Galaxy Phones From Samsung Are Worthy iPhone Rivals
The war of the super-smartphones continues to heat up, and, at the moment, most of the combat seems to be between Apple’s iPhone and the multiplying array of competitors running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system.
Despite the weak economy, consumers seem to crave these hand-held computers, which typically cost around $200. Apple (AAPL) this week said it can’t make enough of its new iPhone 4 models to meet strong demand. HTC, the Taiwanese-based manufacturer behind many of the better-known Android phones, also is struggling to meet demand for models like the Droid Incredible on Verizon (VZ) and the Evo 4G on Sprint (S).
Now, the Korean electronics giant, Samsung, has begun rolling out an impressive new line of iPhone competitors that run on Android. These new super-smartphones are called the Galaxy S Series, and Samsung has managed to get all four top U.S. wireless carriers to agree to start selling them this summer. They share most of the same guts, but carry different model names and exterior designs.
I’ve been testing the first two Galaxy S phones, the T-Mobile Vibrant and the AT&T (T) Captivate, both of which cost $200 with a two-year contract. Neither has all the features of Apple’s latest model, like a front-facing camera for video calls or an ultra–high resolution screen, but they are worthy competitors. They have some attributes the iPhone lacks, like bigger screens and better integration of social networking.
The AT&T Captivate and T-Mobile Vibrant have bigger screens than the iPhone but lack frontfacing cameras.
The T-Mobile Vibrant has rounded corners and a prominent border that make it look very much like last year’s iPhone 3GS model. The AT&T Captivate is more angular and, to my taste, looks sleeker. Though the two phones share the same battery, the Vibrant claims better battery life. The Vibrant is longer but a bit lighter.
Both phones are multi-touch models which lack physical keyboards, though the upcoming Sprint version, the Epic, will have a slide-out physical keyboard and a front-facing camera.
For Android phone makers, a key challenge is to differentiate their models from others offering the same operating system. Samsung has chosen to do so by combining a design that’s almost as thin as the iPhone 4 with a generous, four-inch screen. That’s significantly bigger than the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display, but smaller than the huge 4.3-inch screen on the Evo and the new Motorola (MOT) Droid X, which would force the phones to be larger.
In my tests, phone calls on both models were crisp and clear. Reception on the AT&T model was about the same as on the iPhone 4, which only works on AT&T. The five-megapixel camera took sharp pictures. The camera also did a fine job with video, which is high definition. Battery life was good, though not exceptional. The phones lasted through an average day of varied use.
The screen on the Galaxy S is based on a different technology than those on most other smartphones. It’s called Super AMOLED, and Samsung claims it has better color reproduction, contrast, outdoor visibility and brightness. To my eye, the Galaxy S screens did look very good, but seemed no better, indoors or outdoors, than the iPhone 4’s screen and were slightly less sharp.
Samsung has also added some of its own touches to Android. Users can add Samsung “widgets,” such as a Buddies Now module that quickly allows access to your closest contacts. There’s also something called the Social Hub, which integrates social-networking updates and media with contact entries. This is a common feature on Android and Palm phones, but isn’t present on the iPhone.
While it’s improving rapidly, Android still isn’t quite as smooth as the iPhone’s software, and on some Android models I’ve tested, it can slow down or have a jerky quality. Not so on these Samsung models. Performance in every function I tested was snappy.
Another nice touch on the Samsung models is a generous amount of internal memory—16 gigabytes—in addition to the common removable memory card, which in this case holds two gigabytes but can be replaced at extra cost with a roomier card.
The T-Mobile Vibrant.
Also, Samsung says the new phones can hold up to two gigabytes of third-party apps, the most I’ve seen on an Android phone, which, unlike the iPhone, places limits on total app storage.
Like other Android phones, the two Samsung models offer around 65,000 third-party apps, including popular titles like the Kindle e-book reader and Facebook. That’s far fewer than the iPhone’s 225,000 available apps, but well above the measly 7,000 or so apps available for the BlackBerry.
