Samsung Galaxy S..... impressed.

[Cuda1447]

Any of you had a chance to check out the Galaxy S yet? If you're looking for Android, you might consider giving this phone a look. The screen is VERY impressive and looks substantially better than my N1 screen. And performance wise, seems to be quite a bit snappier too. I ran the pond water live wallpaper on the N1 and Galaxy S side by side. I was very surprised at how much more fluid the Galaxy S was than my superphone.


That said, the only real downside to the Galaxy S is that its made by Samsung and we all know the issues with that and Android. The average person wouldn't care, but us phone enthusiasts it may be a deal breaker

 

[Narmer]

I will never invest in a Samsung phone. Once you hand over yourr money, the company forgets about you.

 

[KingGheedora]

Does this phone support 4G?

Does HSPA+ mean it will support 4G on the carriers when they roll out their 4G?

From what I understand 4G works on this phone on Sprint, so it seems to be the case at least for Sprint. Will this phone support 4G on Verizon, ATT, and T-Mobile, if/when they roll out 4G?


I've been looking to get a phone for a while now and my iPhone is really unusable now. I'm looking to get it as soon as it comes out(EVO4g a little too big and poor battery life, Galaxy seems better than Incredible). Which carrier would be the best to get this phone on, if I'm in NYC? I really dislike ATT FWIW, currently have an iphone on them and it would take a miracle for me to stick with them.

 

[Bateluer]

Does this phone support 4G?

Only the Sprint version, the Epic 4G, supports Wimax.

Does HSPA+ mean it will support 4G on the carriers when they roll out their 4G?

HSPA+ is not 4G, either Wimax or LTE, and has no bearing on whether or not the device will support the 4G standards.

From what I understand 4G works on this phone on Sprint, so it seems to be the case at least for Sprint. Will this phone support 4G on Verizon, ATT, and T-Mobile, if/when they roll out 4G?

My understanding is that the Galaxy S line up does not support LTE, the 4GT standard used by VZW, ATT, and T-Mobile. Given that Verizon's 4G rollout is supposed to be the quickest and they don't expect to have any LTE coverage until the end of 2010, I wouldn't worry about it. The initial LTE coverage will be so scant, it won't be worth it to have an LTE phone right away. 4G support shouldn't be a factor in a cell phone purchase today.

I've been looking to get a phone for a while now and my iPhone is really unusable now. I'm looking to get it as soon as it comes out(EVO4g a little too big and poor battery life, Galaxy seems better than Incredible). Which carrier would be the best to get this phone on, if I'm in NYC? I really dislike ATT FWIW, currently have an iphone on them and it would take a miracle for me to stick with them.

I cannot really answer this, not sure which carrier has the best coverage in NYC.

 

[pm]

That said, the only real downside to the Galaxy S is that its made by Samsung and we all know the issues with that and Android. The average person wouldn't care, but us phone enthusiasts it may be a deal breaker

As someone who doesn't follow the Android scene... what are those issues? I'm thinking vaguely about a Galaxy S to replace my iPhone 3GS.

 

[zerocool84]

The screen is VERY impressive and looks substantially better than my N1 screen.

It has a Super AMOLED screen which makes it usable in sunlight. Sucks that they can't get these fast enough as this would be great in every phone so we can get rid of IPS.

 

[zerocool84]

As someone who doesn't follow the Android scene... what are those issues? I'm thinking vaguely about a Galaxy S to replace my iPhone 3GS.

Samsung is known for not supporting their devices long after release but they did release 2.1 for the Moment which is great and this is supposed to be their super phone right now so I'm sure they'll support it as they did with the Moment.

 

[Bateluer]

Samsung is known for not supporting their devices long after release but they did release 2.1 for the Moment which is great and this is supposed to be their super phone right now so I'm sure they'll support it as they did with the Moment.

I don't expect upgrades indefinitely, but at least one major upgrade should be offered. Android 2.1 to 2.2, a phone released with Froyo should get an upgrade to Gingerbread.

 

[Cuda1447]

It has a Super AMOLED screen which makes it usable in sunlight. Sucks that they can't get these fast enough as this would be great in every phone so we can get rid of IPS.

Eh... don't expect full usability in sunlight. I was curious about those claims. Took my Nexus one and Galaxy out in the sun to see the difference. Really, it wasn't a huge difference. Neither was really usable, although you could make out a little more on the Galaxy.

 

[Cuda1447]

I don't expect upgrades indefinitely, but at least one major upgrade should be offered. Android 2.1 to 2.2, a phone released with Froyo should get an upgrade to Gingerbread.

