Samsung Galaxy S

mathew · 06-07-2010 3:03pm

In order to get the update OTA the phone will have to be supported on the network you have it on as far as I know. If you are buying it from Meteor you have nothing to worry about. I just hope 3 start supplying it so I get 2.2 when it eventually comes out!!

Zagato · 06-07-2010 6:41pm

mathew wrote: »

In order to get the update OTA the phone will have to be supported on the network you have it on as far as I know. If you are buying it from Meteor you have nothing to worry about. I just hope 3 start supplying it so I get 2.2 when it eventually comes out!!

Are you sure this is the case as it is not for other android phones?

mathew · 06-07-2010 7:27pm

Zagato wrote: »

Are you sure this is the case as it is not for other android phones?

Well I havnt properly looked in to it. I'm sure if samsung release it and it can be done by USB it will all be fine.

BenEadir · 06-07-2010 10:53pm

All,

Got the phone earlier (stayed with VF in the end) and just spent the evening trying to set it up. I'm coming from a BlackBerry so I know there will be a learning curve but I'm honestly struggling to "get it" if you know what I mean.

Some of the things I'm struggling with:-

1. GSM signal strength. The signal bar is jumping all over the place when I'm sitting still in my living room. Normally I get a full 4 or 5 bars here yet the SGS is sitting mostly at one bar and sometimes no bars at all or a full 5 bars for a moment. I have another phone here right beside my new SGS which is getting a steady 5 bars constantly!!

2. I can't for the life of me figure out how to sync my Tasks and Memo's from Outlook? I can't even find a Tasks application on the SGS.

3. I set up my two Gmail accounts using the IMAP option following the instructions on the Google website. Is that the best option or should they be set up with the exchange option? What's the difference?

4. I heard a lot about "Widgets" but when I go to add widgets I'm only offered a list of 8 Android Widgets and 10 Samsung Widgets. Is that it??

5. Daily Briefing - In the calendar section it shows the first appointment today which was 14 hours ago. Why is it not showing the next appointment?

6. I had to manually set the system date and time as the automatic network option insisted it was July 7th at 6am when in fact it was 8pm on the 6th!

I'm sure I'll get the hang of it once I work out how the system works but man I'm frustrated at the moment.

The screen is indeed fantastic and the virtual keyboard (including Swype) is great but I'd sure appreciate some input on the above.

If there is a dedicated SGS user forum where I should be asking these questions please post a link or PM me. I need to get up to speed with this before I stomp on it out of pure frustration!!

Ben

Zagato · 06-07-2010 11:43pm

Just so you know I don't have an SGS, but a lot of your queries seem to be related to android rather than the phone itself

1. Try setting it to 2G to see if that helps, I know you probably want to have it on 3g mostly, but you can download a free switch widget, and you probably have wifi at home. There is an app called locale which will automatically change settings for you based on location or time (It's a paid app so not on market(unless you root) (and I'm not sure if it can switch between 2G/3G yet) but it can be downloaded from devs website)

2. I haven't tried to do this, there is an app called MyLink Access for Outlook which says it will sync tasks and notes with Outlook

3. Don't really understand the difference myself. I have a Gmail account set up at setup of my phone at the prompt to sign in, and an exchange account, and the gmail messages seem to get through quicker.

4. Widgets are available through android market, most are free and therefore available in Ireland. I use Weather channel, data counter widget, twitter, gmail unread count and a calendar agenda

5. Don't know as I don't have SGS, but would suggest getting one of the calendar widgets from the market

Hope you enjoy your android phone, and if you get into it a bit more you'll be pleased to know that it has already been rooted, so if you're brave enough, you won't have to wait for Samsung to roll out 2.2

By the way, am very interested to know how you find the battery life is, particularly for lots of voice calls, let us know how you get on.

Mr. Rager · 07-07-2010 12:23am

wayne040576 wrote: »

Ok.
So I decided to go for this, ordered it last night. I'll post my opinions on it after a few days use.

where did you order it from?