There are some drawbacks. Like other Android phones, the Galaxy S models don’t come with a program like iTunes, which allows easy synchronization with content on a PC or Mac. You can plug the phones into a computer for manual transfer of files, but this only works smoothly on Windows PCs. On Macs, you must turn on something called “USB debugging” to make this work.
I also wasn’t crazy about the home, search and other buttons on these phones, which are found on a panel below the screen but not easily visible until you touch the panel and light the buttons up. That, in effect, means you have to touch twice to use them.
Still, for consumers who prefer Android, or who—in the case of the Vibrant and the coming Sprint and Verizon versions—would rather not be on AT&T, the Galaxy S phones present an appealing alternative to the iPhone.
Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.
Comments
True, it doesn't sync with iTunes yet which is a drawback but it does work with Doubletwist the exact same way. A great alternative to iTunes for Android users.
Also I have to agree the new Galaxy is giving the iPhone a run for it's money- this is going to be an exciting year.
Posted by stevestgermain at July 22nd, 2010 at 2:21 amOnce this device goes to Android 2.2 Froyo internal memory won't be a limitation for the apps as you can then run them off the SD card.
Posted by Michael Martin at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:05 amWhy compare it to the iPhone? I don't care how much it is like the iPhone or how it's almost like an iPhone. If I wanted an iPhone I would buy an iPhone. Why not just talk about the phone you are reviewing and not that other phone.
Posted by App Hacker at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:38 amthe Sprint version (the Epic) will have the front facing camera as well . . . plus a slide out physical keyboard. cleared the FCC today. can't wait.
Posted by A Yahoo Contributor at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:58 amThey are actually $2500 phones, as most users get them with very expensive 2-year contracts.
Posted by Charbax at July 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 amAnd a flash.
Posted by Charbax at July 22nd, 2010 at 7:56 amThe 1 Ghz Android phones are the best phones out there right now- super fast and responsive. You have choices- larger screens of Verizon Droid X, Sprint EVO 4G and the Galaxy S make the smaller phones puny. Coming out soon, the Droid 2 with its physical keyboard on Verizon
Posted by Tim at July 22nd, 2010 at 8:25 amThe iPhone is the one of the most popular smartphones on the market today and most people have used one at some point and are somewhat familiar with it.
Posted by DanielEssex at July 22nd, 2010 at 9:34 amComparing it to the iPhone allows the reader to further understand and visualize what it is like.
It is always easier (and advised in journalism) to compare one thing to another than to describe it from the ground up
It's already a non-issue. Walter is wrong. Both phones have 16GB internal storage. And the Droid X has 8GB (so it's unclear where he gets his “2GB is the most I've seen) numbers.
Posted by Iria00 at July 22nd, 2010 at 1:06 pmThe Verizon version will have a flash a well, but non FF-camera.
Posted by Iria00 at July 22nd, 2010 at 1:07 pmThe Vibrant cost $399 (US) retail with no contract. How do I know? I bought one. I'm not sure if AT&T offers the Captivate sans contract or not.
Posted by Jer at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:24 pmThat's better price than those $500+ phones like Nexus One and others. But it's still very high, for a phone that costs less than $200 for Samsung to manufacture.
Posted by Charbax at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:37 pmThere are problems with WiFi too:
bit.ly/droidxwifi
Posted by drrjv at July 22nd, 2010 at 3:48 pmcould you please tell me where did you find this unlocked phone in $399?
Posted by Krishna Singh at July 22nd, 2010 at 4:34 pmI think that these are the best phones on the planet.
Posted by Michal Kolman at July 22nd, 2010 at 4:46 pmWhat does the Droid X have to do with the Galaxy S?
Posted by PacoBell at July 22nd, 2010 at 7:20 pmNo, it works just fine on Macs. You just need to enable USB debugging.
Posted by PacoBell at July 22nd, 2010 at 7:26 pmI'm curious what the definition of an ultra-high resolution screen is… Playing HD videos doesn't constitute ultra-high resolution?
