Samsung Galaxy S

[aquamarine]

So the phone is out on DoCoMo and I figure it's better to start a new thread rather than besmirch Colignys Apple thread.

From those of you who are owners of it, what have been your opinions so far? What do you DISLIKE about it? How has your experience been with tethering? Both my wife and I are considering picking one up, she because her current phone is the pits while I'm sick of having crappy service from Softbank with my iPhone (both customer service and reception).

Thoughts? Good and bad?

[canman]

Tried to buy one on Sunday, and the DOCOMO shop said they aren't evening taking orders anymore they are so back logged. She told me I will have to wait at least half a year before I can get one. What I want to know was this short sightedness by DOCOMO, thinking that Japanese would never want a Samsung phone, or was it being conservative on the part of Samsung, thinking they would be wasting valuable units that could be sold elsewhere. Either way it sucks because I really want one.

[waruta]

I would consider getting the new Nexus S phone from Google, but there is a better option from our friends across the way - the LG LU3000, it's got all the goodies including DLNA and HDMI port with 1080p playback, unfortunate is the price compared to the Google phone: $500+ for Nexus, $705 for the LG. IF you are a fan of Nokia, you could always wait for the Symbian-based N7/8....

[FG Lurker]

Nokia fans? They must be getting close to being on the endangered species list by now...

I'll probably replace my iPhone 3GS this coming summer. I'm through with those fuckers at Softbank too. I hate NTT but not enough to put up with a company (Softbank) that doesn't fucking work half the time and has shitty performance when it does work.

Anyway, I am looking forward to Android 3.0 and seeing how much the interface improves. Google hired Matias Duarte earlier this year and 3.0 is probably where we will see what impact he is going to have on Android.

Android 3.0, a dual core Cortex-A9 CPU, and a gig or so of memory? Sign me up!

[FG Lurker]

wife

Whoa... Totally off topic, but when did you get married?

[American Oyaji]

I'd say that Samsung shipped most of the units to the U.S.
It's the only place that Android phones are REALLY selling becaues there is no alternative. I mean, the only carrier at the moment is AT&T and some people simply hate them.
I think DoCoMo should go ahead and sell the Android, but try and get rights to sell the iPhone in the future. It will make Softbank improve their game or die.

[waruta]

I'd say that Samsung shipped most of the units to the U.S.
It's the only place that Android phones are REALLY selling becaues there is no alternative. I mean, the only carrier at the moment is AT&T and some people simply hate them.
I think DoCoMo should go ahead and sell the Android, but try and get rights to sell the iPhone in the future. It will make Softbank improve their game or die.

I agree with hatred of AT&T they can go suck my left nut.

DoCoMo can sell the iPhone anytime, they just didn't want all the restrictions nor were the projected earnings enough to cover all the infrastructure upgrades that a couple million pake-hodai users were going to use....

Nokia fans? They must be getting close to being on the endangered species list by now...

I'll probably replace my iPhone 3GS this coming summer. I'm through with those fuckers at Softbank too. I hate NTT but not enough to put up with a company (Softbank) that doesn't fucking work half the time and has shitty performance when it does work.

Anyway, I am looking forward to Android 3.0 and seeing how much the interface improves. Google hired Matias Duarte earlier this year and 3.0 is probably where we will see what impact he is going to have on Android.

Android 3.0, a dual core Cortex-A9 CPU, and a gig or so of memory? Sign me up!

Android 3.0 and a dual-core Hummingbird CPU, SD Memory expandable and for me the most important: a battery life of more than 6 hours.

[FG Lurker]

DoCoMo can sell the iPhone anytime, they just didn't want all the restrictions nor were the projected earnings enough to cover all the infrastructure upgrades that a couple million pake-hodai users were going to use....

I'd say that Docomo refused to share profits with Apple, something that Apple has reportedly wanted from other carriers with exclusive agreements. Docomo currently offers pake-hodai plans to smart phone users, as well as pake-hodai PC tethering plans that a lot of corporate users make use of and their packet network seems to be doing just fine.

Android 3.0 and a dual-core Hummingbird CPU, SD Memory expandable and for me the most important: a battery life of more than 6 hours.

Hummingbird, Snapdragon, and the A4 are all based on ARM Cortex-A8 cores. The Cortex-A8 is a single core design and AFAIK does not offer multi-core.

The Cortex-A9 cores will power the next generation of CPUs which will offer both multi-core and better battery life. Samsung's dual core CPU based on the Cortex-A9 is apparently called Orion.

Regarding SD card slots: What's the point? No one carries around a collection of Micro SD cards to swap in and out, and even trying to keep them organized enough (ie knowing exactly what is on each one) is a PITA. Just have 32GB (or 64GB) in the phone and be done with it.

[American Oyaji]

Great post FGL.

As far as battery life goes, I can go 2 days without recharging my iPhone 3GS and that's with normal phone and data usage.

[FG Lurker]

As far as battery life goes, I can go 2 days without recharging my iPhone 3GS and that's with normal phone and data usage.

