The Design
Many will say that from the front it looks a lot like an iPhone and I say, so what? Apple have found a design that is sexy and appealing, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However Samsung have added their own to the design. On the back you'll notice a slight bump, this is ingenious design by Samsung. It raises the back just enough that it doesn't scratch on surfaces and also protects the 5 megapixel camera. The power button is annoyingly, on the right hand side of the phone. Conveniently placed where your thumb would be meaning you accidentally turn the screen off once in a while. You do, however, get used to it and it doesn't become so much of a problem.
The Hardware
We have quite a treat in the Samsung Galaxy S, a 1ghz processor (the same one used in the iPhone 4) and an integrated graphics chip mean that the phone plays YouTube videos, games and music effortlessly, it really is a media lover's device. The 5 megapixel camera takes clear photos and can also record 720p HD video which complements the 4 inch Super AMOLED display. The screen is incredible it's crisp, colour true and easily visible in sunlight. On top of the display is a sheet of Gorilla Glass, a type of glass resistant to scratches (and even knives in some YouTube videos). The Galaxy S comes in two versions, one with 8gb and another with 16gb of inbuilt memory, if this doesn't sound a lot then you can use a microSD card up to 32gb.
The Software
The phone comes with Android version 2.1 (Eclair) but is upgradeable to 2.2 (Froyo) and soon 2.3 (Gingerbread). I'll be talking about 2.2 as it's the latest available. Samsung uses their own user interface on top of Android 2.2 called TouchWiz. It has 7 home screens all with a host of widgets waiting to be put on them, ranging from YouTube to your daily briefing (News, shares, diary). Several rather nice applications come pre-installed on the phone. One of them is Swype, an innovative new way of writing on a phone, instead of tapping on each key you swipe your finger along them (I personally use this as the default input method, it's that good). All the typical Android applications are included too (Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Search etc). Android 2.3 brings improvements to speed and several new unannounced features.
Conclusion
Considering the phone's only flaw is the position of the power button, it is easily the nicest looking and easiest to use Android phone on the market. The in-built media functions cater to everyone and the beautiful display is easy on the eyes.
Omran gives the Samsung Galaxy S 9 out of 10.
Omran Hussein, CeX UK Contributor.
Omran Hussein, CeX UK Contributor.
