PSN ID
by Samsung Galaxy S: Simple Smartphone or Out of this World?
So many smartphones, so few fingers – but being big fans of Android it was impossible to pass up an early review copy of the Samsung Galaxy S.
And, sure enough, turn it on and the best of Google is arrayed right in
front of you on an easy-to-edit, stylish-looking homepage screen
(including search-by-voice functionality and video call capability).
This device, while very sleek, slim, sturdy and solid, brings me back
in time to the early days of dedicated, one-game, hand-held gaming
devices – its slightly-larger size makes it fit perfect in a two-handed
grip when flipped sideways. As promised, the Galaxy S does a much
better job than most on the market of being the basis for a
truly-integrated social experience, including conversation-style text
messaging that looks and feels more like a computer-side experience. The
GPS is fast, accurate and likewise well-integrated into the core
experience of the phone. A bright and relatively less-reflective screen
makes it easy to see what you are doing at an angle, or show a friend
something on the phone. Keep in mind, too, that the version shown here
is the European one – various others were created by individual
companies in the United States, and from the sound of it the Spring
model is by far the best (partly for including a full slide-out
keyboard!).
And what ab out the details? The camera (who even bothers to count
mega-pixels anymore?) lets you focus on anything in the view screen,
which can create tilt-shift ‘special effects’ but is also infinitely
handy in a world of sometimes-too-automated smartphone
cameras. Typing is a breeze, as one would expect, in landscape format
… though the portrait mode makes it more difficult than one might want.
This is a little annoying simply because some functions don’t allow for
long-view typing, though not a deal-breaker per se. The back button
being in the lower right might throw some folks, being slightly
counter-intuitive – and the menu button on the lower left is easy to
bump, at least for those new to the phone. That said, it might be a
matter of time and adaptation. In short: there may be a slightly steep
learning curve on this rather complex phone, but in exchange for that
there are a great many more possibilities as well built right in or
available to add. Oh, and it looks and feels awesome, did we mention
that? For more detailed and numeric specs see their site.
So many smartphones, so few fingers – but being big fans of Android it was impossible to pass up an early review copy of the Samsung Galaxy S.
And, sure enough, turn it on and the best of Google is arrayed right in
front of you on an easy-to-edit, stylish-looking homepage screen
(including search-by-voice functionality and video call capability).
This device, while very sleek, slim, sturdy and solid, brings me back
in time to the early days of dedicated, one-game, hand-held gaming
devices – its slightly-larger size makes it fit perfect in a two-handed
grip when flipped sideways. As promised, the Galaxy S does a much
better job than most on the market of being the basis for a
truly-integrated social experience, including conversation-style text
messaging that looks and feels more like a computer-side experience. The
GPS is fast, accurate and likewise well-integrated into the core
experience of the phone. A bright and relatively less-reflective screen
makes it easy to see what you are doing at an angle, or show a friend
something on the phone. Keep in mind, too, that the version shown here
is the European one – various others were created by individual
companies in the United States, and from the sound of it the Spring
model is by far the best (partly for including a full slide-out
keyboard!).
And what ab out the details? The camera (who even bothers to count
mega-pixels anymore?) lets you focus on anything in the view screen,
which can create tilt-shift ‘special effects’ but is also infinitely
handy in a world of sometimes-too-automated smartphone
cameras. Typing is a breeze, as one would expect, in landscape format
… though the portrait mode makes it more difficult than one might want.
This is a little annoying simply because some functions don’t allow for
long-view typing, though not a deal-breaker per se. The back button
being in the lower right might throw some folks, being slightly
counter-intuitive – and the menu button on the lower left is easy to
bump, at least for those new to the phone. That said, it might be a
matter of time and adaptation. In short: there may be a slightly steep
learning curve on this rather complex phone, but in exchange for that
there are a great many more possibilities as well built right in or
available to add. Oh, and it looks and feels awesome, did we mention
that? For more detailed and numeric specs see their site.
