Tnkgrl mobile couldn’t have better timing. While I just finished up my Samsung Fascinate review, here comes tnkgrl with a great comparison of the four big carrier Galaxy S phones.
Tnkgrl puts the Fascinate [tracking page], Epic [tracking page], Captivate, and Vibrant side by side with photo and video comparisons and offers her usual experienced commentary on their performance. Head on over to her site to check it out the full range of photos and videos.
Samsung has now launched 5 phones under the “Galaxy S inch brand. They are all quite similar with 1GHz Samsung hummingbird CPUs, 512MB of RAM and running Android 2.1. The only outlier being the “Epic inch which has a slide out QWERTY keyboard and 4G service from Sprint, while the others all lack a physical keyboard and 4G radios.
We’ve got the Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate (the Verizon version) on hand for review and dare I say, it might be the best Android handset that Verizon is currently offering.
As usual, we’ll look at the device’s important specs and show you a quick hardware tour. For more detailed specs and info, check out our Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate tracking page.
Specs:
Hardware tour:
Converged devices mean more functionality and, unfortunately for me, the need for much longer reviews! I’ve been working hard on the Galaxy Tab over the last few weeks and over at Carrypad I have just posted Part 2 of the full review where I cover things that some of you ‘mo-pros’ out there will be interested in. Browser details, office and PIM applications and the rest of the included Samsung software suite. It’s fair to say that Samsung have added a lot of good stuff to the user experience in terms of usability and functionality and it shows the way forward for Android tablets. Unfortunately, not many developers are taking 1024×600 into consideration so much of the software out there still works with small-screen layouts.
You’re getting a lot for your money though and at this stage I can say that if you’re not dependant on Windows software you should take a close look at the Tab. I’m finding it’s fitting in well between a smartphone (even a basic one) and a netbook in my 3-device strategy.
Part 1 of the full Galaxy Tab review is here. (Overview, hardware, features)
Part 2 of the full Galaxy Tab review is here. (Applications)
Part 3 will be published later this week
We’re discussing the Galaxy Tab in the forum here.
A quick heads up. You can now check out the full specs of the Samsung Fascinate on our tracking page. On top of that, you can catch an early glimpse of the Samsung Fascinate in our gallery while you await the upcoming full review.
Here’s a short and sweet unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S phone for Verizon, the Fascinate. This phone has a 1Ghz Samsung Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4 inch 800×480 AMOLED screen and is running Android 2.1. Stay tuned for a full review and plenty of other coverage on this so far impressive phone.
Here’s a short and sweet unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S phone for Verizon, the Fascinate. This phone has a 1Ghz Samsung Hummingbird CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 4” 800×480 AMOLED screen and is running Android 2.1. Stay tuned for a full review and plenty of other coverage on this so far impressive phone.
Update: Our live review sessions are now available.
As the battery falls to under 20% after the first 24hrs of using the Galaxy Tab it’s time to give you some first impressions of the the final, retail version of the product. Has Samsung bisected the 5-9 inch tablet segment with another ‘must have’ product or is this just a product for rich-kids? Before I write any detail though, I must say one thing When a product is good it triggers strange thoughts in the mind. “How can I justify this inch is the inner monologue that tells you that you are dealing with a special product and I’m sure that many many people out there will be thinking this very thought after they’ve played with the Tab for a while. Let’s not forget the price of the Tab as we form our first impressions though.
Galaxy Tab supplied by TechDepot. Many thanks for their support.
As with most Android/Google experiences the out of the box experience is good if you’re a Google user. I am and that means just putting in one username and password and letting the device do its stuff. Email, Contacts, Calendar and YouTube were automatically set up. Popping in a (hot swappable) SIM card meant the phone and data connection was up within the first 5 minutes and I didn’t even have to worry about connecting to a WiFi hotspot for the unboxing demonstration. (Video embedded below) That’s how easy it needs to be. Note the lack of ‘connect your PC and download iTunes’ in that!
