Rather condescendingly referred to by some as an iPhone 3GS wannabe, this stunning little jewel from Samsung mobile phones has nothing to be shy about. Stuffed to the virtual rafters with features, it boasts a gorgeous ‘Super AMOLED’ screen, which at 4 inches is a colossus. The reflective surface that marred Samsung’s previous efforts has gone, so that you’ll get bright, colour-saturated displays even in direct sunshine. And despite this beast of a screen, the handset feels astonishingly light at 119g.
More and more new mobile phones are using Google’s Android OS and the Samsung Galaxy S is no exception, using the very latest version (2.1). Samsung has opted to let Android handle the phone’s software features, which means you’ll get access to countless Google goodies, including a turn-by-turn navigation version of Google Maps. You’ll also find innumerable apps on the Android Market, all of them easily downloadable to the phone, and you can load up to seven different home screens with widgets. Not only this, but the Galaxy S ingeniously merges your amigos on Twitter and Facebook with the phone’s address book contacts. And the memory is positively gargantuan at 8 GB or 16 GB (you can expand it with a micro-SD to a walloping 32 GB if you need to). The 5 megapixel camera, despite having no flash or LED, takes surprisingly crisp pictures in good lighting conditions.
A delightful feature is Samsung’s cunning ‘Swype’ – an alternative keyboard which lets you select the letters you want just by running your fingers over them (you don’t have to pick them out one at a time). There’s also an excellent ebook reader (Aldiko) and you’ll enjoy super-fast web surfing over 3G with HSUPA connectivity. Available free on a 30-month contract, it’ll set you back around £400 on a pay as you go option or around £450 SIM-free.
