goodbye Galaxy, hello, Galaxy?

[Hark]

Ok so it seems I might actually have persuaded O2 to let me replace the Galaxy with a new phone after all the problems I've had with it. I will hear later this week if I get a new phone and if so will answer any questions if there's anyone else here that wants to try their luck with them. So I'm jumping the gun a little and looking at the other Android phones on O2 so I know what one to go for if they offer me a choice.

They have the Sony X10, HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S. The X10 is still on 1.6 with no immediate promise of an update which puts me off it despite the hardware (esp. the camera) looking good. The newer Desire and GS are on 2.1 and both "promised" Froyo shortly. I promised myself no more Samsung phones and getting the new Galaxy seems about as daft a decision as I could make, but when it's a free exchange (I assume) then I suppose I should consider it when it looks hardware wise like the best phone.

What do you guys think? Should I give Samsung another chance, or should I switch to the slightly lesser looking HTC? The Samsung is meant to have a faster processor & much better screen, though it looks more plastic than the industrial looking HTC. Touchwiz 3 is meant to be decent and about on par with Sense and from having a quick look at the GS forum it seems it's been rooted so it should be safe for updates. The HTC is already on Froyo with unofficial updates and I guess has the better developer community behind it, but I am tempted by the hardware on the GS. Ah decisions and dilemmas.

Help!

Edit: Oh they also have the Dell Streak, but again it's on 1.6 and I think it's just a bit big. I also planned for my next phone to have a physical keyboard as I find the on screen one really slow, but there are none available atm on O2 so perhaps with Bluetooth 3 on the GS I could get a case with a keyboard in the future?

Comparison of them on the Desire forum as well

http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/114064-desire-line-fire.html

Desire seems to win (as you'd expect on it's own forum) but there's lot of people there complaining about battery life which is daunting.

 

[theredkrawler]

My wife has an i9000 and its fantastic.

Pros: The screen, TouchWiz makes everything look pretty
Cons: No LED flash, lack of physical buttons

Battery life is about on par with my Galaxo driven i7500 which is pretty good considering its driving that enormous screen and a 1Ghz processor.

No LED flash is a bit of a bummer... not so much for photography, but for using as a torch heh

I miss the physical buttons (specifically the D pad) for its accuracy in selecting text, and playing SNES emulators. The accuracy problem is partially offset by the fact that the screen is so much bigger you can usually target what youre after with enormous fingers anyway.

Personally I love the size and weight of the i9000 and think the "plasticy" feel is a bonus. It really is amazingly thin and light. Imagine an i7500, but longer...wider...thinner... and lighter. Thats an i9000.

 

[porga]

What about "No more Samsung" initiative then?

 

[Hark]

@porga: Well as I said if it doesn't cost me anything... It's the equivalent of being told "we messed up with the i7500, here take the i9000 instead; it's much better, has lots more features, more RAM, more memory, faster processor, etc, etc" so who wouldn't take it? I'd rather sit out my contract with the i9000 than the i7500; that's for sure. I'm not giving Samsung any more money. That said I'm still wary and could try the Desire instead.

@theredkrawler: Thanks. I agree the lack of physical buttons is a shame; I think i'd especially miss the dedicated camera key. Lack of flash for both reasons is annoying as well, though photos with the flash with the original Galaxy sucked so i'm not too bothered about lack of flash anymore. The i9000 really does look like a cheap iPhone 3G knock-off, if it wasn't Samsung it'd be called a KIRF. Lighter is fine by me, but the cheap plastic isn't so nice, I like the look of the "metal" Desire. Still it looks like the phone the original Galaxy should have been and from my continued poking around the forums it seems to have less problems than the Desire. Still, you'd like to read more reviews praising the phone rather than going on the amount of fewer negative reports to make a decision...

 

[Yathushan]

Just wondering how did you convince O2 that to allow you to change your phone for you?
I would really love to the same thing as well. As I have had a really crappy experience with my phone and they have not responded to my complaint emails.

 

[Hark]

@Yathushan: It's still not 100% confirmed that I'll get a new phone so I don't want to jinx things by saying too much yet but I'll post a new thread with details once it's confirmed for you and anyone else that wants to try. Also there's no point me saying if it doesn't work...

 

[Yathushan]

@Hark I know it hasn't been that long but, I was just wondering if there is any updates on our situation with O2.

 

[Hark]

You know o2... still waiting for them to get back to me. It's been a week, i don't really understand what's taking them so long. I will update when I eventually hear back. I'm only not pushing them to make it more likely they'll have the Samsung Galaxy S in stock as I reckon it's (oddly) the best Android phone available on o2 atm.

 

[sanzboi18]

hello mate i got samsung galaxy s by vodafone,its gud only bad part is the wifi,it does not catch the signal,whn im next next door in my house it says poor signal,so i feel wifi is rubbish,i had nokia 5800 and it was perfect.so i donno whc fone to go with,cuz my use is of web alot

 

[Cougar]

The wifi must be bad, it's making your typing look like it was written by a pre-schooler.

 

[theredkrawler]

The wifi must be bad, it's making your typing look like it was written by a pre-schooler.

heh

On topic: I have found the wifi on the i9000 better than the wifi on the i7500, and about on par with the e71 it replaced.

 

[Hark]

I had no idea wifi could make someones grammar so bad. Hardly a smart-phone user.

@theredkrawler: How do you find the new Galaxy in comparison to the i7500?

 

[theredkrawler]

@theredkrawler: How do you find the new Galaxy in comparison to the i7500?

Pros:
Infinitely faster, screen is so much better its incomparable, touch is far more sensitive and responsive, stock 'touchwiz' flash is as good on battery life as my galaxo driven i7500 when used infrequently / typical usage.

Cons:
No LED flash (not really required for photos as the LED flash always makes them look rubbish anyway, but its mega handy as a torch), no physical buttons (surprising how much I miss this - in particular a D pad, makes selecting text positions accurately basically impossible), battery life is much worse when actually using it due to the huge display. Would likely be improved by a stock rom to get rid of touchwiz etc.

Neutral points:
"Plasticy feel" you see thrown around so much is a totally mute point, as its basically a bigger i7500. If you like the i7500, you'll like the i9000. Personally I love how light and slim it is.

Worth the upgrade? Sure is, assuming youre out of contract. I probably wouldnt upgrade if I had to buy outright though. The price they are at the moment is beyond what I'm willing to pay outright. This will obviously be influenced by your own income/willingness to throw away disposable income, but if I wasnt buying a subsidised handset I'd hang on for a bit - mainly to see how Samsung handles the promised 2.2 update.

 

[Yathushan]

In case your wondering about whethere they are going to update to froyo. I thought this might be useful.
Galaxy S to get Froyo in August* | AndroidGuys

Edit: Although it only states for korean user I'm sure it would be easy to port it over to other versions of the phone.

 

[Hark]

I don't assume anything anymore. The amount of promises, half promises, assumptions, hopes... and ll in vain.

That said given the massive push behind the i9000 and all the different countries and carriers that it's on I would be very surprised if they didn't upgrade it.

Thing is, by the time it comes everyone will be wanting Gingerbread....