Things to Remember Before Getting a Galaxy S

The Samsung Galaxy S

In true jerkysans fashion, I got the Galaxy S without batting an eyelash. Not! I have had some serious issues with my first Samsung smartphone (i900 Omnia--buggy wifi, software, irresponsive screen, stupid updating procedures). While my experience with Samsung's very own bada OS-totting Samsung Wave improved the way I look at Samsung, something tells me that non-native OS is not their thing. Given those, I did some reading about it on the online forums and review sites. I mean, 27K is not a small amount and I will be stuck for two years with this device. I hounded down the usual suspects: GSM Arena praised it, for instance, for being a technological monster with great audio reproduction and amazing video capabilities. Engadget praised it for being thin and sexy while criticizing the lack of polishing in the UI. Techradar praised the processor, audio and video while commenting the slight freezing at times.

I have friends who have lined up for the Galaxy S from Globe, and I can understand why. The Galaxy S measures up to iPhone's popularity, perhaps due to its superb S-AMOLED screen. But that's all skin deep. The Galaxy is more than it's fast processor, Android OS, and S-AMOLED screen. You would need to live with it for a month before you can really say and mean it, "I want this phone."

Having the SGS for a month, I have compiled a list of things to expect and remember before getting your SGS.

1. It lags like hell, especially after Froyo 2.2 update

On Eclair, the SGS is pretty capable. Out of the box, you will encounter Techradar's "slight freezing at times" comment. But don't say, I can live with that just yet. Wait till you update it to 2.2. Froyo is supposed to make things go faster. But with SGS, this is the contrary. After updating my SGS to Froyo, I encountered inordinate amounts of lags that is not slight at all. The internet is filled with buzz about these lags and freezes and they were serious usability issues that I cannot live with and makes me want to flush the phone down the toilet. I've read up and this is caused by Samsung's building in an SD card into the device and using the wrong filesystem format. Or something like that. Luckily, there is a fix for this, in fact, more than one fix option. This requires some knowhow but if you have a friend who knows, you can get away with a blazing fast SGS. Else, you're stuck with a freezing device. So in case, read up. Just look up One Click lag fix or z4mod. This requires you voiding your warranty, on the other hand.

2. It comes in two variants 8GB and 16GB, should I get the 16GB?

What should you get? I suggest you get the 8GB. It is cheaper by as much as 4K. Save the 4K and get 16GB SD card, which gets you a 22GB total (I can count, but there will be some storage space your device cannot use). A reliable 16GB card is worth 1.2K. This gives you more storage and more savings. If you are getting one from a Globe plan, then 16GB is your only option.

3. Samsung has unwittingly built in some quirks to SGS

Like any other phone in the market, but these quirks will surprise and annoy you. For instance, the notification bar may not at times be pulled down. Sometimes it will get stuck midway, sometimes it will just be stubborn and not be pull-able. And this is the only Android device I know that does this. The resolution is to restart your phone. Another noted and popular bug is that the wifi may not always connect to your Home network. A number of users have complained about this and while there is a workaround--which is to launch the AllShare app with your wifi off--it is annoying to know that the wifi has issues. I read that this is due to the SGS's wifi logic being fussier and won't connect on a busy wifi channel despite your iDevices, laptops, and other devices being able to. The obvious resolution is to move your router's channel to a less busy one. This is apparent when the wifi channel you have chosen is crowded. Another issue is that the GPS sucks big time. Reports suggest that the GPS won't lock your position accurately or may take froever to do so. At release 2.2, the GPS has been improved, though still not that accurate. Then again, you'll bump into Froyo freeze trouble. Some users also report typos and grammatical boo-boos. Indeed such exists on the Samsung-made apps.

4. It is not an iPhone

Samsung designed the SGS to feel like the iPhone. This is apparent just by looking at the design for the SGS--it looks like one of those Chinese knock-offs. The form-factor which is very iPhone-ish, is a turn off. I mean why must they copy even the form-factor? Going deeper, the software suggests the same thing. Among the Android phones out there, SGS is the only to use a horizontal app paging system a la iPhone. Their music player also apes the iPhone's. So as the video player's feel. But really, much as they want it to be, it is not. I swear, the audio in my Galaxy S is kind of scattered. The trebles are broken and may hurt your ears at loud volumes. At low volumes the bass is just off and barely audible. The video on SGS however outdoes the iPhone's thanks to its bazillion codec support and brilliant 4" S-AMOLED display. However, I noted on my SGS that both the music and video player occasionally hiccups. Additionally, it does not have iTunes, so you will need to get your audio and video content ported to it manually.