Zagato · 07-07-2010 8:38am

Forgot to mention one my favourite widget: Mini info, which displays battery life, internal memory and sd memory available on it.

If you don't have texts bundled into your mobile package, you can use an app to send messages using your webtext account, there are a number, my favourite at the moment is texdroid

wayne040576 · 07-07-2010 10:14am

BenEadir wrote: »

All,

Got the phone earlier (stayed with VF in the end) and just spent the evening trying to set it up. I'm coming from a BlackBerry so I know there will be a learning curve but I'm honestly struggling to "get it" if you know what I mean.

Some of the things I'm struggling with:-

1. GSM signal strength. The signal bar is jumping all over the place when I'm sitting still in my living room. Normally I get a full 4 or 5 bars here yet the SGS is sitting mostly at one bar and sometimes no bars at all or a full 5 bars for a moment. I have another phone here right beside my new SGS which is getting a steady 5 bars constantly!!

2. I can't for the life of me figure out how to sync my Tasks and Memo's from Outlook? I can't even find a Tasks application on the SGS.

3. I set up my two Gmail accounts using the IMAP option following the instructions on the Google website. Is that the best option or should they be set up with the exchange option? What's the difference?

4. I heard a lot about "Widgets" but when I go to add widgets I'm only offered a list of 8 Android Widgets and 10 Samsung Widgets. Is that it??

5. Daily Briefing - In the calendar section it shows the first appointment today which was 14 hours ago. Why is it not showing the next appointment?

6. I had to manually set the system date and time as the automatic network option insisted it was July 7th at 6am when in fact it was 8pm on the 6th!

I'm sure I'll get the hang of it once I work out how the system works but man I'm frustrated at the moment.

The screen is indeed fantastic and the virtual keyboard (including Swype) is great but I'd sure appreciate some input on the above.

If there is a dedicated SGS user forum where I should be asking these questions please post a link or PM me. I need to get up to speed with this before I stomp on it out of pure frustration!!

Ben

Ok,

To set up exchange do the following:
Go to settings -> Accounts and sync -> Add account -> choose corporate -> Put the server details in etc then when it’s finished, tell it to sync mail, contacts and calendar.
That should sync with your work account.

EDIT: Sorry, Once you do that you can access tasks from the calendar app.

For gmail exchange do the following:
Everything as above and for the server settings
Server: m.google.com
User: user@googlemail.com

http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138740&topic=14252

mathew · 07-07-2010 11:31am

Friend of mine just recommended handcent sms. Its really good. Custom notifications for people. Homescreen pop up with quick reply. I'd definatley recommend it. Only draw back is the google ads at the bottom....

vincentm · 07-07-2010 2:20pm

Quick question for those who have bought the phone from CPW. On the standard phone I know that tethering is available. Just wondering if the phones from CPW are carrier modified or is this option still there ?
Thanks
Vincent

BenEadir · 07-07-2010 2:26pm

Thanks Wayne and everyone else.

I've a lot to learn.

The issue I was having with my GSM signal at home seems to have been resolved. It was either that the sim wasn't conecting properly (I reinstalled it 'firmly') or somehow my home wi-fi was interfeering with the way the phone picked up or displayed the signal. I turned off wi-fi, reinstalled the sim and re-booted and all seemed better. I'll know better when I get home and re-start wi-fi.

Wayne, If I'm not using exchange on my PC can I use it on my SGS? I use Googles own "Google Apps Sync" application to keep my Outlook sync's with the Google Apps hosted email, contacts and calander bo I'm a bit worried that syncing via exchange instead of IMAP would somehow mess things up. Any thoughts?

Ben

wayne040576 · 07-07-2010 2:31pm

Just noticed they have a tablet on the way too:
http://www.i4u.com/article35134.html

wayne040576 · 07-07-2010 2:36pm

BenEadir wrote: »

Thanks Wayne and everyone else.

I've a lot to learn.

The issue I was having with my GSM signal at home seems to have been resolved. It was either that the sim wasn't conecting properly (I reinstalled it 'firmly') or somehow my home wi-fi was interfeering with the way the phone picked up or displayed the signal. I turned off wi-fi, reinstalled the sim and re-booted and all seemed better. I'll know better when I get home and re-start wi-fi.

