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Hands-On with the Samsung Galaxy S 4G

Feb 14, 2011, 2:30 PM by Rich Brome @richbrome

We go hands-on with the new Samsung Galaxy S 4G for T-Mobile, essentially a feature bump to the Vibrant.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G is mostly just a Vibrant with 4G and a front-facing camera. While the Vibrant had HSPA 7.2, the Galaxy S 4G steps all the way up to HSPA+ 21 Mbps, which is the very top speed available with any HSPA+ network or phone at the moment. So it's not a tad faster, it's as fast as it gets.

Galaxy S 4G Body

Except for the new color of the battery cover, you can't tell it's not a Vibrant. It's exactly the same body, just as thin and light (very.) The new back shell has a shimmering effect that makes it look curvy, but it's an optical trick; it's flat.

There's Qik for video chat, to take advantage of the front-facing camera, and T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling app, of course.

One nice twist (so to speak) is the inclusion of the DoubleTwist app with AirSync, so you can sync your media with your PC over Wi-Fi.

Galaxy S 4G Interface

DoubleTwist

Somehow, they squeezed a 1650 mAh battery in there, whereas the Vibrant had only a 1500 mAh juice pack. There's no increase in thickness for this. You'll need that extra power to watch Inception, which is pre-loaded for free. There's also a T-Mobile TV app, if you care to pay T-Mobile to stream video clips.

The Galaxy S 4G ships with Android 2.2. Look for it February 23 on T-Mobile for $149 with a two-year contract.

About the author, Rich Brome:

Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.

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Samsung Galaxy S 4G

4" display 480 x 800 pixels
Samsung Hummingbird Cortex A8 processor
Memory Card Slot, Headphone Jack (3.5mm)

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Comments

This forum is closed.

This forum is closed.

callcenterrep69

Feb 14, 2011, 3:30 PM

Feeling kinda sad...

...staring at my Vibrant thinking..."damn I should've waited!" 😢

bdublz

Just got the vibrant on Saturday, upgraded it to 2.2 and it been great so far, the 4G speeds are cool and the FFC as well but it doesn't have the 16GB memory built in. It comes with a high capacity memory card but I like that I can expand my storage o...
(continues)

...

baseballguy2001

Feb 14, 2011, 4:14 PM

iPhone - Tmob

OK, when the iPhone came out, I still had my Dash, the one BEFORE the 3G Dash. Then I picked up an Original 4GB iPhone and unlocked it. It's been great! Now it feels long in the tooth because of the network speeds. My iPhone still connects at EDGE speeds. The S 4G looks like a fantastic Android model so I think it's upgrade time.

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