Sign up with GoogleI've owned my Samsung Galaxy S for around 11 months now and thought I'd report back on my experiences for those interested.
I love this phone.....although it was not love at first. It started out with Android 2.1, and man that was kuk: slow, drained battery, couldn't do skype/gtalk video calling. Basically the phone sucked. Shortly after this I rooted the phone and stuck on Darky ROM running Froyo. This was an exponentially amazing improvement. The phone was super quick, the battery life literally doubled. I have since upgraded to Darky ROM extreme edition 10.2 which runs on the latest Android Gingerbread. This enables really good Skype/Gtalk video calling(i actually prefer using my phone to laptop for this!) and is even faster, and the battery lasts even longer I get about 2 days out of the battery with medium use even now, 11 months after purchase.
I am currently using Samsungs TouchWiz 4 launcher, which is actually pretty good - fast, clear and easy to navigate. The first few iterations of TouchWiz were super crap, so those who swore off earlier versions, I recommend giving the new one a bash. I have used other launchers - I liked launcher pro, which is super customisable, but now prefer the simplicity of TouchWiz.
App wise I use gmail, which rocks as all android users know - so much better than iPhone (if you use gmail on a PC, that is). I also use google maps and navigation - I found it better than a garmin when I was in Europe recently. For messaging I use whatsapp, and Gtalk - both work great as most of you know. I dig the integration of different forms of messaging in Android - when choosing to share a webpage/image etc, it gives you option of sending via any forms of your messaging so easily - friggn rocks. The music player is really good and sound quality is outstanding - better than Galaxy 2 for some reason. I'm using the swiftkey X keyboard which is incredibly intuitive, although I really like swype too. Youtube is a really good app too.
I'm using Dolphin Browser mini - really fast, although the stock might be a tiny bit faster. The reason I use dolphin is the tabbed browsing - brilliant - a selling feature.
The screen is excellent too, IMHO amoled is the best. It may not have the resolution of the iphone, but for a 4inch screen anything higher is a bit of a gimick.
I use no screen or body protection for the phone and it is in my pocket all day, occasionally being bumped by keys. I've also dropped it numerous times. Despite being a little flimsy looking its stood up well to all this abuse. There are no scratches on the screen, which makes me believe that putting a screen protector of gorilla glass a bit of a waste, especially as it takes a bit of smoothness away from the touch experience. Some of the chintzy chrome paint on the sides of the plastic body come off, but this is just minor cosmetic damage and does not bother me- I put up with that rather than have a bulky silicone protection on the phone.
So negatives: The camera is fine, but a bit slow. A major issue is lack of flash - stooopid omission. I'm not a big photographer, but not having a flash sucks. Whilst pretty quick with all the rooting and custom roms etc, its obviously not as fast as the new dual core phones, but for now suits my needs perfectly and I am happy to wait another year before upgrading.
Comparisions: iPhone, well if you like iOS, you like iOS, but for me Android is superior with its customisability and excellent google services integration. No other comparisons really as mentioned the newer dual core phones are faster. Blackberry - urgghh: nice keyboards, but just about everything else sucks: crap OS with few decent apps. People go on about the email in blackberries, but for me the gmail integration in android is actually better. In blackberry's defence, their email is supposed to be more secure but this does not make any difference to me - more of a corporate thing I think.
I wouldn't buy a new Galaxy S today, unless it was ultra-cheap, but as a second hand phone these things are bargains. If you can pick one up for R2000 or less - its an amazing deal and you'll be super happy with it (unless you;'re coming off a galaxy s2!) As mentioned battery life in mine is still great after 11 months, so this should not be an issue if buying a pre-owned one.
I love this phone.....although it was not love at first. It started out with Android 2.1, and man that was kuk: slow, drained battery, couldn't do skype/gtalk video calling. Basically the phone sucked. Shortly after this I rooted the phone and stuck on Darky ROM running Froyo. This was an exponentially amazing improvement. The phone was super quick, the battery life literally doubled. I have since upgraded to Darky ROM extreme edition 10.2 which runs on the latest Android Gingerbread. This enables really good Skype/Gtalk video calling(i actually prefer using my phone to laptop for this!) and is even faster, and the battery lasts even longer I get about 2 days out of the battery with medium use even now, 11 months after purchase.
I am currently using Samsungs TouchWiz 4 launcher, which is actually pretty good - fast, clear and easy to navigate. The first few iterations of TouchWiz were super crap, so those who swore off earlier versions, I recommend giving the new one a bash. I have used other launchers - I liked launcher pro, which is super customisable, but now prefer the simplicity of TouchWiz.
App wise I use gmail, which rocks as all android users know - so much better than iPhone (if you use gmail on a PC, that is). I also use google maps and navigation - I found it better than a garmin when I was in Europe recently. For messaging I use whatsapp, and Gtalk - both work great as most of you know. I dig the integration of different forms of messaging in Android - when choosing to share a webpage/image etc, it gives you option of sending via any forms of your messaging so easily - friggn rocks. The music player is really good and sound quality is outstanding - better than Galaxy 2 for some reason. I'm using the swiftkey X keyboard which is incredibly intuitive, although I really like swype too. Youtube is a really good app too.
I'm using Dolphin Browser mini - really fast, although the stock might be a tiny bit faster. The reason I use dolphin is the tabbed browsing - brilliant - a selling feature.
The screen is excellent too, IMHO amoled is the best. It may not have the resolution of the iphone, but for a 4inch screen anything higher is a bit of a gimick.
I use no screen or body protection for the phone and it is in my pocket all day, occasionally being bumped by keys. I've also dropped it numerous times. Despite being a little flimsy looking its stood up well to all this abuse. There are no scratches on the screen, which makes me believe that putting a screen protector of gorilla glass a bit of a waste, especially as it takes a bit of smoothness away from the touch experience. Some of the chintzy chrome paint on the sides of the plastic body come off, but this is just minor cosmetic damage and does not bother me- I put up with that rather than have a bulky silicone protection on the phone.
So negatives: The camera is fine, but a bit slow. A major issue is lack of flash - stooopid omission. I'm not a big photographer, but not having a flash sucks. Whilst pretty quick with all the rooting and custom roms etc, its obviously not as fast as the new dual core phones, but for now suits my needs perfectly and I am happy to wait another year before upgrading.
Comparisions: iPhone, well if you like iOS, you like iOS, but for me Android is superior with its customisability and excellent google services integration. No other comparisons really as mentioned the newer dual core phones are faster. Blackberry - urgghh: nice keyboards, but just about everything else sucks: crap OS with few decent apps. People go on about the email in blackberries, but for me the gmail integration in android is actually better. In blackberry's defence, their email is supposed to be more secure but this does not make any difference to me - more of a corporate thing I think.
I wouldn't buy a new Galaxy S today, unless it was ultra-cheap, but as a second hand phone these things are bargains. If you can pick one up for R2000 or less - its an amazing deal and you'll be super happy with it (unless you;'re coming off a galaxy s2!) As mentioned battery life in mine is still great after 11 months, so this should not be an issue if buying a pre-owned one.