Samsung Galaxy S

opus

The latest video episode of Steve Litchfield's show had a review - http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/sshow/index.html

thehomeofDob

Hey guys, typing the on my galaxy s now. Picked it up in carphone warehouse this morning. It's my first android handset and so far I'm quite pleased! phone snappy enough and i haven't noticed any lag really.
Will update you as i put music and apps on it later tonight.

patch

Picked up one in CPW myself. My first android and jumping ship from the 3gs. This is a beautiful phone. Fantasic screen, slightly bigger body than iphone but slimmer and lighter. Similar metal band around the face but its a nice metallic grey. I'd read that the build of the case is lacking but it feels great. Removable back and battery so even if it got scratched you can pick up a replacement cover, unlike the iphone. Ill miss the app store but reckon the ability to play the thousands of flash games free online will make up for that when froyo appears. Liking the interface which i'm looking forward to tinkering with. All in all very happy so far.

nl1978

do you know if or when 3 are getting the samsung galaxy s? i am a three customer and like their tariffs etc but would really like this phone.

mathew

Rumours are for three to get it in August but going by their Desire record you just don't know!!

Typing on mine now using swype! Its incredible!! Delighted with the phone. Gonna have a look through the suggested apps thread now and get downloading

nl1978

mathew wrote: »

Rumours are for three to get it in August but going by their Desire record you just don't know!!

Typing on mine now using swype! Its incredible!! Delighted with the phone. Gonna have a look through the suggested apps thread now and get downloading

thanks mathew, really hoping 3 get it, shops dont seem to know. i see on Carphone Warehouse buyers guide mag it has the vodafone,meteor and 02 but on their website it has all four networks but no mention of them when you go to the actually phone?!

mathew

you're looking for it on bill pay I presume ye?

nl1978

mathew wrote: »

you're looking for it on bill pay I presume ye?

currently on 3 best of both tariff but will change to bill pay depending if 3 get it, also friend will move from 02 to 3 if they get it, i find 3's tarriffs the best

mathew

Ah ye, just thought if you were on prepay you could have bought a vodafone or O2 one. Fairly sure they're sold unlocked.

wayne040576

mathew wrote: »

Rumours are for three to get it in August but going by their Desire record you just don't know!!

Typing on mine now using swype! Its incredible!! Delighted with the phone. Gonna have a look through the suggested apps thread now and get downloading

I found MyPod to be a good podcasting app if you listen to them.
Replace the stock music player with either Meridian or Tuneswiki. I tried both, preferred TunesWiki.

Launcher Pro is a good app for changing the default appearance if you don't like it looking too much like the iphone. Also install Homeswitcher to quickly move from one launcher to another and set the default.

I'm still struggling with the battery. I turn off wifi and 3G now when I'm not using them. That saves it quite a bit.

mathew

I'll give those music players a try a soon as I get some music on it. I've a 16 GB card in the post!
I got ES file explorer. It's amazing, you can browse any network share or file systems connected by bluetooth and copy and paste files between them

nl1978

mathew wrote: »

Ah ye, just thought if you were on prepay you could have bought a vodafone or O2 one. Fairly sure they're sold unlocked.

I will wait a few weeks to see if there is any sign of 3 getting it, I may change networks but rather not, I like the Samsung Wave too so might go for that with 3 instead, will see!

BenEadir

I'm a BlackBerry loyalist who is seriously thinking about switching to this amazing looking device as a result of the positive remarks made on this thread and the GSM Arena review here http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9000_galaxy_s-review-478.php (I assume it's the same phone we're talking about in this thread?)

I had a very bad experience with a BlackBerry Storm touchscreen device a year ago and switched to a 9700 (with QWERTY keyboard) so am reluctant to switch back to a touch screen as I do a lot of text input (email, IM, SMS etc) but Swype looks very good and web browsing on the Samsung (which I do a lot of) looks fantastic.

My main concern is around the battery life, are people really only getting one day from it?

My other questions are:-

1. Does it come with Google Navigation i.e. the free turn by turn driving application?
2. Is it easy to set up as a wi-fi hotspot and if so does that rapidly drain the battery? (I'm thinking that if I get this device I can drop the €19.99 mobile broadband service I use when travelling with my laptop)
3. Will Meteor be getting this device and if so will there be an extra charge for using it as a mobile hot spot? (I think the €50 a month Smart plan with 400 minutes and 2GB of data would fit my needs well and enable me to save €40 a month off my Vodafone BlackBerry plan) I compared Meteor and Three and it seems Meteor have better priced plans and when you're out of 3G coverage you get their EDGE system which is way better than Three's GPRS system. Correct?
4. Some pople are complaining that it runs slow for them. Anyone else experiencing that or is it that some users are running too many open apps?

So, is this the best Android business/smartphone available today or is there anything better coming out fairly soon?

Ben

Inquitus

BenEadir wrote: »

1. Does it come with Google Navigation i.e. the free turn by turn driving application? Yes, thats a Std Android App
2. Is it easy to set up as a wi-fi hotspot and if so does that rapidly drain the battery? You will need to wait for them to release the 2.2 OS upgrade for this, unless you root the phone, and yes it will cane the battery, would advise having it plugged in when using it as a hotspot.

Answers above

mathew

It comes with Google Navigation. Google navigation requires a constant data connection tho. It uses a fair bit of data downloading the map as it goes. You can buy other navigation apps too tho.

Contrary to what Inquitus said, you can actually set it up as a mobile AP. You don't have to root the phone. It very easy, a simple menu option.
It gives a warning about battery use when you turn it on so I presume it does drain your battery.
There is no extra charge for using it tho. Meteor have no way of knowing that you're using your phone as a modem. Just keep an eye on your data usage.

