As you may be aware I am one of the Android faithful and will probably remain with the Android platform, not because I have anything against other mobile platforms but because I have found Android easy to use and get along with.
The current smartphone I have is the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, which when compared to the obvious top slot handset, the iPhone 4, the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 comes out at roughly the same size and looks just as good design wise as the iOS rival.
I also find that using the Samsung Galaxy S when I need to turn on and off WiFi or Bluetooth I don’t have to go through the rigmarole of going to settings, selecting WiFi or Bluetooth and then turning on or off, the reason for this is the Samsung Galaxy S notifications dropdown bar gives access to these functions, which is one sweet shortcut.
Browsing on the Galaxy S is reasonable fast depending on which website you visit as with all smartphones but the speed is acceptable. I’m not a great user of mobile apps but those that I do have work fine, obviously there are a few apps that crash constantly but with these I tend to uninstall and go look for a similar app that works better.
Gaming on the Samsung Galaxy S, well like I said I’m not a great user of app and the same goes for games, but I do have a couple. One is of course Angry Birds for Android which I have to say is one really good game and thus far I have had no problems with it whatsoever.
Another game I play is Tank Recon 3D, a simple hunt and destroy tank game that also works really well and so far no issues. I also play on occasion Call of Duty: Modern Warfare force recon, a first person shooter that thus far works reasonable well although for some reason if you turn the sound on the game crashes.
As for apps I have Google Docs which enables me to edit my documents while on the move and I have found this app to be great as being an author I can now work on whatever I am writing straight from my smartphone. Google Maps is well Google Maps and basically the same as any other handset version. Google Navigation works really well on the Galaxy S and delivers clear voice navigation directions and quickly adjusts route if you take a wrong turn.
The Android Market app I find a tad frustrating at times and believe that it could be made better along with having a searchable online website, although the AppBrain app and website actually does a better job than the official Android Market where that is concerned.
Scrolling and pinch and zoom features work exceeding well with the Galaxy S i9000 I have found both do so fast and smoothly. Texting with the Galaxy S is again on par with most other smartphones with the virtual keyboard doing a reasonable job unless you have fat fingers of course.
Picture and video taking and playing I have no problems with at all, the images are clear and sharp while video playback is good although depending on the video there can sometimes be a little lag.
As for battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S fairs well in this area with battery life lasting most of the day and charging is accomplished at a reasonable rate.
I do have a couple of issues with the Samsung galaxy S i9000 though, one being that when opening messages or the phonebook I have found that quite often the orientation keeps switching from portrait to landscape and I have to shake the handset to get it back to portrait mode which can be frustrating at times.
The other issue I have with the Samsung Galaxy S is actually with the device itself but more with Samsung and the way they update, basically forcing a user to use Samsung Kies which is irritating to say the least.
Basically whenever I try to update the Galaxy S to Android 2.2 Froyo, Kies doesn’t recognise my device even though it is made by Samsung, so at the moment I am still running on Android 2.1 which is fine, but it does bug me why Samsung just can’t do an OS update OTA which would be far similar for the user.
So there you have it our personal take on the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, a great Android smartphone although still have a few minor annoyances. Feel free to let us know your views of the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 by posting to our comments area below.