Let us introduce you to the first Android basic handset by Samsung, the Galaxy I7500. It looks quite like the HTC Magic which we considered its direct rival as well. The Galaxy is equipped with 5-megapixel camera, AMOLED display and8 GB built-in memory.
Moreover, it is only 11.9 millimeters thin which makes it the slimmest Android device on the market to date. A nice phone case comes into books that protect the handset against scratches but unfortunately there are no openings or markings to indicate the location of the send and the end key.
The phone is entirely made of plastic and the material does not have a cheap feel to it although it simply loves fingerprints. The handset supports a 3.2 inch AMOLED display with 16 million colors equipped with light sensitivity set sensor. The screen has stronger affinity for fingerprints and although it remains usable in direct sunlight, the latter makes it unfaltering tension for finger marks rather noticeable.
Image quality is really high in artificial lighting with bright, vivid and saturated colors that do please the eye. Unlike Android pad HTC devices, the Samsung Galaxy has a navigational D-pad instead of a track ball and the menu button is on its left.
There are other two keys on its right that goes at the back the phone menus and call up the home screen. The latter is also used for opening the multitasking menu and they don’t have any complains concerning the travel of the navigational buttons or the way they feel when pressed. The thing is that they are aligned and what does a scene to be most convenient way in reaching the innermost keys somewhat unpleasant because of the tension in your fingers after prolonged use.
The volume rocker, 3.5 mm jack, micro USB slot, additional microphone dedicated to improving the audio tracks of the videos you capture, screen lock/unlock button and camera’s shutter are located on either side of the device with the camera being on the back of the Samsung Galaxy along with the integrated loudspeaker.
The Samsung Galaxy relies on the latest Android edition that is not any different from the version running on T-Mobile G1 and the HTC Magic in terms of interface. The HTC Hero is distinctly just similar due to its Samsung device entirely developed by HTC.
The phone contacts are the standards that come with your operating system. It can be sync to your Google account and remain as great as ever. There are four tabs at the top. You will take into contacts or everyone by default but favorite or speed dials, call log and dialer were just a press away. You can add additional information to any contact entry including several numbers, email addresses, IM chats, names etcetera.
The phone calendar can be sync to Google as well and it comes with all standard functions. Events are browse in daily, weekly or monthly view plus you have agenda mode that list entries in chronological order. You have the option to create different event types but you cannot synchronize more than one calendar and this is a characteristic drawback of the initial version of the operating system.
The Samsung Galaxy lacks hardware keyboard. You have a virtual one instead and it works in a landscape and portrait mode. Moreover, you can switch on the vibration and sound feedback that makes pressing buttons even more clearly desirable while keeping the menu buttons press for awhile will call up the keyboard onscreen, no matter the menu you're in and typing a way feels quite easy provided you allow for some time to get used to it.
The internet browser is a standard WebKit app that’s integrated into Androids. Due to the lack of multi touch, zooming in and out on things is performed in exactly the same way as on the G1 and Magic. Through tapping on the plus and minus icons at the button of the screen, pages load fast, visualized properly and finding what you need is easy. Our only gripe concerns the lack of limited Flash support which is available in HTC Hero as well.
The 5-megapixel camera features standard and not boring Android interface that fails to deliver extra functions. Along side of all the Samsung manufactured handsets even though aiming at the mainstream segment of the market the Galaxy I7500 is quite a disappointment in terms of camera device. At least, we are pleased with the image quality snapshots take in natural and artificial lighting conditions. You are about to take a look it for yourself. There are quite a few test pictures in are full text review available on PhoneArena.com.
Compare to all on Android pad handset on the market, the Samsung Galaxy delivers the best snapshot quality as of now. But alongside of other 5-megapixel handsets on the market, it is an average performer.
The Galaxy does not deliver anything more than the T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic in terms of multimedia. The audio play is capable. There is an excellent library that we can rate as really good and by no means worst than the one available on the iPhone. When it comes to audio quality however, the Samsung’s battleship performance is far from impressive especially when you use the box pair of headphones. Still, it supports a 3.5 mm jack so it can always give another pair a go.
Video playback capabilities of the Samsung I7500 are below par in terms of modern standards, video codec and format support. Still, watching content in the 3.3 inch AMOLED display definitely makes for a pleasing experience because images have saturated colors and there is no noticeable stuttering.
As a whole, the Samsung Galaxy has its supporting channels against the HTC Magic despite the mediocre in-call quality and unhandy alignment of the navigational buttons. Moreover, it supports an AMOLED and that’s the beauty to behold and it’s a pure camera. It comes with HTC, however Samsung battle star doesn’t stand the slightest chance of winning over.
Please read our full text review of the handset available on PhoneArena.com where we will also find detailed information about the phone along with the host of pictures.
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