Wayne, If I'm not using exchange on my PC can I use it on my SGS? I use Googles own "Google Apps Sync" application to keep my Outlook sync's with the Google Apps hosted email, contacts and calander bo I'm a bit worried that syncing via exchange instead of IMAP would somehow mess things up. Any thoughts?

Ben

You can use it on the phone and not on the pc.
I actually have outlook on the work pc, and sync with both the galaxy s and the ipad.
If you tun one off, it will just update the next time it is on. I actually have the galaxy’s sync turned off just now because the work emails were causing to dingle every few minutes.

I’ve never tried "Google Apps Sync". I imagine if your turn on exchange at the same time as imap, you’ll get duplication of calendar events.
You may need to turn off sync on the imap first.

mathew · 09-07-2010 12:26pm

SuperUser

HibernianRunner · 10-07-2010 12:36am

Hi all

Looked around at various phones and I've come to the conclussion that the Samsung Galaxy S is the one for me. I am on 02 pre-pay and want to stay that way too. My current phone is a simple one so this will me my first smart phone.

I have decided to buy it online from the Carphone Warehouse for the price of 479.99 with 30 credit for upgrading.

So I have some silly questions: regarding what is sim free mean? I assume that if I get the phone I just pop in my old sim in and it will work? Do I need a special sim because its a smartphone?

Also what does the term mean locked and unlocked regarding these smartphones? Sorry I havent a clue.

Anyhelp would be appreciated.
Many thanks.

wayne040576 · 10-07-2010 12:58am

HibernianRunner wrote: »

Hi all

Looked around at various phones and I've come to the conclussion that the Samsung Galaxy S is the one for me. I am on 02 pre-pay and want to stay that way too. My current phone is a simple one so this will me my first smart phone.

I have decided to buy it online from the Carphone Warehouse for the price of 479.99 with 30 credit for upgrading.

So I have some silly questions: regarding what is sim free mean? I assume that if I get the phone I just pop in my old sim in and it will work? Do I need a special sim because its a smartphone?

Also what does the term mean locked and unlocked regarding these smartphones? Sorry I havent a clue.

Anyhelp would be appreciated.
Many thanks.

Sim free is the same as unlocked. It means you can use a sim card from any network in the phone. When it is locked, it is locked to a partcular network so only sim cards from that network will work in it.

HibernianRunner · 10-07-2010 1:15am

wayne040576 wrote: »

Sim free is the same as unlocked. It means you can use a sim card from any network in the phone. When it is locked, it is locked to a partcular network so only sim cards from that network will work in it.

Thanks wayne for the reply.

Regarding CPW are the phones locked or unlocked do you know? Can't see any info regarding this on their site.

Zagato · 10-07-2010 10:01am

Well if they are unlocked, that seems to be by far the cheapest place to buy them.

Oafley Jones · 10-07-2010 12:13pm

wayne040576 wrote: »

Sim free is the same as unlocked. It means you can use a sim card from any network in the phone. When it is locked, it is locked to a partcular network so only sim cards from that network will work in it.

Sim free isn't necessarily the same as unlocked. A phone can be sold/advertised simfree i.e without a contract, but it can still be carrier locked. So always ask to ensure that it's unlocked.

bindybandy · 10-07-2010 8:15pm

Just got one of these and it seems fantastic so far but does anyone know how to plug it ino pc runing windows 7 so i can drag and drop files? I've plugged the usb cable in and in settings on the phone told it to use USB as a mass storage device rather than samsung kies etc but when i look at my drives in win 7 i get 2 removable drives and they say "please insert a disc" when i click on either of them?

Brian · 10-07-2010 10:31pm

bindybandy wrote: »

Just got one of these and it seems fantastic so far but does anyone know how to plug it ino pc runing windows 7 so i can drag and drop files? I've plugged the usb cable in and in settings on the phone told it to use USB as a mass storage device rather than samsung kies etc but when i look at my drives in win 7 i get 2 removable drives and they say "please insert a disc" when i click on either of them?

