5 Minutes Review of Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) Android Phone in Malaysia

I attended the Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) launch in Malaysia and got a chance to touch and feel the Samsung’s flagship smartphone. Read on for Samsung Galaxy S features and first impression review.

Disclaimer: I am a happy iPhone user and never use an Android phone before, plus I don’t have enough time to test the demo phone. (read: review unit is needed ;))

Samsung Galaxy S, the specs and features

• ARM Cortex A8 1GHz Processor
• Android OS 2.1 (Eclair)
• 4-inch, 16M colors, Super AMOLED touchscreen display (480×800)
• 64.2 x 122.4 x 9.9 mm (119 gram)
• 5MP autofocus front camera
• Secondary VGA camera
• 16GB internal memory, 512MB RAM
• microSD memory card slot support up to 32GB
• 1,500mAh Li-Ion removable battery with up to 13 hours talk time (2G)
• Act as remote control for Samsung TV set
• Swype text input allows texting without lifting your finger

Price: RM2,599 (RM1,699 with Maxis 12-month contract)

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy S launch

Brief review: Samsung Galaxy S phone

First of all, the Samsung Galaxy S has similar size as iPhone 3GS (see photo gallery) but slimmer and bigger display. The Super AMOLED is.. SUPER! It is very bright and clear. iPhone 3GS display looks dull beside it!

The touchscreen is very responsive. There’s no waiting time in launching apps. I dislike the touch-sensitive navigation keys at the bottom left and bottom right, they are not responsive like the touchscreen display.

Swype text input is one of the feature of Samsung Galaxy S (other Android phone is getting it too). I tried but failed. My fat finger keeps blocking the virtual keyboard that I cannot swipe my finger to the key I want to key in.. Training is needed.

Samsung Galaxy S comes with pre-installed apps such as Aldiko e-book, Layar Reality Browser, ThinkFree, etc. The Aldiko e-book app design looks very similar to Apple iBooks but only supports ePub format.

Samsung Galaxy S, the video

I made a short video demo of Samsung Galaxy S user interface:

My two cents

If I would want to buy an Android powered phone, Samsung Galaxy S is definitely in the short list.

It is better than other Android-powered phone because Samsung Galaxy S has a great display, high internal memory, secondary camera, and higher battery capacity.

What do you think? Do you like the features of Samsung Galaxy S? Anything need to be improved?