	3G	HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n; DLNA
	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB
NETWORK	2G	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G	HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
MEMORY	Internal	8 GB/16GB storage, 512 MB RAM
	Card Slot	microSD, up to 32GB,
CAMERA	Standard Feature	5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, auto focus, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection
	Video	Yes, 720p @ 30fps
BATTERY	Type	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
	Stand by	Up to 750 h (2G) / Up to 576 h (3G)
	Talk Time	Up to 13 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 6 h 30 min (3G)
OTHER	Keyboard	Swype predictive text input
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS

A nice added touch worth a  special mention is the inclusion of Swype keyboard ,which is an on-screen keyboard  that allows you to drag your finger across the screen instead of picking it up every time you type a letter making it easier and faster to input. Still debated in many circles whether it really speeds things up but like anything else, it will take some getting use too and not suited for everyone. You be the judge.

What’s not so Impressive:

• No free GPS navigation solution
• No Flash support for the web browser
• No flash for the camera
• No dedicated camera key
• The all-plastic body is a real fingerprint magnet
• Meager loudspeaker

Take Away:

As of today the Samsung Galaxy  S is one of the most anticipated Android smartphones of the summer. Hopefully Rogers and perhaps even one of the new entrants will step up to the plate and bring this device sooner rather than later before it loses its lustre. No definitive word on the exact costs but widely rumoured in the US the 16 GB model could carry a price tag of US $1000 if you choose to buy the phone outright, while the 8 GB price is around the $600 mark making it the affordable option.Whatever you decide always remember when shopping to do your research, compare plans to get the best terms that work for you .