Everyone's definition of normal is different. I can barely scrape through a day on my 3GS without needing to recharge. I usually just leave it plugged in when I'm at my desk so I don't need to worry about it when I am out. I don't use the phone that much but I do have several email accounts set up on it that use Exchange-style push for data transfer. Better battery life would be a plus for sure.

[American Oyaji]

Everyone's definition of normal is different. I can barely scrape through a day on my 3GS without needing to recharge. I usually just leave it plugged in when I'm at my desk so I don't need to worry about it when I am out. I don't use the phone that much but I do have several email accounts set up on it that use Exchange-style push for data transfer. Better battery life would be a plus for sure.

Ahhh. Ok. I have those kind of accounts, but I have them set to Fetch instead of push.

[2triky]

I agree with hatred of AT&T they can go suck my left nut.

"AT&T rated worst carrier"

http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/06/technology/consumer_reports_att/index.htm?source=cnn_bin&hpt=Sbin

[aquamarine]

Whoa... Totally off topic, but when did you get married?

A month ago after a 6 year relationship.

[FG Lurker]

If anyone is interested in a bit more info on the upcoming Cortex A9 based CPUs there is quite a bit out there. Samsung's Orion, Nvidia's Tegra 2 (and here), TI's rather uninspiringly named IMAP 4440, and a bit about Qualcomm's Snapdragon MSM8960.

Next year promises to be an extremely interesting one for mobile devices. I'm very happy to have kept my 3GS as I have no doubt that whatever is available next summer will be a massive jump over the iPhone 4.

[FG Lurker]

A month ago after a 6 year relationship.

Congrats and may all your ups and downs be in bed.

[American Oyaji]

I'm very happy to have kept my 3GS as I have no doubt that whatever is available next summer will be a massive jump over the iPhone 4.

As an Apple fan, I'd like to see Apple win it all like it did in in the MP3 market, which they basically got out in front early and their competitors ignored it thinking, "Meh, it's Apple. That iPod is just a gimmick, we'll catch up easily" and never could. It was as stealth market dominance and Apple had a chokehold on it.

This time, Apple got out early again and if it were not for Google, there would be no competition. Competitors are emptying their bank accounts trying to catch up. (Buy one get one free offers to increase mind and marketshare quickly)

We'll see how it plays out, but I laugh as they keep copying what Apple's doing.

We'll see how Apple handles the competition. I hope they don't act like a spoiled brat or a bully.

[FG Lurker]

I think Apple is repeating history. When the Mac came out it was miles ahead of the PC. Apple squandered that lead by refusing open their system and license the software.

Now we see the same thing with the iPhone, except Android is far more open than Windows ever was and the iPhone is way more locked down than the Mac ever was.

I certainly appreciate what Apple has done for the smartphone market but Android is going to crush the iPhone. I think we'll see the same sort of smartphone ratios as we do PC/Mac ratios, and that might be a bit too optimistic for the iPhone's market share.

[aquamarine]

Just got the Galaxy today and HOLY CRAP is it ever fast! The video is unbelievably clear, YouTube on high quality is amazing and everything seems to work without any trouble thus far. DoCoMo only gave me a 1GB microSD card so I'll be picking up something bigger but my reception in my apartment is full compared to my iPhone 3GS which never got over 2 bars and dropped calls (one thing my buddy with an iPhone4 bitches and complains about whenever he comes over too).

So better reception
Better quality screen
Lighter (seems like it as I had to use a frickin' battery pack with my 3GS)
Smoother transition

My only qualm so far? I can't send SMS/Texts to my other friends using iphones. Oh well. Great phone, I like it!

[Ketou]

Hmm..interesting.
I have an AU phone at the moment and am looking at going for an Android..except the AU unit has the 2.1 OS whilst SB have a 2.2 unit....might just have to wait for AU to pull their finger out and see how things are in a few months...SB's coverage just isn't there.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I certainly appreciate what Apple has done for the smartphone market but Android is going to crush the iPhone.

It's funny you should say that....I absolutely loathe and detest mobile phones. I only begrudging have one because I am forced to and try not to have it on me as much as possible. I don't get the bills, so I never use it.

But....since seeing the Android, I've actually thought about buying a mobile phone for the first time in years as it appears so attractive.

Anyway, just my two bob's worth from a fierce mobile phone hater.

[terebi_fanatic]

[canman]

It really pisses me off, how anti-Korean many Japanese people are. I was talking to a group of my adult students about getting a new Galaxy phone, and they immediately poo pooed the idea. And why, because it is made by Samsung. Now I will grant you that Korean makers stuff was a little but shoddy at times, but then again so was Japanese stuff back in the day.
But if I'm not mistaken Samsung has now overtaken its Japanese rivals and sells more flat panel televisions in the world, so obviously they are doing something good. But you would never know here in Japan. Apple Iphones are great, because it is American(made in China, Taiwan and Korea).
Anyway rant off, but it still bugs me.

