This Samsung Galaxy S review has been updated to include the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system update.
A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away... (OK, not that far – South Korea), a new smartphone set Samsung's mobile fortunes alight: the Galaxy S.
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, you can check out our quick video guide to what to look out for:
It may have been less than a year ago, but that's a long time in mobile phone world. And this one has shipped by the bucket load. Samsung surpassed its aim of selling ten million Galaxy S units back in January, and for the South Korean technology legend, it's the gift that just keeps giving.
Originally shipping with 2.1 Eclair, then upgraded to 2.2 Froyo and now given a new lease of life, rocking 2.3 Gingerbread, the Galaxy S is no longer Samsung's flagship – its big brother, the Galaxy S2, takes that crown.
But retailers are still selling it and punters are still buying it. A fantastic screen, surfing experience that really works and 5MP camera are just a few attributes that make the Samsung Galaxy S at least looklike it ticks all the boxes.
But is it really out of this world?
We know some Android fans won't like this, but sorry, there's one word we have to bring up here and we can't help it: iPhone.
Like it or not, the Samsung Galaxy S will be compared to Apple's offering.
In fact, when it was launched last year as Samsung's flagship device, it was probably the main challenger to the iPhone and the choice of those who didn't want to be locked into Apple's way of doing things, yet still wanted the benefits of a touchscreen smartphone with all mod cons.
More recently, it's been knocked out the spotlight by its own replacement, the Samsung Galaxy S2, but Samsung clearly believes this is a popular handset and it's now being marketed as a higher mid-level phone to those who don't want to compromise on features and go for a budget smartphone (such as the Galaxy Mini) but can't necessarily afford to go premium.
With a 1GHz processor, GPS, HSDPA/HSUPA, HD video recorder, generous built-in memory (8GB or 16GB) and the latest Android operating system, this could never be considered a slouch of a phone.
We found one retailer selling it SIM-free for £309 (not far off £200 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S2) and contract-wise, you can pick it up for free at £20 per month on certain network deals.
Back to Apple, though, and there's no mistaking it – the Samsung Galaxy S and iPhone 3G/3GS could very easily have been separated at birth.
From the all-black shiny front, to the curved bezel around the frame, to the single physical button (albeit a rounded square rather than a circle) and even the glossy back in a choice of white or black, there is no way Jonathan Ive wouldn't have felt at least a little miffed (or flattered) when he saw the Samsung Galaxy S design for the first time.
It's not a bad thing – but apart from the Samsung logo just beneath the earpiece and a slightly larger screen, there's not much difference in the Samsung Galaxy S's appearance.
In terms of size, the handset measures 64.2 x 122.4 x 9.9mm. It feels significantly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S2 – which it is due to the fact that it doesn't have the latter's huge screen.
Despite our love for the Samsung Galaxy S2, we actually found we preferred holding the Galaxy S, because the smaller size made it easier to grip. But it's definitely a trade off, and one that each buyer can evaluate, based on their own needs.
The Samsung Galaxy S does feel like a quality device in the hand – but it's also very plasticky. The glossy plastic rear cover is a fingerprint magnet, but at least it all keeps the weight down.
Because when we first picked up the Samsung Galaxy S, coming from an iPhone 4, we couldn't believe just how light it was. In fact, we opened the back thinking the battery must have been missing, but it was in there. At 119g, it feels great and not something you're likely to notice in your pocket.
With the Home button on the front, you also have two soft keys either side of it. They light up when the screen is on and register your interest with a little haptic vibration when pressed. The one to the left is the Menu/Options button, and a Back button is located to the right.
There's no dedicated search button like you might find on some other Android handsets. Likewise there is no dedicated camera button on the side of the Samsung Galaxy S, which is something we'd like to see because it makes the startup process and actual picture taking a lot easier, but we'll not hold that one against Samsung too much.
On the left side is a simple volume rocker, and the right-hand edge houses the lock button about two thirds of the way up. If you're left handed, you'll have no problems because you can hold the Samsung Galaxy S in your palm and reach around to press it with your index finger.
If you're right handed, you'll have no such luck. In fact, this was our first gripe with the Samsung Galaxy S that we found really irked us. The problem is, if you hold it one-handed in your right hand, it's natural to press the button in with your thumb - although you can tap the home button to wake the phone back up too.
The top holds a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB port for charging/syncing. Thoughtfully, Samsung has also fitted that port with a little sliding door – presumably to keep rain out because it's at the top of the phone.
It hasn't put one over the headphone jack though – we assume it thinks you'll have your headphones plugged in most of the time. Or it would be just too annoying to have it there.
The back holds the camera lens (5MP) and a speaker grill. There's no flash. Yes, no flash. On what was Samsung's flagship handset – and is still a mid-to-top level mobile phone – there's no light. Not even a little LED. Zilch. We'll go onto that in more detail in the Camera section. It won't be pretty.