Posted by Benjamin Topolski at July 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pmThat guy trolls Android articles (I've seen him post similarly random things on three different sites). I'm pretty sure he is getting paid by someone to do, he always has custom bit.ly links probably to track the results.
Posted by Jai Mani at July 23rd, 2010 at 6:43 pmiPhone originated this class of phone and is the technology leader in smartphones, with the best interface, the most apps, the highest-res screen, the longest battery life, the most storage, etc. These phones are both $1 more than iPhone 4, and $101 more than iPhone 3GS, so the comparison is fair in every way.
What phone do you suggest Walt should have compared to, and why?
Posted by JohnDoey at July 27th, 2010 at 12:27 amOnly a portion of the internal memory can be used for apps.
My understanding is that Android v2.2 does not solve the app storage issue, you cannot run apps off the SD card.
Posted by JohnDoey at July 27th, 2010 at 12:30 amNo, iPhone 4 is clearly the best phone, whether you are looking at specs or at sales figures. Even though it's screen is smaller, it has more pixels, more information on it, yet it fits in your pocket. And the screen has better color, better typography, better quality. The front-facing camera is usable, the battery life is way, way better, the interface is better, the native C apps blow away Android's Java apps, and there is a free iPod in there. There's no doubt it's a better phone for the vast majority of users.
These Android phones are good for people who are technically oriented. For example, you know that these phones have 1GHz SOC's, so you may be happier with an Android phone. You will have to do I-T work with an Android phone that most people don't want to do, but you may enjoy it. You'll have to workaround things that most people can't workaround, but you may enjoy that. You'll read how to turn off various features so you can get a day of battery life or stop your phone from crashing mid-call, but most people will not do that and so an Android phone is a terrible choice for them.
In short: if you are the kind of person who wants to install a task killer, then get Android; but if you're the kind of person who wants to install a video editor, get iPhone.
Posted by JohnDoey at July 27th, 2010 at 12:44 amThe larger screens of the Androids have alot more space to watch videos and pictures. Flash videos are played right on the browser. People can get large screen Androids whether they're on Verizon or Sprint or T-Mobile or AT&T. The 1GHz chip makes the programs and graphics runs really fast. People use many of these Android phones as wifi hotspots for their laptops. People can set them up how ever way they want. These Androids phones are the great.
Posted by Tim at July 27th, 2010 at 1:08 amA worthy competitor for the iPhone, but the review states: no front facing camera, no high resolution screen, ALMOST as thin as the iPhone, larger screen that's not as sharp as the iPhone and arguably no better outdoors, less storage space for apps, less available apps, no easy synching through a provided application… and it costs the same ($199) for a 16gb model just like the iPhone. Where was the part where it sounds better?
Posted by scott lewis at July 27th, 2010 at 3:31 pmI tend to get a kick out of people trying to “sell me” their phone by telling me how it has better mega this and Giga that.
I, like most people do NOT buy a car by looking at engines and picking the best one, then tires, then seats, then putting it all together into one lump. I find the car that suits me overall and just works and does the things I need it to do. Sort of like an iPhone!! I also have no problem with someone buying parts and pieces and putting them all together.
I do really appreciate Mr. Mossberg's articles. They are some of the most fair and even handed pieces on the market today. And while I may not agree with everything he says, he usually supplies why he comments like he does.
Well done Walt. :-)
Just a thought,
Posted by Elder Norm at July 27th, 2010 at 8:00 pmen
WOW…did you really just put that out there? I mean…
'Even though it's screen is smaller,' …(translate: doesn't play true widescreen) + 'The front-facing camera is usable' (orly?) + 'the interface is better, the native C apps blow away Android's Java apps' (not subjective? at all?) = a totally bunk argument. Favorite part was 'and there is a free iPod in there'
You do make a good argument though; iPhones are for people who can't handle widgets, it might confuse them.
Posted by *d.* at July 28th, 2010 at 1:34 amThey're different. For example, the integration with google services is better on these than the iPhone. Before you or someone else says “Well I don't care about that…” there are some people who don't care about Facetime and the front facing camera. That's why there are different phones out there – not everyone cares about the same thing.
