The Android marketplace has grown exponentially over the last 12 months, and this onslaught has been lots attributed to the barrage of gadgets from hardware carriers globally. Samsung has secured itself as one of the predominant players inside the Android device market, struggling head-on with phone giants HTC and Motorola. With a slew of outstanding top-class cellular products under its belt that encompass the excessive-give up Samsung Galaxy S cell phone and the 7-inch tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Korean electronics monolith crashes the low-stop Android birthday celebration with a new access-level touchscreen phone – the Samsung Galaxy 5. This little Galaxy five runs Android OS v2.1 (Eclair). Shame that it is not a good deal-predicted Froyo, but in reality, a step up from v1.6 (Donut) is presented with some obtainable aid within the market. This pits it head-on with the Motorola Citrus, Sony XPERIA X8/X10, LG GT540 Optimus, and HTC Tattoo. For a sub-USD200 (SRP: RM699) device, it packs quite a buffet of functions. This begs the query – is there such an element as “cheap and pleased”? Read on.
At first glance, the Galaxy 5 appears strikingly similar to Samsung’s personal Corby, except for the additional four hardware shortcut buttons at the bottom. It’s tiny sufficient to match in the palm of your hand and at a scant 102g, very mild, too. The exterior is glossy plastic, and typical, the cellphone does feel cheap. Having said that, it is pretty great and cozy to hold and convey round. A three.5mm audio jack is included on the pinnacle as general, and the aspect left carries hardware extent buttons and a mini USB port. At the again is a 2MP digicam lens sans flash.
The display is a 2.8″ QVGA TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen show offering 240 x 320 resolution. Possibly the smallest screen on an Android phone, just like the Sony XPERIA X10 mini. For Android fans, you may be upset as there may be no support for multitouch. However, it does include Samsung’s Live wallpapers out of the container. Boo. The quality of the screen is not a great deal to shout approximately even though it is decently sharp and brilliant sufficient, and for the rate, a step up from resistive touchscreens on a few competing merchandises.
Having a small screen on a hint device can be disturbing, especially regarding typing on the touchscreen keyboard. In portrait mode, the keyboard feels clearly cramped. Typing the QWERTY in portrait may be error-encumbered (possibly because of my fats hands). This may be remedied in landscape mode, thankfully, wherein the keys are better spaced out. Users can use Swype for text access which is quite innovative, or the 3×4 keyboard. I discover the touchscreen responsive if mistakes-ridden with accidental touches. This isn’t always the cellphone’s fault in line with se, more so due to some UI quirks of the Android OS.
Whether it’s building automobiles or electronics, the Koreans, without a doubt, recognize the way to play the free sport. The Galaxy five is not any different and is really filled with capabilities. Everything you need in a telephone is quite tons served on the plate. A zippy 600MHz processor powers the device. You get high-speed 2.5G (850/900/1800/1900 Mhz) & 3G get right of entry to with HSDPA (as much as 7.2Mbps), Wi-Fi 802. Eleven b/g and Bluetooth v2.1, accelerometer, 2MP constant awareness digital camera which helps video recording, FM radio, 170MB inner memory with 2GB microSD (up to 16GB supported) and A-GPS.
The cellphone comes bundled with Samsung’s very personal TouchWiz interface and Swype (Samsung’s ultrafast text enter characteristic), no longer forgetting Samsung’s Social Hub software first visible on its bigger brother, the Galaxy S. It’s additionally armed with an HTML5 browser, an augmented reality app from Layar, aid for MPEG4, H.263, and H.264 video codecs, and Samsung’s AllShare platform which lets in for clean sharing of media throughout a full variety of DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-certified Samsung devices like notebooks and TVs. You may even use the Galaxy five as a remote for your Samsung TV or pc. Nifty.
Before I was given the cell phone, I sponsored up my contacts/calendars from my preceding telephone and Mac, then synced to Google. I hooked up the loose doubleTwist computing device app to deal with all media syncing on my Mac. DoubleTwist is very much like iTunes and even connects to the Android Market. Pay $1.Ninety-nine top class, and also you also get wi-fi syncing via something called AirSync. You’ll be capable of now not best download free and paid apps, however additionally podcasts (constrained, but) and buy a tune from AmazonMP3. Syncing is fantastically problem-unfastened with doubleTwist, and it even recognizes iTunes playlists. One of the first matters I did when I got the telephone turned into install some of my preferred apps – Twitter, Tweetdeck, Facebook, Opera Mini, WhatsApp, Foursquare, and Angry Birds via the bundled Android Market app. I also established Advanced Task Killer to free up memory manually, as I anticipated the inadequacies of the 170MB base memory. Downloading and installation are seamless and problem-unfastened.
Having used it as my number one telephone for the past four days, I’ve discovered the phone normally satisfactory and intuitive to apply, if a bit slow. The 600Mhz processor copes pretty well in fashionable. It’s no sprint queen for positive and can sometimes choke and lag when switching and strolling more than one apps. Typing does have a sizeable lag, and scrolling through a long touch listing may also take a while. There have been instances wherein the display screen is pitch black for 15-20 seconds even as the processor attempts to cope with the burden of switching in between apps. Without a committed GPU, it also struggles with a few games together with Angry Birds.
One essential rant would be battery lifestyles. While scouring Android boards, I examine customers getting 2-3 days battery existence. Very formidable, bold claims. No such good fortune with mine. With 3G on and the entirety else pretty much off, the Galaxy’s right for 6-7 hours tops before I want to plugin. I continuously have a cable with me, simply in case. I’m no longer positive if that is limited to my evaluating unit, but I’m a long way from inspired. Turning off 3G and walking handiest on EDGE gave me barely extra mileage. I’ve stored strolling apps to a minimal or even tweaked display screen brightness, background statistics (syncing), and notifications. Tasks encompass minimal voice calls, tweeting, SMS-ing, and messaging through WhatsApp and occasionally look at Facebook. A penalty for multitasking? Something to consider.
