Samsung Galaxy S

Hemi300c said:
Kept getting SMS's from MTN about my contract renewal and that a Ant** would phone me. I eventually phoned him.

I told him I will renew once Samsung Galaxy S is available, he comfirmed it is on the list and he would contact me once stock has arrived in about a week - (over ambitious I think).
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Maybe not the Galaxy Spica again? Just say Samsung I9000 rather.
 
I have been told by Supercall cellular that the I9000 is available Mid August. That means end of next week :) Holding both my thumbs now.
 
Ok so i phoned vodascum again today , Still nothing on their product list , they recon it's still in testing , No ETA on stock or release date
 
Just posted this on XDA

If you slide your finger from side to side on the notification bar it changes the brightness of the screen.

Left to Right = Brighter
Right to Left = Dimmer
 
I'm thinking of going for the galaxy S (love my Blackberry but the Torch isn't a huge upgrade to my Bold so I would hold onto my bold). I have a few questions though:
Durability - if I drop the galaxy will it be destroyed?
Screen - how easy is it to scratch the screen? Do you need screen protectors?
I usually get a silicone case but considering the size of this phone it might become to large, any opinions?
I've read about an android 3.0 if samsung don't release an official update can you still get the update for the phone? And will doing that void the warranty?
How good is the office software and is there support for odf (openoffice, since android is based on linux).
Data - how much data do most android users use in a month (ie. What data package would I have to get to take advantage of most of the features)?
Lastly typing, how fast can you type on android (or with the swype). I often use my phone for writing ideas so I do a lot of typing.
 
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oronte said:
I'm thinking of going for the galaxy S (love my Blackberry but the Torch isn't a huge upgrade to my Bold so I would hold onto my bold). I have a few questions though:
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"Durability - if I drop the galaxy will it be destroyed?"
Probably not unless it's a bad impact. See this durability test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3by5u9ax2EU

"Screen - how easy is it to scratch the screen? Do you need screen protectors?"
Very difficult. See the video above.

"I usually get a silicone case but considering the size of this phone it might become to large, any opinions?"
The phone is pretty thin. Mine is 'naked' and slides nicely into my pocket. Shouldn't be too bad with a case.

"I've read about an android 3.0 if samsung don't release an official update can you still get the update for the phone? And will doing that void the warranty?"
They have promised Android 2.2. We can only hope for 3.0 but it seems likely, as for an unofficial update I don't know. Samsung have released source code for the phone but I don't know if that includes everything needed to make an unofficial Android upgrade.
I suppose an unofficial upgrade voids the warranty but you can easily flash the official firmware back on.

"How good is the office software and is there support for odf (openoffice, since android is based on linux)."
Android may be based on Linux but you can't just install Linux apps on it. Apps need to be made specifically for Android.
The Galaxy S comes with ThinkFree Office pre-installed. Seems good, although when I opened a Word doc I couldn't see where the page breaks were. Doubt it's as fully featured as OpenOffice.
There are some other Android office programs out there that I haven't tried.

"Data - how much data do most android users use in a month (ie. What data package would I have to get to take advantage of most of the features)?"
I don't use a data package at the moment, I use my WiFi at home to do downloading and browsing when I'm not at the PC. The rest of the time I turn off synching and only use data for IM and Facebook.
I suppose I'll buy data bundles. If you want to do a lot of browsing away from home maybe 300MB per month would be ok. Adjust the data bundles you buy based on the usage you go through, it's hard to say exactly how much you'll need because it varies from person to person.

"Lastly typing, how fast can you type on android (or with the swype). I often use my phone for writing ideas so I do a lot of typing."
Can't give an accurate figure. Most of the time I use the standard Samsung keyboard and I'd say my typing speeds are decent now that I'm used to it.
You can potentially be very fast with Swype but that takes practice. Also if your hand happens to be a bit sticky/sweaty at the time then your finger wont slide smoothy making it a bit awkward to use, when that happens I just switch back to the standard keyboard.
 