A notification should appear at the top of the screen saying something about USB mounting, click it and then select mount USB.

bindybandy · 11-07-2010 2:32pm

Baza210 wrote: »

A notification should appear at the top of the screen saying something about USB mounting, click it and then select mount USB.

Ah that's perfect - can't believe it was that simple and I didnt notice. Off to copy some files into the "media" folder now to see if they show up on the phone. cheers for your help.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 4:23pm

I literally just bought one of these on CPW asking for the "vodafone prepay" model. 479e and it's factory unlocked, using it with my O2 card right now.

First impressions very positive, moving from an iPhone 3GS and I'm a hardcore Apple fanboy, just decided to skip on the iPhone 4 this year and try out android.

Screen sharpness could be better, but it's still a positive change from the 3GS.

Void · 11-07-2010 4:26pm

The only thing this device has going for it is the very small size/weight. The Desire is cheaper and better IMO.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 4:39pm

Void wrote: »

The only thing this device has going for it is the very small size/weight. The Desire is cheaper and better IMO.

Better GPU, larger battery, better screen technology, marginally faster CPU. The desire is great and I almost went for it, but this phone is newer and somewhat more advanced.

Time will tell if it gets the same dev support for it.

Void · 11-07-2010 4:42pm

It's not... I could see no difference in screen (yes one is supposed to be s-amoled). The GPU thing is a complete red herring, I don't know why people keep saying this. Samsung dev support is terrible.

Have you actually put the two devices side by side? I was not impressed with the GalaxyS (apart from it's size). The Samsung skins is also horrible, it looks like a copy/paste of the iphone. There is no application out that even stresses the Desire, so I don't know why people talk about GPUs tbh (I write mobile opengl stuff).

GalaxyS has 1500mAh battery, same as Desire. Edit: Oops Desire has 1400, ok ok. Still gonna have to recharge every night

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 4:50pm

I'm completely new to Android so no, I haven't seen the desire working in person, just dummy phones. I do like the Desire better physically, it seems better built and it's just a better design.

However, as for dev support, the galaxy is getting released everywhere and in different carriers, it has been rooted and samsung has released the sources so theoretically it should be more than possible to get a good dev community around it if it starts getting sold, which it is.

Void · 11-07-2010 4:52pm

Sorry nope. Android is open-source. Neither HTC or Samsung release the sourcecode for their proprietary stuff (the custom skin on top). Android doesn't actually belong to anyone. The HTC phones are also released worldwide on multiple carriers, this is NORMAL.

Neither company are actually developer friendly, they put lots of security on devices to stop modding. N1 is exception because Google mandated the "easy root" option.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 5:03pm

Right, so what is this exactly?
http://innovator.samsungmobile.com/bbs/stars.ThreadBoard.do?starMbrId=SteveHa&viewType=rss&messageId=84609

I don't care about source for their UI stuff, but I do care about people being able to port 2.2 and 3.0 eventually to the device if Samsung decide not to port it themselves, like how the Desire got 2.2 before HTC released it officially. From what I understand devs need the source code for that and that looks like it.

As I said I'm new to Android and just got the Galaxy S to test the waters. I will easily sell it and get something else if it doesn't fit my needs, but so far I like what I see.

Mad_Mike · 11-07-2010 5:55pm

Void wrote: »

It's not... I could see no difference in screen (yes one is supposed to be s-amoled). The GPU thing is a complete red herring, I don't know why people keep saying this. Samsung dev support is terrible.

Have you actually put the two devices side by side? I was not impressed with the GalaxyS (apart from it's size). The Samsung skins is also horrible, it looks like a copy/paste of the iphone. There is no application out that even stresses the Desire, so I don't know why people talk about GPUs tbh (I write mobile opengl stuff).

GalaxyS has 1500mAh battery, same as Desire. Edit: Oops Desire has 1400, ok ok. Still gonna have to recharge every night

What on earth are you talking about????
I own both phones and the Galaxy S has FAR superior graphic capabilities to the Desire!!!

