Samsung i9000 Galaxy S Review

The Samsung i9000 or popularly known as Galaxy S of Samsung is a smartphone from the Korean company that is going to give the iPhone4 a run for its money. The Samsung Galaxy S is an Android smartphone packed with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor with 16 GB internal memory. It also has a 4 inch 480 x 800 pixel Super AMOLED widescreen with capacitive touchscreen display. Moreover, the device tenders a 5 megapixel camera in addition to the VGA camera in the front which can be used for video calling.

BODY DESIGN
The Galaxy S bears a splitting resemblance in terms of the body design to Apple’s iPhone. The central “home key” below the touchscreen, the rounded corners and the stainless steel trim of the iPhone is all there on the Samsung Galaxy S too. However the Galaxy has a flat back instead of the curvy one of the iPhone. It also sports a large square camera lens in the top left corner. With a physical dimension of 2.5 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches and weighing just around 4.2 ounces, the Samsung Galaxy S is easily among one of the biggest and lightest smartphones in the market. The phone has massive 4 inch capacitive touchscreen and works under Samsung’s own Super AMOLED display technology.
This Samsung smart phone has a shiny plastic body and the light weight of it makes it feel less substantial than other phones in its range.
MULTIMEDIA
Galaxy S has a 5 megapixel camera but no flash. It has got options to set scene and focus modes. The touchscreen focus setting of the camera lets the user define the focus point in a shot by just touching the subject in the viewfinder. The camera of the phone is not impressive as it fails to deliver photos with minute detailing in terms of lighting and colors or focus. The video recording in HD has nothing to complain about. Videos can be recorded at 720p HD video at 30 fps. The video media player supports both DivX and XviD formats along with the standard MP4 and H.264 files that is in all Android phones. It also plays multiple audio formats like MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC. FLAC is not supported in most of the mobile phones. The sound quality of the music player is very good. It is truly music to the ears.
The Android browser in the Galaxy S works efficiently making it a threat to the Safari Mobile on the iPhone4. WebPages gets loaded very quickly in both Wi-Fi and 3G networks. For applications, the Galaxy has two kinds of portals. They are the Android market and the Samsung Apps portal. Asphalt 5, the old favorite, racing game application is also in the device. The Social Hub Inbox in the Galaxy S allows you to check status updates and newly added pictures from your friends’ social networking accounts.
Even the humble FM radio is in the Galaxy so that it does not lag behind in any multimedia features.
MEMORY
The Galaxy S has an internal memory of 16 GB which is pretty large for any mobile phones. Not only that the memory can be expanded up to 32 GB through its microSD slot according to the need of the user.
CONNECTIVITY
The Samsung Galaxy is a high-end smartphone, so the connections offered on the phone are numerous. It has Wi-Fi and 3G for access of internet. It can reach maximum data transfer of 7.2 mbps HSDPA. The device has the latest Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP as compared to the generally used version 2.0. The microUSB port is also in the phone for wired connection of the device to a PC. The inclusion of the standard 3.5 mm jack gives us the choice to use any headphones we want.
This Samsung phone can also be used as a modem when connected to a PC. It can even act as a Wi-Fi hotspot through Mobile AP option. The phone also supports TV out i.e. videos on your phone can be watched on the TV by just connecting the two devices.

PERFORMANCE
The Super AMOLED widescreen is the beauty of this phone. Any image on the phone is a thing to admire due to its high resolution and the perfect contrast ratio. The Galaxy S is also very smart, thanks to its 1GHz processor. There is no time lag in switching between menu screens or browsing the web. The audio quality of the phone is also quite satisfactory. The battery life of the phone is decent enough considering its multimedia capabilities like HD recording, music player and web browsing that drains a lot of battery life.
Coming to the User Interface of the phone, it is highly intuitive, and the presence of the Swype touchscreen keyboard has enhanced the experience of messaging in many ways.
VERDICT
Considering the price, the Samsung Galaxy S is not a phone for everyone. But for all of you, who can afford to buy it, want to be different and don’t like to join the iPhone owners brigade, the Galaxy is definitely the way to go. It has nearly the same features or even better compared to the iPhone. So go buy one to prove your individuality, its multimedia features or just for the 4 inch Super AMOLED screen.
The Samsung i9000 Galaxy S is available for $599.
REVIEWER’S RATING: 4/5