You can buy it on Meteor in Carphone Warehouse. The price I saw on the sign was 49.99. I've no idea what plan that is on. I presume 49.99 is the cheapest you can get it resulting in a large monthly sub. Go in to your local CPW and have a look.

No problems with it running slow really. There were times when I was setting it up that it got a bit jumpy. In fairness tho, I was installing/downloading 2 or 3 apps, syncing facebook contacts and messing with settings, so it was trying to do alot.

Under normal use its fantastic.

wayne040576

BenEadir wrote: »

I'm a BlackBerry loyalist who is seriously thinking about switching to this amazing looking device. I had a very bad experience with a BlackBerry Storm touchscreen device a year ago and switched to a 9700 (with QWERTY keyboard) so am reluctant to switch back to a touch screen as I do a lot of text input (email, IM, SMS etc) but Swype looks very good and web browsing on the Samsung (which I do a lot of) looks fantastic.

My main concern is around the battery life, are people really only getting one day from it?

Yeah. I have to charge once a day. I switched off 3G and Wifi when I'm not using them and it seems to have slowed the drain a bit.

BenEadir wrote: »

My other questions are:-

1. Does it come with Google Navigation i.e. the free turn by turn driving application?

It comes with it. But I haven't tried it as it doesn't interest me.

BenEadir wrote: »

2. Is it easy to set up as a wi-fi hotspot and if so does that rapidly drain the battery? (I'm thinking that if I get this device I can drop the €19.99 mobile broadband service I use when travelling with my laptop)

Yeah, it's easy to set up although I imagine you could get hit with tethering charges.

BenEadir wrote: »

3. Will Meteor be getting this device and if so will there be an extra charge for using it as a mobile hot spot? (I think the €50 a month Smart plan with 400 minutes and 2GB of data would fit my needs well and enable me to save €40 a month off my Vodafone BlackBerry plan) I compared Meteor and Three and it seems Meteor have better priced plans and when you're out of 3G coverage you get their EDGE system which is way better than Three's GPRS system. Correct?

Yeah When I turn off 3G it goes to Edge.

BenEadir wrote: »

4. Some pople are complaining that it runs slow for them. Anyone else experiencing that or is it that some users are running too many open apps?

I found some apps (MyPod for one) will slow down at times. I think it is the app itself rather than the device. If there are loads of apps open, it will slow down of course.

BenEadir wrote: »

So, is this the best Android business/smartphone available today or is there anything better coming out fairly soon?
Ben

This is my first Android phone. I can only compare it to the iphone 3G which I moved from. For me it's great. It's finally the portable Linux based device I've been looking for for years. there's so much more space for personalisation and tweaking. Of course it comes at a price. It's not as stable as the iphone and the apps don't follow any particular UI rules and can look a bit messy.
There is also the annoying OS issue with several apps catching the pause button event from the headphones. A few apps allow you to override this.
issue.

I added more than 20GB of music to it and now the stock music app crashes when I try to browse by artist giving a "database too big error". Seems to be a known issue. That's why I installed the third party players.

BenEadir

Thanks very much lads.

Last question (for now!)

Can the phone sync with MS Outlook for tasks, contacts and calandar? I have a personal Gmail account with lots of one off contacts I probably wouldn't want cluttering up my phone and my business email is also handled by Google Apps sync'd with Outlook via the Google App's Sync application.

I'm assuming I'll be able to quite easily sync all my contacts, calander & tasks and have full control over what gets sync's and what doesn't?

I just called my local CPW and they have it on an 18 month smart €50 contract for an initial payment of €99.99. Is that as good a deal as I can get? I don't see any merit paying €466.93 + VAT from Expansys unless I could get the same minutes and data for under €25 a month.

Very last thing! Can I skype with this phone over both wi-fi and Meteor's 3G?

Comments anyone before I run out the door and buy this???

wayne040576

BenEadir wrote: »

Thanks very much lads.

Last question (for now!)

Can the phone sync with MS Outlook for tasks, contacts and calandar? I have a personal Gmail account with lots of one off contacts I probably wouldn't want cluttering up my phone and my business email is also handled by Google Apps sync'd with Outlook via the Google App's Sync application.

I'm assuming I'll be able to quite easily sync all my contacts, calander & tasks and have full control over what gets sync's and what doesn't?

I just called my local CPW and they have it on an 18 month smart €50 contract for an initial payment of €99.99. Is that as good a deal as I can get? I don't see any merit paying €466.93 + VAT from Expansys unless I could get the same minutes and data for under €25 a month.

Comments anyone before I run out the door and buy this???

Yeah it easily syncs with Exchange mail, contacts, calendar.
You can also split the contacts into groups to separate outlook from gmail.
And you can also set gmail up as an exchange account to get push mail.

BenEadir

Wayne,

Very very last question before I get this. Will is automatically update to Android 2.2. when it comes out or will I have to wait for Samsung to issue an update? I don't really mind providing it does get the update. I don't want to get something that can't stay up to date with OS improvements.

Ben

wayne040576

BenEadir wrote: »

Wayne,

Very very last question before I get this. Will is automatically update to Android 2.2. when it comes out or will I have to wait for Samsung to issue an update? I don't really mind providing it does get the update. I don't want to get something that can't stay up to date with OS improvements.

Ben

Samsung said they will be releasing the update in the coming months but they didn't give any more details. So I've no idea how longs we'll be waiting.

mathew

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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