That’s what Samsung is calling their Android phones, the latest wave of which is getting reviewed all over the place. I’ve seen a few of ’em at Android HQ, and no doubt about it, they’re nice; but so are the other recent Androids. What I’m astounded by is Samsung’s marketing virtuosity; they’ve managed to line up every big mobile telecom I’ve ever heard of, all over the world, to carry one of these devices. I don’t recall ever seeing anything like it from any handset maker. I wonder how it’s done?
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From: dave (Aug 12 2010, at 21:37)
I've heard that cash has been used by a manufacturer as an incentive for a product to be carried and/or featured by a retailer.
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From: Michael Han (Aug 12 2010, at 21:54)
Competitive pricing. If you are manufacturing most of world's smartphone components I'm pretty sure you could build a quality phone that costs much less and carriers get to pocket more cash.
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From: Darren (Aug 12 2010, at 22:43)
I agree with Michael. Samsung are uniquely positioned in that they manufacture their own good quality screens, memory and processors, as well as owning advanced tech (they co-developed the Apple A4 chip for example which closely resembles their own Hummingbird). Not only can they make cheap phones but they also have the capability to make the best featured phone in the world and sell it at the price-point of other premium phones rather than undercut. I've never liked their UIs but with Android progressing nicely, this problem is solved as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they become the dominant smartphone manufacturer in a few years.
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From: JulesLt (Aug 12 2010, at 23:38)
Don't underestimate the ability of manufacturers to take Android and muck up the UI with their own custom ideas (Hello Motorola).
Speaking of Motorola, I think the RAZR is an example of a phone whose brand was stronger than the carriers, and was available practically everywhere.
It is incredibly confusing trying to work out how different HTC models compare (and what US models map to equivalent European models).
And I see on the latest news, Oracle are aiming to make good friends in the mobile development space. I'm off to re-read 'The Jennifer Morgue' with it's excellent portrayal of Larry.
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From: Simon Davy (Aug 13 2010, at 03:28)
I've got the international version here in the UK, and it's easily the best Android phone currently available over here - front camera (video calling over 3G OOTB), PowerVR SGX540 graphics (3x better perf than iphone4/ipad), slim package, WiFi tethering enabled OOTB. So much that nearly eveyone in the office went out and got one last week :)
It's not a hard sell!
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From: Andreas Trawöger (Aug 13 2010, at 04:46)
I can only guess too. But my Austrian A1.net Galaxy S came with a lot of extra A1 branding and preinstalled A1 software. Which even lead to a handful of Crapware has reached Android comments in the press.
So in the end I think Samsung just did a superb job in allowing even small providers to customize their Galaxy S. Making it an very interesting choice for providers that are upset with the iPhone.
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From: Andrew (Aug 13 2010, at 04:59)
I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S last week when they came available. It was relatively inexpensive (considering what one receives) so the feeling that one gets of perceived value is exceptionally high. I feel like this is a phenomenal deal, that Samsung can only push through Bell because of the control that Samsung has on each facet of their manufacturing process (when you're big enough, you make everything and your bottom line costs go down).
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From: Gilles (Aug 13 2010, at 05:35)
Samsung Galaxy (in particular the Galaxy S) phones ARE amazing. Huge screen. Performance. Price is very good (similar to others, actually). Bundled features such as the DLNA player/server which integrate with the Samsung TV and other home appliances are a true plus for a geek like me... but useable by a non-geek like my sister. :)
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From: Geoff (Aug 13 2010, at 18:20)
I have had the Galaxy S on Bell for one week now and am an Android noob.
So far, I am loving both - much prefer to iOS.
But, I have one major problem: I run my domain email through Google Apps and use this as my front end for two other email accounts that I use for companies I do consulting work with. This works great. I don't just love it - I love it, love it.
But on Android I can't change the 'from' field. Have found no workaround at all. Unfortunately, this is likely going to drive me to RIM.
Searching on this topic shows a lot of users frustrated by this problem.
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From: Jomar Silva (Aug 14 2010, at 11:35)
I have a Samsung Galaxy here in Brazil (model 7500) and it is simply the worst crap I ever used on my whole life (and I'm a geek, addicted to smartphones).
The only usefull thing is the camera, but with a battery that don't last 4hs when 3G and sync are on, it becames so useless as the rest of the phone.
Down here it seems that the Droid (called Milestone here) is the best we have, and yes, people have issues with it too.
Cheers from Brazil,
Jomar
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From: Thejaswi Puthraya (Aug 17 2010, at 07:34)
What an irony! On one hand they seem to cosy up with carriers and on the other dump early customers who bought the Galaxy (i7500). They don't even release the source code and have no plans of supporting it beyond donut (1.6).
But thanks to Cyanogen and Drakaz, we've unofficial mods that even work with froyo (2.2).
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