Posted by rickg at July 29th, 2010 at 4:02 amSo the iPhone syncs to MobileMe better than to the Google cloud, and has a better screen, camera, outdoor visibility, out of the box synching with PC or Mac without third party software, video chat capability out of the box, is thinner, easier to pocket, a higher DPI and a larger market of third party apps. Yeah, you're right!
Posted by scott lewis at July 29th, 2010 at 2:40 pmI have ran 2.2 for a couple weeks now and you can run apps fine off of the SD card, they run just like normal apps but take longer to load (less than 1 second from my experience).
Posted by Michael Janssen at July 29th, 2010 at 2:49 pmI returned my iphone 4 to try the Captivate. I am a IT Director for a hospital so I thought I should try the Android space. We support about 170 phones we supply to employees so I thought I should more.
After 10 days I am returning this phone. The way email subfolders is handled is a pure pain. The subfolders are listed at the top in alpha order intermingled with my RSS feed folders. Good luck finding the right folder to see if important email got there.
So I could turn filters off and wade through the hundreds of emails I get and move them to the folders. Oh wait the default mail app does not seem to easily let me move mail to subfolders.
I did go to forums to fix my issues, I really wanted to like this phone. But telling me to buy a email client for $15 is not the solution.
I also have lag issues and did get the app killer and it helps but those touch sensitive buttons should be real buttons since they dont respond so well to touch.
The screen is fantastic and the media capabilites rock but this phone is in no way making it into our approved list.
We support iphone and Blackberry and I guess we will give Windows Phone 7 a try and probably offer that.
I pulled an old iphone 2G and stuck my SIM in to get through the day. I will go back to Captivate in evening and weekends to see if I can get more familiarity with the other features. But I will be back to iphone 4, which did not give me issues.
Posted by Ara Hadidian at July 29th, 2010 at 7:02 pmFor me the big thing is iPhone has better management of corporate/ Exchange email. That alone is a big reason for a corporate user to not be comfortable using the Captivate.
Which dont get me wrong as a personal phone with no corporate needs can be a pretty great phone.
Posted by Ara Hadidian at July 29th, 2010 at 11:41 pmI love the widgets and the screen is fantastic.
I actually love the size since the EVO is too big and the iPhone could use being a bit bigger.
The entire idea of One Best Phone is silly since different people care about different things. For example, I don't care about vide chat, I don't care about MobileMe (even though I use Mac laptops), I don't care about Exchange. Other people will.
Some things, like the higher DPI screen are very nice and points for the iPhone. Others are a 6 of one, half dozen of the other, i.e. smaller size vs larger screen. I've played with the Galaxy and an iPhone – they're both light, fairly small and, while the iphone is smaller and a few mm thinner, the Galaxy has a larger screen. Again, a choice. Both contenders (Android and iOS) have tens of thousands of apps so, practically, that's a wash. I mean ONLY 65,000 apps? Right…
Here's the thing – choice is good. Between the iPhone and the various Android phones we now have a pretty wide range of devices that trounce anything we had 4 years ago. I fail to see how this is a bad thing.
Posted by rickg at July 29th, 2010 at 11:48 pmAra, Precisely what I meant. For you, Exchange support is important. I use GMail and Google Apps, so I could care less about that while integration with Google services is important to me. Neither of us is *right* and it's a good thing that we each have solutions for what we need/want.
Posted by rickg at July 29th, 2010 at 11:51 pmDoubletwist is a must-have for android; not only the PC/Mac side music manager, but the music and video player you install on the phone.
Posted by Bill O'Donnell at July 30th, 2010 at 12:36 pmsamsung’s super AMOLED display is much more advanced and better than iphone’s Retina (manufactured by LG). In fact Apple really wanted to use samsung’s super AMOLED for its new iphone4, but Samsung refused to sell because of Galaxy S phones. So Apple had to turn to LG for lesser quality LCD display and named it Retina.
Posted by Anonymous at August 29th, 2010 at 6:34 am