5. It will fail you

So as other phones. But it's best that you don't experience this. After two weeks of ownership, I needed to do a factory reset on my SGS. The facebook app just won't open for no reason. And I've tried every workaround and solution available. To no avail. I also encountered audio and video hiccups too often. I did a factory reset and things went back fine. But I feel bad it failed me. Something the humble X10 has not experienced in my two months' of ownership. Moral lesson is always backup.

6. TouchWiz UI is nothing to write home about

Review sites are unanimous in thinking that TouchWiz UI is not value-adding. I also feel that the size of font they chose makes the phone feel low-res amidst it's WVGA resolution. On my X10, the messaging app can display 9 conversations at a time. Galaxy S can only manage 7. The conversation itself can only show 3 bubbles, while the x10 manages more than 5 at a given time. Same is true with the default phonebook.

7. Samsung Galaxy S's display is protected by Gorilla Glass

Gorilla Glass is a shatter-proof and scratch-resistant material. I have not touched much if the S-AMOLED screen is directly stuck with the Gorilla Glass, but I have a feeling it is. And in case, this will be a bad thing since if you need to replace your S-AMOLED screen in the future, you will also need to replace the Gorilla Glass, which is more expensive than normal glass. But then again, you have added protection. And most likely S-AMOLED will start to fail two years after purchase, by which time you have a new phone.

8. The Swype that comes with the SGS cannot be updated on its own, it updates with your firmware updates

That's right, you cannot update it. It does not have a Market or an OTA update from Swype. Registering as a beta Swype user won't help as you will still need to delete the Swype files manually and this requires voiding your warranty. Again. What's more painful is that the Swype that is pre-installed is, I think, one of the earliest releases. Swype is supposed to be eerily accurate, but this one is just a mess--prioritizing the names in your phonebook over the proper words in the dictionary. Of course, there is a resolution to this, but again, wouldn't it have been nice if they at least update it separate from the whole firmware.

9. S-AMOLED is nice, but the green tint is icky.

The Desire has a slight rosy tint. I can live with that, but greenish tint is a different story. I'm not sure why, but it does have and at first it is not noticeable especially if you use a prominently black background, but don one with a white, and it gets all too obvious--and all the more when the brightness is a bit low. This is not much a usability issue, but it's kind of iffy for me--movie viewing is still surprisingly pleasant and immersive and if this is your only device, you won't notice it until you compare it with another device.

10. Should I get one from a Globe contract?

If you ask me, hell no. Here are the cons: 1.) The lock in period is 3 years as of this writing. 2.) For plan 999, it is yours for 15K, sounds like a bargain, right? Then again, the lock in period is 3 years not 2 and Super Plan sucks because unlimited services will go on top of your "consumable" bill. 3.) There is, apparently, a waiting list--a long one. 4.) Since it is locked to Globe, firmware updates will take longer for your phone. 5.) It is locked to Globe and resale value is slightly less. If you were to get one, get the most expensive free phone from your chosen contract price, sell that phone, and add the money to get an unlocked Galaxy S. But if you plan to stay with Globe for a long time, say 3 years, then you might as well get for a cheaper amount.

I know I seem to have written more cons than pros, but those are warnings on what you might experience when you get one--not discouragement. The device itself is capable and most of the weaknesses are just things I find worth fussing about.

Most of the times, the Galaxy feels like an expensive device with a snappy response that it is. On some occasions (lagfix installed), it will feel like a kid throwing a tantrum. A large number of bugs have been written on forums about the SGS and chances are majority of this model has those bugs. Samsung's tagline for the SGS is "Expect the best," which I suggest you to "expect the buggy" instead--like I did since it's Samsung. Lower your expectations, read up more before getting this phone and see if you can live with the its weaknesses because the strengths are very apparent and are worth enough to get this device. If you can live with occasional lag (most androids have that) and the icky green tint on the display. Also note that I've said voiding your warranty often. Granted you can boot your phone, you can always revert to the "un-voided" warranty firmware version which should help you save on charges.