From the outside the plastics are good, solid, shiny and oh-my-god slippery. I’ve dropped the Tab once already (on carpet, no damage) but I can guarantee this will be an issue. It’s got that special easy-wipe layer of chemicals that the iPad has and although it does wipe clean easily, it slips all over the place. The aftermarket for cases and bumpers will be strong with the Tab.
The Galaxy Tab is a complete Android product. When I say that I mean that it works like an Android phone does. Market is there, cameras work (great, fast camera software BTW Samsung) and it’s stable and fast. The power utilisation is well optimised too. 25hrs the Tab has been on and it’s just coming up to the 10% charge warning. Overnight drain indicated that this will remain active for about 4 days without needing a charger and that, to me, is what ‘Smart’ is all about. If Android and the related apps could lean more towards productivity and true web experiences, this would be a netbook killer of a mini-smartbook. I’m imagining a 10 inch version with a keyboard in 2011. It just has to happen.
The ‘Tab’ comes with the efficient Android 2.2 build and browser and is pre-installed with Flash 10.1. It works quite well too but there are still roadblocks out there. Google Docs is still out of bounds as is my WordPress back end. Hover actions and complex AJAX are a serious issue for Android browsers which means in it’s current state, you can’t really call it the full web experience. Still, I doubt many Tab owners will worry too much about that. It’s not that important in this consumer market.
I’ve mentioned the camera software and it’s just one of the little extras that are dotted all round the Android build. There are a few nice widgets, a music store (Music Hub), DNLA support (AllShare), Divx/MKV/WMV and other codecs built-in and the Samsung Apps market which will bring apps dedicated for the Galaxy Tab. At the moment I see just two apps. One for the German media company N-TV (which crashed twice on me) and the other a remote control application for Samsung TVs. This area of the Tab needs ramping up although if Android 3.0 opens the doors to large-screen apps, maybe Samsung should focus on an upgrade to that.
Other not-so good sides to the Tab.
That’s all I’ve found so far. I’m sure we’ll find more in the live session.
Live Review and Q&A/chat tonight at 2100 CEST (Berlin) Carrypad.com/live
Image taken with Galaxy Tab rear camera
Camera features and quality seem good. Especially for a 3.2MP cam. Video quality also OK although there seems to be a sound issue. See quick uploaded sample video here.
Other notes:
Speedtest First test result was very good. (HSPA)
Image set
I haven’t done a proper photo shoot yet but here are some snaps.
That’s it for now. If you ignore the price (it’s totally up to you to work out if this is value-for-money for you. Remember, there’s no comparable products in the market as I write this) then you’ve got a slippery but very stylish and capable consumer tablet. Did I miss anything major? If so, drop a comment in below and we’ll be sure to cover it in the live review.
More information in the Galaxy Tab information page.
LIVE REVIEW – Q&A. Don’t forget to join us tonight, 15th October at 2100 CEST/Berlin on Carrypad.com/live for a live video review. Chat session too!
Unboxing video
Samsung has posted a demonstration of it’s upcoming Galaxy Tab device to it’s official YouTube channel. It’s great to be able to see what sort of performance people can expect out of the Galaxy Tab, rather than hiding behind pre-rendered videos of the software in action (more than we can say about the Blackberry Playbook at this point).
I’m pretty impressed with what is shown in the video, as long as shipping devices retain this level of smooth performance.
What makes me sad is how blatantly Samsung has ripped ideas from Apple. Honestly, I understand that some companies think that if they copy Apple they will be successful too, but how on earth can Samsung possibly be proud of shipping a product that has many parts of it’s interface copied right from the iPad? Apple isn’t the only company in the world that can design creative, usable, and intuitive interfaces, but if big players like Samsung are going to give up and just start copying, then maybe they will be.
I guess Samsung just wants to take advantage of the less informed as we near the height of tablet-mania. Perhaps they feel that if they can say “Look! Our book reader flips pages too! inch then maybe they’ll rope a would-be iPadder into buying their product instead.
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