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5. Samsung Galaxy I7500 Review

Samsung Galaxy i7500 review

Posted by Khidr Suleman on Fri 30 Oct 2009

Close but no cigar - not yet anyway

Samsung can give itself a little pat on the back for realising the potential of the Google based OS earlier than most manufacturers. Following in the footsteps of the Android pioneers HTC, Samsung announced the Galaxy i7500 at the beginning of the year and smartphone is available to buy now - but is it any good?

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The Galaxy rocks the classic noir look and this coupled with the rounded curves and lovely gloss finish mean that it gives even T3’s award winning HTC Hero and its chin a run for its money in the looks department - be warned though it is a fingerprint magnet. The 114g weight, and the 11.9mm slimness of the Galaxy also makes it less bulky when compared to the newly released Android packing T-Mobile Pulse.


The Galaxy's 3.2-inch touch screen packs AMOLED technology which means the picture is just as shiny as the cover - just the way we like it. The 8GB internal memory is more than enough to get you started and if you fill it up there is room for 16GB more via a microSD slot.
 

By far the best feature is the user interface, which thanks to the Android OS makes the Galaxy simple to use. It’s the basic Android interface that we fell in love with on the G1 with a handy Google search bar and shortcuts to important applications such as messages, internet and contacts on the homescreen. With the responsive touchscreen and the haptic feedback, the option to drag and drop other icons onto the main screen is great and provides quick and convenient access to other frequently used apps.
 

As with all Android touting phones, texts are shown in threads and read like an instant message conversation – a great little touch. There are also numerous widgets and apps available to download from the Android store which will improve the user experience greatly and allow you to personalise your phone.


We do have a few gripes with the Galaxy though. The implementation of the on-screen QWERTY keyboard is not the best. In portrait mode the keys appear squashed and the space bar key is not the biggest so it’s easy to hit the full stop key all too often while typing.
 

Thankfully, using the keyboard is much more manageable in landscape mode but even this doesn’t compensate for the awkward T9 predictive text system- needless to say typing is less of a pain in the backside when it is switched off even if means your spelling has to suffer as a result.
 

The designers also seem to have made a little misjudgement in deciding to put the mini-USB port on the top of the phone. This isn’t exactly convenient, and leads to using the speakerphone if you want to make a call whilst charging.
 

Speed-wise, the Galaxy isn’t the Usain Bolt of smartphones running a tad on the slow side. The lag is particularly apparent when more taxing features such as the camera and camcorder are used. The 5 megapixel camera in particular produces good quality snaps with the LED flash. Unfortunately, the video recording is not up to the same standard with the picture being blurry and jerky at times - then again it was never going to replace your Flip Mino anyway.


Using the internet can be a mixed experience with the speed ranging from painfully slow to reasonably quick when WiFi is used. The menu option does make it easy to enter addresses, bookmark pages and windows but zooming in and out can be fiddly. Unfortunately, the battery life isn’t exactly great either especially if you use multimedia functions such as the internet frequently. You’ll be running to the nearest power point within hours of intensive use.
 

Out of all the frustrating features though, the Galaxy’s automatic lock takes the biscuit. Unlocking is such a hit and miss process and requires the pressing of a temperamental button on the side of the phone. Warning: this may cause your blood pressure to rise.
 

The Galaxy is a respectable effort from Samsung. It is by no means the finished article and is far from comparable to the likes of the Motorola DEXT with MOTOBLUR or the HTC Hero with HTC Sense. Both the Hero and DEXT offer fully customisable operating systems that have truly stretched Android’s legs. Think of the Galaxy as more of an alternative to the G1. Having said that, if you are a die-hard Samsung user this provides a decent introduction to the wonderful world of Android.


Link: Samsung Mobile
 

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