There's also a rather curious bump along the bottom that protrudes – think the HTC chin found on various handsets such as the Salsa but on the back and sticking out the other way. Heaven knows why.
The MicroSD slot is located under the cover. But it's not behind the battery (hurrah!), which means it's fully hot-swappable.
The real surprise is when you turn this baby on. The Samsung Galaxy S screen is a belter – a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED – and it's so vibrant. Not that we'd expect any less.
Samsung's screens have always been probably the best out there on mobile handsets – even back in the days of the T100 and D410 (we're speaking relatively, of course, compared to the competition at the time.)
Pixel-wise, it's not 100 per cent perfect – close up you don't get the clarity of, say, a retina display or the updated Super AMOLED Plus. But as for those colours, you really can't take your eyes off them. Vivid, bright and full of life is how we'd describe them.
We installed a free HD wallpaper on our review unit and thought it looked amazing. So much so, we kept fiddling and turning the screen on to look at it. It's probably the first sign of madness.
Your comments (60) Click to add a new comment
vivekgupta0505
September 8th 2011
60. I bought a “Samsung Galaxy S" cost of rs.19900/- on 23rd of Aug 2011. On 25th Aug 2011 while typing SMS/Email I noticed some keys (H, Y, B) were not working at all. Also its touch not working like it was on first day. On the same day (25th Aug) I immediately meet with dealer (Spice Hot-Spot, Malviya Nagar, Main Mkt, New Delhi-17) for replacement so he told me to go to service center for this issue. In Samsung’s Service Center (Nehru Place) I asked them to replace it but they will not taking any action and said that they will only repair the phone instead of replacement. But I don’t want to use a repair phone as I purchase it on 23rd Aug and spend my 19900/- Rs. Please do some measurable action otherwise I am going to spread all these information on many complaint forums and even Social Media Site come tomorrow.
Vivek Gupta
vivekgupta0505@gmail.com
9953814293
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udimion
August 25th 2011
59. @quince112386
I updated mine to 2.3.4 a few days ago. I have an unlocked UK Galaxy S, hooked it up to kies a few days ago, had to update Kies and had the new Gingerbread JVQ firmware available to download.
I haven't noticed any major changes other than the menus being a black and grey and the whites of the notifications bar being slightly greyed. I have, however, noticed a signficant increase in speed and much better consistent battery life.
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quince112386
August 16th 2011
58. Are we going to see Android 2.3.4 on this phone?
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microw
July 26th 2011
57. samsung galaxy s
samsung galaxy s rubbish phone
The samsung galaxy s is a rubbish phone you will need a car battery to power it do not buy one
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gumbung
July 20th 2011
56. There are several ways to do a reset. Soft reset is done by pressing and holding the power button to restart the Samsung Galaxy S. Hard reset is performed by going to the RECOVERY menu by pressing and holding down the VOLUME UP + HOME + POWER until the splash screen logo and then release the third S key. We will find a menu with four options, namely: 1. Reboot 2. Apply sdcard: update.zip 3. Wipe data / factory reset. Its function is to restore our Samsung Galaxy S to the initial configuration of the firmware that you install along with all kinds of updates that are made via update.zip apply. 4. Wipe Cache Partition. The point is to clear the cache partition. In some such situations can not download the application via the market, Internet browsers and so slow, we must do the Wipe Cache Partition to fix the problem. It is believed that to get the most out of the firmware is installed then before and after installing the firmware to the Samsung Galaxy S, we recommended to wipe the cache partition that followed wipe data / factory reset. you may see tutorial about rooting at hp-gsm.blogspot.com
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techdragon
July 6th 2011
55. Which is better this one or the galaxy i9003 which came out some time during this year.
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middnight
June 25th 2011
54. I've just got this phone today after spending 3 months decided on my upgrade.
So far I love it. It's everything I expected and more.
The screen is wow! Just wow! It's extremely bright and clear. At first I was a little disappointed at all the finger prints and smudged that had appeared after little use. However now they seem to have a disappeared like magic and I've not noticed any since.
The internet is amazing, the android market is absolutely packed with great apps and I've been checking lots of top android app sites to get the best use as after scrolling through the app market for half and hour I have still missed many useful apps.
I love the 5 home screens you can customise and have got a lovely system set up just to suit me.
One of the things I don't like is that I cant find anyway to customise the application list. I would prefer to have been able to move apps around, therefore putting the ones I use most on the first list. But it doesn't seem possible.
The other thing I'm struggling with at the moment is holding it and using it in one hand.
I have to put a finger across the bottom/underneath the phone to stop it from sliding down my hand, and it is a stretch for that finger and then I keep miss typing words on the far reach of the keyboard when texting, for example hitting "s" instead of "a".
I am a lady. And I do have average-small lady hands. So it might just be a problem for me. However it's a bit of a pain. And I haven't found a comfortable way to use it with two hands yet. However this is something I'm sure I'll adapt to soon and I wish to write another post in a couple of weeks when I have got a lot of use out of it.
