Software and conclusions
Onto the software, this is what I was banging on about at the start of this piece. At the end of the day the Samsung Galaxy S is an Android phone. The UI is defined by Google, the customisability is defined by Google, and the apps - with a few Samsung extras - are defined by Google. It's a Google-phone and admits as much on the back.
In case you've never used an Android phone, this means you have the ‘wall of apps' much like an iPhone, but you get excellent integration with Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, YouTube, etc. And, of course, you get the rapidly growing Android Market. I've found Gmail and Google Maps especially to be excellent mobile products but, of course, you can get them on all Android phones.
There is some unique stuff. Samsung Apps is a store of around 20 free downloads, which includes a news and weather widget and a bunch of different language dictionaries. There's also the option of using Swype technology when typing but, frankly, it takes a bit of getting used to.
The only other UI variation I detected was that buttons for ‘Phone', ‘Contacts', Messaging and ‘Applications' appear at the bottom of the screen no matter which of the seven home screens you're on. Samsung also chucks in a couple of free e-books - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Pride and Prejudice - which is nice.
Widgets are fun - these are dynamic data feeds that display on the home screen. The ESPN one is great for sports results and, in my opinion, TweetDeck for Android is all I need in the field of ‘social hubs' that OEMs seem so desperate to thrust at us. Lastly I recommend Advanced Task Killer, which has a widget that shuts down all superfluous apps with one touch.
So, in summary, the Samsung Galaxy S is a good Android phone. You can't go too far wrong with an Android phone, it seems, because a lot of the quality is assured by Google. As long as you pick an OEM that can get new versions of Android out reasonably quickly - I updated to Froyo while researching this review, but some HTC handsets got it sooner - you don't have to worry too much about obsolescence.
What you pay for by getting a more expensive phone is hardware spec and the likelihood that the OEM will prioritise Android updates over cheaper ones. But that aside, and much as I enjoyed using the Samsung Galaxy S, there seemed no compelling reason to chose it over equivalent Android handsets such as the HTC Desire.
Good:
- Android
- Hummingbird SoC
- Screen
- Timely OTA update
Bad:
- Plastic chassis
- No alert LEDs
- A lot like other Android phones
HEXUS Rating