Overall, I prefer the Desire as the Samsung firmware is not the best in my opinion. Tends to be a bit laggy, but there are lots of new releases out which are reported to fix these lags, so I guess I'll try them out, but have a look at this youtube video to see the difference in the Galaxy GPU and the Desire & Nexus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLUQP7CWyeQ

BTW, there is also another vid on there of them all running <EDIT>Quake</EDIT> and again, the Galaxy blows the other 2 clean out of the water when it comes to graphic capabilities

Void · 11-07-2010 5:59pm

Erm Desire is capped at 30fps so not accurate. These are red herring benchmarks you are throwing out. This stuff hasn't even been coded for OpenGL 2.0

A lot of the information around the net on this stuff is rubbish, don't believe everything you read. What is a fact is the Desire runs everything amazingly smoothly, and you can't play Quake on any of these phones that don't have physical keys!! Try it

@spy: Oh that's quite cool, I didn't know that. However.... it seems like a marketing gimmick really

Developers are not gonna do Samsung's jobs for them! Lots of people remove the custom skins. Trust me... they haven't released the source that matters (driver source code). This is what will stop the porting.

With the Desire 2.2 leak, it's actually a HTC Evo rom put onto the Desire... the devices are similar enough that it works after a bit of fiddling.

Edit: Just read the above link about Samsung source... it's bollox

Contains binaries for drivers and UI. It has "kernel source", WOW.... sourcecode for the opensource linux kernel

It does not contain sourcecode for their custom UI at all. Actually... I think it just has all the open-source stuff they are legally obliged to provide anyway. Again: don't be fooled.

wayne040576 · 11-07-2010 7:29pm

Void wrote: »

Erm Desire is capped at 30fps so not accurate. These are red herring benchmarks you are throwing out. This stuff hasn't even been coded for OpenGL 2.0 A lot of the information around the net on this stuff is rubbish, don't believe everything you read. What is a fact is the Desire runs everything amazingly smoothly, and you can't play Quake on any of these phones that don't have physical keys!! Try

With the Desire 2.2 leak, it's actually a HTC Evo rom put onto the Desire... the devices are similar enough that it works after a bit of fiddling.

Edit: Just read the above link about Samsung source... it's bollox Contains binaries for drivers and UI. It has "kernel source", WOW.... sourcecode for the opensource linux kernel It does not contain sourcecode for their custom UI at all. Actually... I think it just has all the open-source stuff they are legally obliged to provide anyway. Again: don't be fooled.

They're not going to release source for the drivers, most manufacturers don't because they aren't allowed to release spec info on the chips that they use. It's the same reason nvidia still release binary drivers for the Linux desktop. And the fact is they've still released more than Htc at this stage.

leahcim · 11-07-2010 7:35pm

I could see no difference in screen (yes one is supposed to be s-amoled)

The biggest advantage for me in having an s-amoled screen is being able to see the screen better in direct sunlight. Did you compare the screens while outside.

Erm Desire is capped at 30fps so not accurate

But in that benchmark the desire and N1 only reached 26.5 FPS. Whats the point in quoting a refresh rate cap when the device doesn't have the grunt to reach it.

I am in the market for a new android device myself and am trying to decide which to go for, so far the only thing thats turning me towards the HTC desire is that it has a bigger development community for custom roms and becaue it is a very similar device to the N1 it gets a fair bit of attention. I am wondering how long will this last though.

For a good while HTC was the only game in town for top end android devices now that Samsung has started to push them this could change pretty quickly.

All in all its all good for the android platform.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 7:55pm

I just played around with a Desire as a co-worker has one. I have to say, in terms of casing and design the desire is way ahead of the Galaxy. It feels more expensive, isn't a smudge magnet and just looks nicer. The plastic back on the Galaxy feels cheap and gets dirty easily. Also the speaker on the back of the galaxy is dented outwards which makes it feel even cheaper as it kind of scrapes against your finger when you rub it over.

