Samsung Unveils Galaxy, hits on iPhone weakness

What a bold move by Samsung to take advantage of iPhone 4's latest antenna blunder and market/position their newest Android phone towards the Apple's frustrated users. The big question is will they succeed?


Well, the battle for Smartphone dominance is still wide open. The Android phone is getting more rave reviews lately and Blackberry OS is keeping up with the pace of the smartphone direction. Surprisingly, Symbian is still the most popular smartphone OS according to a Gigaom/Gartner survey (March 2010).


Samsung Galaxy S is determined to get a share of the iPhone market, from Samsung official:

“Recently there has been a real increase in online activity from consumers dissatisfied with some of our competitors’ products. We decided to contact a cross section of individuals to offer them a free Samsung Galaxy S as a replacement, as we’re confident that once people have the phone in their hands, they’ll see how impressive it is for themselves.” 

What's new with Samsung Galaxy S? Well, the AMOLED. We all know that Samsung's phone display is not the market leader and the touch-screen intuitiveness and sensitivity can be a headache for some users. By the way, don't be confused with Galaxy Spica, it's a different one.


But the Galaxy S boasts itself with a powerful 1Ghz processor and a HD video recording capability.

Hey, it looks like an iPhone!


Looking forward to a wider range of wireless connectivity and the HD video capability, but sadly, galaxy does not comes with a flash. The Amoled display is indeed a great upgrade to Samsung's currently weak display and touchscreen technical design.

Swipe Technology (the ability to slide your fingers to the keypad that is supposed to make typing easier and faster) is also an interesting key feature and this could be something curious users would first look into.

Layar browser is a hot, hot feature i would love to see on this one

As for the rest of the hardware, keeping the whole thing moving is Samsung’s own 1GHz Hummingbird processor, paired with 8GB (or 16GB, depending on version) of internal storage. In our 8GB review unit that’s partitioned into approximately 2GB for apps and 6GB for media; there’s also a microSD slot (for up to 32GB cards). Connectivity includes triband 900/1900/2100 HSDPA/HSUPA along with WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and a microUSB 2.0 port; there’s also GPS, an accelerometer, digital compass, and both proximity and light sensors. Like the iPhone 4, the Galaxy S has two cameras: one, a 5-megapixel autofocus unit on the back, and a VGA-quality front facing camera for video calls. No flash – LED or otherwise – however, though you can record 720p HD video at 30fps.

Samsung has something of a reputation for decent cellphone cameras, and the Galaxy S generally doesn’t disappoint. At 5-megapixels with autofocus, the only thing missing from the spec sheet is a flash of some sort. What you do get are various photography modes, including blink, face and smile detection, panorama and high-speed shooting, together with a decent amount of control over manual settings. There are also multiple effects, such as vintage and cartoon, and a high-visibility mode which boosts the UI so that it’s easier to see while outdoors. The end result are bright, clear and well balanced shots, with decent colors and – as long as you don’t use the digital zoom – little noise or pixellation. Without a flash you’re obviously limited in your low-light use, with focus being a particular trouble, though we might argue that LED flash units are generally underwhelming anyway. There are samples in the gallery below, unedited aside from being resized by 50-percent. 

[Slashgear]

For me, being a Samsung user, Galaxy S must answer Samsung's touch screen hurdle and sensitivity. This feature is sorely lacking in their latest full touch-screen line and I am looking forward to this new offering from Samsung.