However for what I want it for, daily internet browsing, managing my task and calendar and keeping in contact with friends, its perfect. The great media service is also an excellent bonus.
My favourite past is that the phones calendar syncs with google perfectly and the task/to-do list app I use, Taskos, also syncs perfectly with google. Keeping me connected with my computer and when I get my tablet it'll be synced with that. A perfect technology trio.
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zemariaabreusantos
April 30th 2011
53. Hello I'm planning on buying the Samsung Galaxy S II, when it comes out, but in case I cannot afford it, i am not shure whether I should buy the the original Galaxy S or the Sony Xperia Arc. I don't know which one is better and more future proof. Can any one help?
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ascariz
March 17th 2011
52. who have problem with their SGS, such as laggy, fast battery drain, crash, please see XDA Developer site. look for rom that suits you. but i suggest DocRom, because you can cook for your own rom. a lot to read. but after that, u will never let go your SGS, even to Blacberry & iphone.. ;)
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martin...
March 13th 2011
51. Thankyou hannahhhh :)
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judyku
March 10th 2011
50. I just got the Galaxy S yesterday and so far, so good! The screen is absolutely gorgeous, very big and clear and easy to see in daylight. The voice call sound is much better than my housemate's BlackBerry Curve and the call alert's maximum volume is wonderfully loud, especially for a person partially deaf.
The touchscreen takes some getting used too. After having the Jet (LOVED IT!), this phone is ULTRA sensitive and I tend to be a tad heavy-fingered, which can make things a little aggravating! On the other hand, it's a thousand times easier to use than the BlackBerry Curve's touch sensitive button. Texting is a cake walk with the S and its good keyboard layout options. The QWERTY irritated me, so I stick with the 3x4 and it works for me :-)
The one issue I seem to be having is setting my wallpaper so the whole picture can be seen, not just a bit of it. I've removed all bar three of the 7 home screens and managed to get a good portion of one image visible without blurring or pixelation. Any help with this will be appreciated!
Will add more reviews when I learn more about the S, but for now it's doing what I want and it's doing it very well indeed!
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stephaniegibson
March 5th 2011
49. i have a samsung galaxy S and for some reason, it will only work for 10 mins off charge so its has to be constantly on charge, i dont knw whats wrong with it .. can any body help? p.s brilliant phone before the battery decided to pack in.
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hannahhhh
March 2nd 2011
48. Martin... I have this phone on the One Plan with 3. Ive found no problem with the phone or the network. I even go over my data and internet usage allowence and it doesnt charge me a penny. Ive found this to be the best phone ive had, and i have had many phones! Hope this helps!
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martin...
February 13th 2011
47. ~HELP..
I'm thinking of getting the Samsung Galaxy S on contract on 3 (as i'm currently with them andue for an upgrade). But the reviews are so mixed. Can someone tell me if they've had problems with this phone on 3. I'm not swure whether to get the phon or not now?!?
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banjogav
January 25th 2011
46. Read all these reviews and I must have a duffer. The battery lasts no time at all, IT FREEZES, it lags, it randomly takes screen shote of my texts. Even though its run ning android 2.2 it is probably the worst phone I have had the misfortune to own. It is an unbranded phone so I cant even blame its mediocre performance on supplier software overlays.
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simonfenner
January 17th 2011
45. Just got this device and it rocks!! The 1GHz processor performs like a dream keeping the phone responsive and Android 2.2 is a great platform. The touch screen is superb being very responsive. Swipe keyboard entry is definitely the way forward and takes so much of the hassle out of using a touch screen keyboard.
Yes the only drawback has to be the lack of flash for the camera, but somehow Samsung seem to have still managed to take adequate pictures in artificial lighting. This isn't a major omission for me as that's why I have a decent camera!
Would thoroughly recommend this phone.
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sez1
January 5th 2011
44. I have this phone and it is brilliant. Updating to 2.2 was unsuccessful at first (but I put that down to user error) but I got it done in five minutes or so once I worked out how to do it right. The running was a little slow after the initial upgrade to 2.2 but after a couple of days it settled down and it runs really smoothly now.
Would it be possible to have a review of this now that it is 2.2 or at least update this review to state that 2.2 is now available.
Also I am glad I read this review again as I am trying to help a friend choose her next phone and it looks like she may well go for this one now. Also thank you for this review as I have downloaded Road Messenger as a result and it is the most useful thing I have found yet. No more bumping into lamp posts for me!
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nousha51
December 30th 2010
43. I've bought this phone yesterday and I'm not happy with it. It shows that it's connected to the internet but the browser is not connected permanently, it's kind of off and on. Anyone has any ideas?
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nisnooz
December 23rd 2010
42. hi guys, I'm a little worried about my phone: it's dropped a few calls since I bought it (20 Dec) and when I click on Phone -for example- the screen goes black for a fews secs before reappearing. Any feedback you can give me on that? cheers
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