The displays are different though, the galaxy has way better black levels and contrast, but on the negative side being larger and having the same resolution makes it look less sharp and it's easier to see the individual pixels which to me detracts a bit from the image quality.

The thing I am most concerned with is general smoothness of the OS and the galaxy seemed to be faster when scrolling. To be honest I am using Launcher+ and the Desire was with stock sense so I imagine they're not really comparable. As for multitouch responsiveness they were both pretty good when pinching to zoom and scrolling sites was a bit smoother on the galaxy (although still not as nice as on the iPhone).

I guess in the end they balance each other out and there is no "perfect" phone. I might still swap my Galaxy for a Desire if the ROM situation doesn't improve, but saying the Galaxy doesn't have an edge over the Desire is just plain wrong. It's not better in every way, but it does have several improvements that for some might make a difference.

wayne040576 · 11-07-2010 7:59pm

Spybreak wrote: »

I just played around with a Desire as a co-worker has one. I have to say, in terms of casing and design the desire is way ahead of the Galaxy. It feels more expensive, isn't a smudge magnet and just looks nicer. The plastic back on the Galaxy feels cheap and gets dirty easily. Also the speaker on the back of the galaxy is dented outwards which makes it feel even cheaper as it kind of scrapes against your finger when you rub it over.

The displays are different though, the galaxy has way better black levels and contrast, but on the negative side being larger and having the same resolution makes it look less sharp and it's easier to see the individual pixels which to me detracts a bit from the image quality.

The thing I am most concerned with is general smoothness of the OS and the galaxy seemed to be faster when scrolling. To be honest I am using Launcher+ and the Desire was with stock sense so I imagine they're not really comparable. As for multitouch responsiveness they were both pretty good when pinching to zoom and scrolling sites was a bit smoother on the galaxy (although still not as nice as on the iPhone).

I guess in the end they balance each other out and there is no "perfect" phone. I might still swap my Galaxy for a Desire if the ROM situation doesn't improve, but saying the Galaxy doesn't have an edge over the Desire is just plain wrong. It's not better in every way, but it does have several improvements that for some might make a difference.

Yeah it took me a while to decide which one to get. I was actually very close to getting the desire, even had my finger on the Buy button on bothe expansys and amazon but decided to sleep on it.
If HTC were to release a rebranded EVO that ran on our networks, I'd get it in a second. But so far it doesn't look like it.

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 8:16pm

Lads if Samsung were as good at supporting their handsets as HTC, or if the Galaxy S had close to the same dev community as the Desire, I'd recommend it over the Desire, but it doesn't, and very far from it. Neither does it have sense, it has a ****ty Samsung skin over android. There's simply no contest between these two handsets, the desire wins hands down, not because its a better spec, but because overall its a far better package.

Anyone who's owned a Samsung Android phone once won't buy one again, and there's a very good reason for that.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 8:21pm

Inquitus wrote: »

Lads if Samsung were as good at supporting their handsets as HTC, or if the Galaxy S had close to the same dev community as the Desire, I'd recommend it over the Desire, but it doesn't, and very far from it. Neither does it have sense, it has a ****ty Samsung skin over android. There's simply no contest between these two handsets, the desire wins hands down, not because its a better spec, but because overall its a far better package.

Anyone who's owned a Samsung phone once won't buy one again, and there's a very good reason for that.

The Galaxy is new and is getting quite a lot of attention. It's being released in almost every carrier in the US and from what I've heard this time they want to really support the devices. I don't have any prior experience with them, but don't you think they might change this time around considering all the **** they got last time?

TouchWiz isn't horrible. It could use some refinements but I've seen way worse.

It's funny seeing all these discussions going in between android devices. I thought that only happened when it came to iPhone vs Android.

wayne040576 · 11-07-2010 8:30pm

I would have got the desire if it had more than 512MB internal storage or if I could install apps on the sd card. I think 2.2 allows that but at the moment, it's not available officially.

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 8:31pm

Spybreak wrote: »

The Galaxy is new and is getting quite a lot of attention. It's being released in almost every carrier in the US and from what I've heard this time they want to really support the devices. I don't have any prior experience with them, but don't you think they might change this time around considering all the **** they got last time?

