Not the best Android

The Samsung I9000 aka Galaxy S is making waves in the Android sector. It is considered one of the most powerful devices in this segment. Take a closer look.

The Samsung I9000 aka Galaxy S is making waves in the Android sector. It is considered one of the most powerful devices in this segment. Take a closer look.

Form
If ever there was a legit iPhone clone, the Galaxy S is it. The handset's biggest asset is the 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen (480 x 800 pixels, 16 million colours). It's crystal clear and colours always appear vibrant and precise. At just 116 g, this wide device is extremely easy to carry around. I had an issue with using other handsfree kits. But the bundled kit is very comfortable.

The Galaxy S is available with 16 GB capacity, and support for external memory (microSD Hot Swap). Even if it looks like an iPhone clone, it is balanced and easy to use.

Features
Despite the ARM Cortex A8 processor (1 GHz), after installing a few basic apps and games, the device started to get a little crazy. The phone would ring for a good five seconds before the call screen popped up for me to answer and the overall system began to get a bit buggy. One issue I faced is that the TouchWiz 3.0 UI didn't give me the choice of how many desktops I could have. Android handsets usually allow you to select as many as you want.

An even bigger issue was that the internal memory showed 7 GB available, when I hadn't installed any data on the device. I was informed that the device is selling in India with 16 GB of on-board memory.

Media
The audio capability of the device is brilliant. Tones have a significant amount of depth with a rich audio clarity. The FM radio worked out really well and the reception was quite satisfactory even while commuting through the city.

The built in Aldiko eBook reader is very similar to Apple's iBook app. The interface is easy to use and the formatting of pages makes for convenient reading.

The 5 MP camera has a number of scene modes and features for all conditions. I was, however, disappointed with image reproduction. In most pictures taken in broad daylight, a few portions would often get a little too bright, like the lens didn't quite adjust to the light. On the whole, the camera didn't turn out to be much of an asset.
Not the best Android