Well the Galaxy is shipping with 2.1. So you can expect it to be upgraded to 2.2 (really, it should be shipped with 2.2 IMO). That said, I wouldn't bank on it getting 3.0 (gingerbread)

 

[preslove]

Do we know if the bootloader is signed on Galaxy S phones? Considering the very broad release of these guys, you'd think there would be a big demand for hacking...

I'm going to get a vibrant on Thursday because I'm stuck on T-Mo and it's the only high-end android device they'll have before September.

 

[KingGheedora]

Eh... don't expect full usability in sunlight. I was curious about those claims. Took my Nexus one and Galaxy out in the sun to see the difference. Really, it wasn't a huge difference. Neither was really usable, although you could make out a little more on the Galaxy.

Yeah, I heard the Galaxy's screen is better, but still not that great. Can't remember the link for it, but in one preview I read, the guy said he could use the phone in the sunlight with the brightness on high and if he was wearing his sunglasses.

 

[KingGheedora]

Do we know if the bootloader is signed on Galaxy S phones? Considering the very broad release of these guys, you'd think there would be a big demand for hacking...

I'm going to get a vibrant on Thursday because I'm stuck on T-Mo and it's the only high-end android device they'll have before September.

Don't you have to sign up for a 2-year contract to get the phone on Thursday? If you are stuck on T-Mo now, aren't you extending your "stuckness" by another two years?

 

[preslove]

Don't you have to sign up for a 2-year contract to get the phone on Thursday? If you are stuck on T-Mo now, aren't you extending your "stuckness" by another two years?

They aren't selling them retail/extending current contracts on Thursday? That would suck. I guess I'll call the local stores tomorrow.

 

[KingGheedora]

Technically they are but I assumed all the units shipping Thursday would immediately go to pre-orders, and so if you didn't pre-order you wouldn't be able to get one. I'm just guessing based on releases of iphones, and HTC incredible and Evo 4g's.

 

[Cuda1447]

Technically they are but I assumed all the units shipping Thursday would immediately go to pre-orders, and so if you didn't pre-order you wouldn't be able to get one. I'm just guessing based on releases of iphones, and HTC incredible and Evo 4g's.

The phone isn't in that high of demand. Locally our T-Mobile stores have had the phone in stock for about a week now and plenty of them at that. I dont think you should have any issue just walking in and picking one up when they release.

 

[Bateluer]

Do we know if the bootloader is signed on Galaxy S phones? Considering the very broad release of these guys, you'd think there would be a big demand for hacking...

I'm curious about this as well. If the boot loader is open, then I don't give a rats butt if Samsung supports the phone with software upgrades so long as the hardware is solid and reliable. The Android community will take care of rom upgrades for a long time.

 

[preslove]

The phone isn't in that high of demand. Locally our T-Mobile stores have had the phone in stock for about a week now and plenty of them at that. I dont think you should have any issue just walking in and picking one up when they release.

Yeah, I talked with someone at a T-Mo store last weekend and they thought it wouldn't sell out like the HD2.

 

[preslove]

I'm curious about this as well. If the boot loader is open, then I don't give a rats butt if Samsung supports the phone with software upgrades so long as the hardware is solid and reliable. The Android community will take care of rom upgrades for a long time.

Especially because it's basically the same phone across all 4 US carriers & Europe. If it's easy to hack, it will have a ton of community support.

 

[thescreensavers]

^ Annoying sig is annoying

Droid X vs Sammy Galaxy S

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVk9rmNQgQ

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIQJ-3a96oM

 

[Raduque]

I'm getting a Vibrant on Thursday. Based on what I'm reading here and on other forums, I shouldn't have a problem getting one when my local store opens.

 

[jalaram]

I read somewhere that AT&T's version will be available for $350 off contract.

 

[Bateluer]

I'm getting a Vibrant on Thursday. Based on what I'm reading here and on other forums, I shouldn't have a problem getting one when my local store opens.

We expect full details, pictures, videos, comparison shots, etc.

Really curious about that boot loader. I have a suspicion that if I want to actually own the phone, T-Mobile might have to be my carrier of choice next go around.

 

[KingGheedora]

Any reason the AT&T version wouldn't work on other carriers, and vice-versa? Excuse my ignorance about phone networks.

 

[Phobic9]

Any reason the AT&T version wouldn't work on other carriers, and vice-versa? Excuse my ignorance about phone networks.

The AT&T version will work on T-Mobile (both are GSM based networks) but not Sprint or Verizon (these are CDMA based networks). You wouldn't be able to take advantage of T-Mobile's 3G speeds if you use an AT&T phone since they use different 3G frequencies from AT&T.