TouchWiz isn't horrible. It could use some refinements but I've seen way worse.

It's funny seeing all these discussions going in between android devices. I thought that only happened when it came to iPhone vs Android.

I am just offering my informed opinion. The Desire already has a 2.2 with Sense from the xda community, and has had 2.2 Vanilla for nearly 2 months. The Desire will have 2.2 official with Sense in the next 6-8 weeks, the Galaxy S won't have it from Samsung much before christmas. The Galaxy S will never see official gingerbread, the Desire might.

The fact the Desire is soo close in dna to the Nexus one means it is likely to see updates from the community for far far longer than the Galaxy S ever will.

The Galaxy S is a lovely phone, and its specwise better than the Desire, but for the reasons outlined above I would never buy one.

wayne040576 · 11-07-2010 8:39pm

Inquitus wrote: »

I am just offering my informed opinion. The Desire already has a 2.2 with Sense from the xda community, and has had 2.2 Vanilla for nearly 2 months. The Desire will have 2.2 official with Sense in the next 6-8 weeks, the Galaxy S won't have it from Samsung much before christmas. The Galaxy S will never see official gingerbread, the Desire might.

The fact the Desire is soo close in dna to the Nexus one means it is likely to see updates from the community for far far longer than the Galaxy S ever will.

The Galaxy S is a lovely phone, and its specwise better than the Desire, but for the reasons outlined above I would never buy one.

If you had outlined these points two weeks ago when I started this thread, I probably would have got the Desire but I didn't so...

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 8:40pm

wayne040576 wrote: »

If you had outlined these points two weeks ago when I started this thread, I probably would have got the Desire but I didn't so...

Aye but its like arguing why you should buy a Porsche instead of a Maserati

We all have lovely phones, and we are talking fine lines of difference.

Spybreak · 11-07-2010 8:43pm

I'm still on the fence and could return my Galaxy for a Desire.

One question, is it possible to get the Desire to be "butter smooth" when scrolling lists and moving between homescreens? It might seem like a stupid thing to want but for me user experience is top priority and I don't want a phone that doesn't have a smooth UI.

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 8:46pm

Spybreak wrote: »

I'm still on the fence and could return my Galaxy for a Desire.

One question, is it possible to get the Desire to be "butter smooth" when scrolling lists and moving between homescreens? It might seem like a stupid thing to want but for me user experience is top priority and I don't want a phone that doesn't have a smooth UI.

The 2.2 upgrade is awesome, my phone is now smoother than a knife through butter.

Void · 11-07-2010 9:00pm

My Desire was perfectly smooth with normal 2.1. Now I have rooted 2.2 and there is no difference really, just got some extra 2.2 features (apps to sd etc).

Regarding the GPU thing again... I still say it's a red herring. Nothing uses the power available

Desire may be less powerful with others but it's still massively overkill. Also... running Quake benchmarks etc = useless. These are normal PC apps crudely ported to OpenGL ES (replace glBegin with glVertexBuffer), they are not optimised for mobiles at all. Hardly anyone out there knows much about OGL on mobiles. I worked for T-Mobile in UK doing custom hw accelerated skins, also almost ended up with Samsung, but they were too cheap

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 9:06pm

Void wrote: »

My Desire was perfectly smooth with normal 2.1. Now I have rooted 2.2 and there is no difference really, just got some extra 2.2 features (apps to sd etc).

Regarding the GPU thing again... I still say it's a red herring. Nothing uses the power available Desire may be less powerful with others but it's still massively overkill. Also... running Quake benchmarks etc = useless. These are normal PC apps crudely ported to OpenGL ES (replace glBegin with glVertexBuffer), they are not optimised for mobiles at all. Hardly anyone out there knows much about OGL on mobiles. I worked for T-Mobile in UK doing custom hw accelerated skins, also almost ended up with Samsung, but they were too cheap

I disagree, noticeable improvement in 2.2 in smoothness scrolling the app list up and down, switching between the home screen and the other 6 sense screens, in 2.1 it wasn't flawlessly smooth all the time, now it is.

patch · 11-07-2010 9:24pm

Void wrote: »

My Desire was perfectly smooth with normal 2.1. Now I have rooted 2.2 and there is no difference really, just got some extra 2.2 features (apps to sd etc).