Durability - if I drop the galaxy will it be destroyed?
As above

Screen - how easy is it to scratch the screen? Do you need screen protectors?
Also as above

I usually get a silicone case but considering the size of this phone it might become to large, any opinions?
I have a slide in pouch for mine. I do not like those full body covers. But i do not think a full body cover would make it too big. Its a very thin phone.

I've read about an android 3.0 if samsung don't release an official update can you still get the update for the phone? And will doing that void the warranty?
As above :p

How good is the office software and is there support for odf (openoffice, since android is based on linux).
Used Excel that comes with the phone (ThinkFree) and it did what i needed it to do.

Data - how much data do most android users use in a month (ie. What data package would I have to get to take advantage of most of the features)?
I try use most things when at home on the wireless. But i do have a 100Mb data bundle. I think 300Mb would be the best if you use your phone a lot. But you can get away without one all together.

Lastly typing, how fast can you type on android (or with the swype). I often use my phone for writing ideas so I do a lot of typing.
I can type the same if not faster than i did on my old N82.
 
We don't have access to the paid apps, at least not officially. You can buy them from alternative places though, a popular one is http://slideme.org/

If you're willing to root the phone you can also search for the "Market Enabler". It's a hack that tricks the market into thinking you're using a US, UK, or other cell network. You can then buy using credit cards listed on your Google Checkout account (add the card on Google Checkout first, because if you use the market app you wont have South Africa as an option).

Some developers also let you buy straight from them.

Of course, there's no shortage of quality free apps :)

For gaming, it breaks my heart to say this ( :p ) but it's nowhere near the iPhone, at least not yet. There are some good games around. Gameloft currently only sell their games on their own site with their own nasty copy protection, their games have decent graphics.
You get Asphalt 5 HD for free with the phone, open the Samsung Apps application to get it. Great graphics but crap gameplay.
 
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Update on vodacom and the Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000 & GT-I9000/M8) , I Phoned a few vodashops , including vodacoms handset upgrades department as well as Vodashop inside vodaworld
As most of you know the new Vodacom Dealsheet was released yesterday. And the samsung Galaxy S in not yet available for new or upgrade cusomers.

They are also not able to give me and ETA , And Claim that the device is still in network Testing .
 
Finally played around with the Vlingo app a bit (free from Samsung Apps). I like the Vlingo keyboard better than the Samsung keyboard, it's not cluttered up with stupid smileys, it has a voice input button, and a word prediction that only completes words if you manually choose the word.
This app's worth a look, I wish I didn't ignore it for so long. Nice way to control your phone and handle SMS's safely while driving using voice control.

(Edit: Dammit, the word prediction here also automatically corrects the word when it feels like it. Why on Earth can we not have word prediction that only changes your typing when you tap on a suggestion? Well it's not so bad, still lets you tap the original word you typed.)
(Edit again: Maybe it's not that bad. Choosing a typing method is getting harder...)

I need something to mount my phone in the car. So far I've just used the sun visor to hold it which is ok, keeps it out of sight of thieves I suppose. But it's not good for when I need to actually do something with the phone.
Is there some way to mount it on the dashboard? I don't want those suction cup things that go on the windscreen.
 
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Maddmatt said:
I need something to mount my phone in the car. So far I've just used the sun visor to hold it which is ok, keeps it out of sight of thieves I suppose. But it's not good for when I need to actually do something with the phone.
Is there some way to mount it on the dashboard? I don't want those suction cup things that go on the windscreen.
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Something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-Stand-Mount...20-/280545367570?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL
or
http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-Vent-Mount-Samsung-i9000-Galaxy-S-/220627690604?pt=PDA_Accessories
maybe? Have a look around ebay, there are tons of cheap solutions
 
You should all check out the latest lag fix on XDA.
Its the one click lag fix, makes a HUUUUUUUGE difference with eveyday use of the phone.
Will post a link to it when i can get the site to load.
 
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