Samsung Galaxy S i9000 (with Video)

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Samsung Galaxy S i9000 (with Video)

Rohan Naravane, Jul 20, 2010 1340 hrs IST

This multimedia capable smartphone packs a punch but is priced much higher than its able sibling Samsung Wave

Thin and pocketable, classy design, best screen on a phone till date, plays HD videos along with DivX/Xvid directly, powerful hardware ensures smooth operation of Android 2.1, thoughtful UI customizations

No camera LED flash, GPRS connectivity issue, no camera shutter button, average battery life on heavy use

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Note: Review updated with UI walk-through video. Click here to view.

Samsung have been constantly trying to better its touchscreen phones ever since they took up the concept. And boy, what a notable evolution they've traced!

The Samsung Galaxy S is also referred to as the i9000. This tells us that Samsung has done away with their "Omnia" moniker for premium segment models, and have instead gone for numbers. If you look at the last three generations of Samsung touchphones, there have been a few milestone changes. Like the transition from LCD to AMOLED to Super AMOLED screens and from Windows Mobile to Symbian to Android operating systems.

The Galaxy S is late to the race of the Rs. 30,000 something, iPhone competing, Android laden smartphones. Here, phones like the Nexus One/HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 have already penetrated the market. But it seems like Sammy had been prepping real hard to deliver quite a knockout contender. Read on to find more about how good the Samsung Galaxy S really is.

Design and Build

The first time I pulled the Galaxy S out of my pocket in public, many people mistakenly identified it as an iPhone. I can't blame them, the finish and metallic rim on top definitely seems "inspired". But the Galaxy S is a beauty in its own unique way. The smooth surface texture and rounded corners are aesthetically pleasing. And damn, this thing is slim! Despite bearing a huge screen, the phone's 9.9 mm thickness makes sure that the phone doesn't feel bulky at any point of time. It slipped into my jeans pocket quite easily. And for a device packing so many goodies, a weight of just 120 grams is awesomely light. All in all, the device is a head turner in terms of looks, while not compromising on ergonomics. The body feels fairly sturdy. The textured back cover reminded me of the one on the Samsung Jet.

It's got this slightly protruding chin (or butt, in this case) at the back of the device. The phone is minimalistic in terms of buttons -- there's a power/lock to the right, volume controls to the left and the menu/home/back keys on the face. The less used Search button seen on other Android phones is not present here, but you can press and hold the menu key to deliver the same effect. The top is occupied by a microUSB and a 3.5mm headphone jack in that slender body. One button we missed not having is the camera shutter. I personally would like it more to take precise snaps instead of tapping the screen.

OK, I can't hold it in any longer. Let me talk about the screen now. The Galaxy S has a Super AMOLED screen; the same technology we witnessed on the Samsung Wave. But while the Wave's screen measured a reasonable 3.3 inches, this phone has a huge 4-inch display bearing an 800 x 480 pixel resolution. All these specifications led to what we can describe in two words as a 'visual orgasm'. I'll take the privilege of stating that it is the best screen we've seen on a phone till date.

The screen looks fantastic and crisp. So much so that I had to choose a single color tone wallpaper because the vivid ones served as a distraction while reading the shortcuts on the homescreen. Other than the 'super' output, Super AMOLED also serves another advantage; better sunlight legibility. In our experience, even with bright sunlight the text on the screen was fairly visible. Not as clear as one would desire, but definitely better than before. It also offers excellent touch response. Every activity, from typing to multi-touch pinch zooming, was quite accurate and on par with the iPhone 3GS's experience, if not better. The size is great for reading through websites or e-mail, as well as videos and photos. There's a good quality front facing camera as well, along with the ambient light sensor (which we missed in the Wave) and a proximity sensor.

The speakerphone at the back is just about loud to hear phonecalls and other audio in a silent environment. But in a noisy area, it isn't mighty enough. It is not as loud or clear as the Samsung Wave's speaker. But I guess these are compromises you have to bear with for a phone this slim. But one compromise that we weren't willing to adjust easily was the lack of an LED flash. C'mon Samsung, even the adamant Apple finally succumbed to put one in their iPhone 4. It's quite useful during photography and videography in the dark. A single-bulb LED would've been sufficient, like the one on the Wave.

Overall, we only had a thing or two to complain about the design of this phone. Otherwise, the phone is just perfect; it radiates a feeling of class, status as well as uber-style.