Regarding the GPU thing again... I still say it's a red herring. Nothing uses the power available Desire may be less powerful with others but it's still massively overkill. Also... running Quake benchmarks etc = useless. These are normal PC apps crudely ported to OpenGL ES (replace glBegin with glVertexBuffer), they are not optimised for mobiles at all. Hardly anyone out there knows much about OGL on mobiles. I worked for T-Mobile in UK doing custom hw accelerated skins, also almost ended up with Samsung, but they were too cheap

So you are saying there is no point ever having a gpu more powerful than the one in a desire?
Thats like saying buy an older pc, sure its grand.
I quite like the idea of a psx emulator, quake 3 and anything else that a faster gpu will allow. They wont be perfect but they will be better on the galaxy s, and will be on the next wave of android phones which will also have faster gpu's than the desire. Are you saying the desire wont be bettered soon?
The desire is older tech. Samsung have said froyo is coming very soon, so the galaxy s while very good now, is only going to get better.

Inquitus · 11-07-2010 9:43pm

patch11 wrote: »

galaxy s while very good now, is only going to get better.

Samsung have actually not said its coming soon, just that it will come.

Currently a rooted desire can avail of any number of very good Froyo ROMs with or without sense, there's not one 2.2 ROM for the Galaxy S out yet, nor is there likely to be before the official release. The Galaxy S will never get Gingerbread, official or otherwise. Its a great phone, but Samsung support their phones incredibly badly and have a huge rep for that, and as a result the Dev community generally steer clear of Samsung, in comparison to say HTC phones.

The Galaxy is a great phone, but poorly supported.

patch · 11-07-2010 10:00pm

Inquitus wrote: »

Samsung have actually not said its coming soon, just that it will come.

Currently a rooted desire can avail of any number of very good Froyo ROMs with or without sense, there's not one 2.2 ROM for the Galaxy S out yet, nor is there likely to be before the official release. The Galaxy S will never get Gingerbread, official or otherwise. Its a great phone, but Samsung support their phones incredibly badly and have a huge rep for that, and as a result the Dev community generally steer clear of Samsung, in comparison to say HTC phones.

The Galaxy is a great phone, but poorly supported.

Ummm...the galaxy s is out about a week. Its only starting to get released in the states, across many providers, in many different models. Saying its poorly supported at this stage is simply not true, and kinda lying. you probably mean that samsungs track record of supporting android phones is poor. We'll see how they go, most of what I've read on the topic suggests that they see the galaxy s as a chance to do things right,this time.
Saying it will never get gingerbread seems a tad mystic meg, we'll see six months down the road when it rolls out. By that time you and I will probably have newer phones

Void · 11-07-2010 10:19pm

patch11 wrote: »

So you are saying there is no point ever having a gpu more powerful than the one in a desire?
Thats like saying buy an older pc, sure its grand.
I quite like the idea of a psx emulator, quake 3 and anything else that a faster gpu will allow. They wont be perfect but they will be better on the galaxy s, and will be on the next wave of android phones which will also have faster gpu's than the desire. Are you saying the desire wont be bettered soon?
The desire is older tech. Samsung have said froyo is coming very soon, so the galaxy s while very good now, is only going to get better.

No I'm not saying that. I'm saying it's a red herring, and thus a TINY advantage. The performance increase isn't that much, and there are DOWNSIDES. Galaxy uses seperate chip for gpu, draws more power when it's used. It really isn't a reason to choose Galaxy over Desire...

wayne040576 · 11-07-2010 11:56pm

On the skin thing, I dunno why Samsung tried so hard to make an interface that looks like the iphone. I got bored with it quickly and installed launcher Pro:

Samsung Galaxy S

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