[IparryU]

It really pisses me off, how anti-Korean many Japanese people are. I was talking to a group of my adult students about getting a new Galaxy phone, and they immediately poo pooed the idea. And why, because it is made by Samsung. Now I will grant you that Korean makers stuff was a little but shoddy at times, but then again so was Japanese stuff back in the day.
But if I'm not mistaken Samsung has now overtaken its Japanese rivals and sells more flat panel televisions in the world, so obviously they are doing something good. But you would never know here in Japan. Apple Iphones are great, because it is American(made in China, Taiwan and Korea).
Anyway rant off, but it still bugs me.

i rather buy samsung than sony, some other jap. brand, or apple for that matter.

never had any problems with any samsung product i owned and hell only starts from sony... if you have ever had a sony desktop/laptop you would know.

[canman]

i rather buy samsung than sony, some other jap. brand, or apple for that matter.

never had any problems with any samsung product i owned and hell only starts from sony... if you have ever had a sony desktop/laptop you would know.

The problem is that you just can't find any of the products here. I know it is a kind of chicken and egg scenario, Japanese won't buy, but they aren't sold, so maybe if they were more readily available, people might start to buy them.

[American Oyaji]

I bought a Samsung TV in 2000. It has bounced to many different homes within the family since then and now it's at my parents and it's still working.

There was a slight problem where it had a line in the screen, but that got fixed and I don't think it would have had it if it hadn't been moved around so much.

[FG Lurker]

It really pisses me off, how anti-Korean many Japanese people are.

In fairness it does work both ways. You won't find a country as full of anti-Japanese people as Korea. In Seoul it's surprising how few Japanese cars you see and in general there really isn't much stuff from Japanese companies sold in Korea.

Japan does miss out on great quality low cost products by not buying Korean though. Samsung and LG both make top quality products but do nearly no business in Japan.

Personally I bought Kumho tires for the car earlier this year. 60,000yen for four when it would have cost me 120,000 for equivalent quality Bridgestone and even more for Yokohama. They're definitely better than the Bridgestones that came off the car but maybe not quite as good as top-level Yokohamas would be. For the price though, unbeatable.

It does look like the Galaxy S is going to be a hit here though. A few more hits like that and I think it will have a big impact on people's perceptions.

[Coligny]

In fairness it does work both ways. You won't find a country as full of anti-Japanese people as Korea. In Seoul it's surprising how few Japanese cars you see and in general there really isn't much stuff from Japanese companies sold in Korea.

Well... first... they have quite a few local makers... With even Samsung-Renault being quite Hip and stuff these days... Then after the locals... They go full blast to luxury cars, I still believe the Audi A8L is some sort of poor student car up there... What is considered a small housewife grocery getter is what the French would call a capitalist pig autobahn stormer... Then again, it seems that every day makes it harder to have money to buy flour and butter in Paris...

As for Samsung products... they can't sell well in Japan... they are feature packed, and it's actually USEFULL features most of the time. Not marketting bullshit to show off at the coffee machine in demo mode but who don't work or are totally useless... I was going to buy one of their VGA/tv/Pal/ntsc mutlimode screen when the japanese decided to forbid import of samsung TV because of an IP fight with crapasonic.

Personally I bought Kumho tires for the car earlier this year. 60,000yen for four when it would have cost me 120,000 for equivalent quality Bridgestone and even more for Yokohama.

Can you tell us a little more aboot this ? I renewed my 5yo bridgestones few weeks ago and rediscovered the joy of short braking distance. With the local weather and what seems to be a huge UV exposure the rubber turn to cracked shit quite fast*... At first I wanted to take some pro-taxi tires with reinforced sidewalls, but there was not the good size available for my toy car...

(* maybe not much from the UV, as my RC car tires tend also to fall to dust in 1-2 years if I don't wrap them in bags between use, as usual, the softer more grippy fall appart first which give an even more unpleasant surprise at the first turning attempt...)

[FG Lurker]

Can you tell us a little more aboot this ?

Sure. I bought a set of four 18" Kumho SPT KU31 tires off of Yahoo Auctions. Had them shipped directly to a nearby garage that offered mounting & balancing for 1500yen per tire (the garage suggested this and it made a lot of sense.) Everything went smoothly and I'm pleased with the results. Wet weather performance is definitely better than I had with the previous Bridgestones and dry weather is about the same. No idea how long they will last but I expect longer than the ~35,000km I got from the Bridgestones that came with the car new.

[Sarutaro]

I got a set of Kumho's for my Volvo V70 from Autobacs for only 27,000 yen last year (including balancing). Cheap! One tire started leaking air after 6 months, but Autobacs replaced it free of charge and I have not had any problems since then. They even gave tickets to a nearby cafe where we could have coffee and sweets while they changed the tire. Great service! The tires are great, although a little squeeky when turning in parking garages.

Personally I bought Kumho tires for the car earlier this year. 60,000yen for four when it would have cost me 120,000 for equivalent quality Bridgestone and even more for Yokohama. They're definitely better than the Bridgestones that came off the car but maybe not quite as good as top-level Yokohamas would be. For the price though, unbeatable.

[FG Lurker]

I got a set of Kumho's for my Volvo V70 from Autobacs for only 27,000 yen last year (including balancing). Cheap!

Yup, they weren't that much more than the freaky Chinese-made tires that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. It will be interesting to see if having a competitor like Kumho in Japan brings down the prices of the Japanese makers at all... I love freaking out my neighbours by telling them I bought Korean tires.