Galaxy S vs Droid Incredible

[mrspeedmaster]

I have a Galaxy S with me today and I am comparing it to the Droid Incredible (with the OTA leak update). I have the AT&T Captivate version

Some things about the Galaxy S:

1) Colors are more accurate. But it is not as bright as the Incredible. Outdoors is better but not as good as iPhone 4 IPS. It still suffers from the same Pentile-Matrix rendering as the Incredible and Nexus One. The iPhone IPS is still the one to beat.

2) Camera/Camcorder is amazing. I'd say as good as the iPhone 4. Even without flash. It records 720p h.264/30fps in a 3gp container. Audio in AAC format not the tin-can AMR shit we have on the Incredible. Camera shoots as low as ISO 50. IT has more stuff like pre-sets like a point-n-shoot. It has various scene modes like Fireworks, Text, Beach, a timer.
You can do Panaromas. I don't give a f... about the flash. The Samsung takes better pictures and video period.

3) Web Browsing. Incredible wins. There is no option for "non"-Mobile view on the Samsung.Mobile view is default. No Flash lite either. I guess you can use 3rd party browser.

4) Speed. Samsung is definitely faster. Scrolling, everything is faster

5) Battery life. Well I killed it in a matter of hours. I did a lot of video recording to test it out. I'll have the phone for a few more days and I will have a better opinion.

Some cool things about it I like over the Incredible:

6) Plays 720p video locally off SD and of a media server. There are lots of files/certain bitrate the Incredible will not play. The Samsung will play them no problems whatsoever. I have RockPlayer on the Incredible and still is choppy. Built in HTC media player won't play certain files with high bitrate. The media player is AS good as the iPhone 4. Every 720p that an Iphone 4 plays will play on the Samsung. No need to re-handbrake my video files.

7) Media playback and Photo is iPhone like.
The Samsung media player plays in landscape mode. None of my album art gets mangled.

8)
The photo gallery is like the iPad. If you've seen the iPad photo gallery, it is almost like that. You have stacks and you can pinch and zoom in. The scrolling, the thumbing through photos is fast like the iPad. The Incredible is slow as hell. In short, the photo gallery is amazing piece of software.

9) It also has tv-out. No special cables. Just a headphone jack w/ RCA

10) The built in storage is readable by any app. It mounds the SDCARD as a folder inside the internal storage. So it looks like this:
/sdcard
/sdcard/sd (your microsdhc)
Whereas the INC is
/emmc/ (only readable by HTC apps)
/sdcard/

11) Build quality is there. The carbon fiber-finished back is a nice touch. It feels better in the hand than the HTC. It feels solid yet it is lighter.

12) Gyroscope & Accelerometer. The Accelerometer works in both directions unlike the DINC which only switches from portrait to landscape counter-clockwise. Again, very iPhone like.
You can also lock orientation when playing a video.

Things I don't like:
1) Non-market app blocked off by AT&T
2) Touch Whiz. It is way too much like an iPhone. The Home and UI is pretty lame BUT the Samsung apps are better than the HTC versions (music/media/camera/etc).
3) It is way too sensitive. When I'm in camera mode, I'm always accidentally clicking on the search button which exits the camera app.
4) The USB port is recessed so some of my cables don't fit. It has a cover which is nice but it is way too recess and not all micro-usb cables work.

Other notes:

I think the wifi on the DINC is faster. I can't tell right now because my home router is wonky. I have a N router at work so I will try it out. The INC can go up to 12Mbps (with OTA leak and 802.11n). The iPhone 4 goes up to 27Mbps on wifi. I am hoping the Samsung can be at least 12 like the INC.

3G speeds is a toss-up. AT&T is faster but VZW is more reliable.

When the Samsung version hits Verizon. I am definitely going to try and get it.

 

[Pretkomel]

Thanks for the comparison. I was trying the Dinc and I can get up to 17 Mbps down and 1.7 Mbps up.

I will keep an eye on this post, would like to hear the later comments you may have before you return it.

 

[Wiggin21]

finally, a phone that can dethrone the Incredible for android crown.

it only took, what, 3 months? lol.

this doesn't give me any buyers remorse, it just means that the future of android hardware is going to be awesome. 12 months from now, when it's finally time for me to pick up my own plan and upgrade my phone i'm going to have an AWESOME selection to choose from.

 

[UHF3]

Thanks for the overview. I had a feeling the the Samsung Galaxy S was going to be the top Android dog. I even reccomended one to a buddy of mine who is on Sprint, and that version isn't even out yet.

 

[Ovy]

ahh not another one of these articles.

our Dinc will be obsolete in no time! accept it and focus on making it better, and not complaining about the competition :-(

 

[greenrolaids]

The only problem with the samsung phones is..

And i have played with the Capasitive and the Vibrant..

Is that the samsung phones have a weak sauce User Interface..

I have also used the Moto X, and that UI was 1/2 thought out..

Ill get the Fascinate when it comes out and root it and put on a stock interface.
FTW..

 

[killadanny]

It might as well be Galaxy S vs Droid Incredible vs iPhone 4 jk The Fascinate on Verizon would be the only phone to make me switch but I would miss HTC Sense, the DInc is still good, and getting better!

 

[mrspeedmaster]

It might as well be Galaxy S vs Droid Incredible vs iPhone 4 jk The Fascinate on Verizon would be the only phone to make me switch but I would miss HTC Sense, the DInc is still good, and getting better!

You mean like this... I have all three. I don't want to bring up the iP4 because I don't want to go there.

 

[killadanny]

Lucky, that's awesome, all the Galaxy S's are sexy beasts. Was only a matter a time before our phones would dethroned.

 

[jayhammy]

Interesting post. I have the Dinc and love it. One day, I got all geeky and went to Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T stores (they're all in the same plaza). I tried the Evo, X, iP4, and Galaxy S at AT&T. I have to say that I was blown away by the size of the X screen and the beauty of the Galaxy S screen. I had my Dinc there to compare as well. I found the iP4's screen brighter, but the colors on the Captivate were unparalleled. I'm hoping it comes to Verizon soon. I just might buy it at full retail.

 

[kyler13]

Thanks for your impressions, MSM! Just one question I had... I know the touchwiz user interface on the Omnia II could be completely disabled if you wanted to run stock WinMo. Do you know if you can turn it off on the Captivate and easily run stock Android? Or is it permanently imbedded like Sense?

 

[b1gg134]

You mean like this... I have all three. I don't want to bring up the iP4 because I don't want to go there.

You didnt want to bring it up??????? Reread your whole review, that is all you did. Every referrence was "Like the ip4" or the ip4 still wins on this.

If this is your review style, it seems very bias towards the ipos and I suggest you stop doing reviews.

I would also like to know who said the Incredible was the "Top Dog" the "Phone to Beat" I personally dont think it is all that special. I tell everyone they named it the Incredible because naming it after the truth... the "its ok I guess" wouldnt help sell it any.

 

[kyler13]

You didnt want to bring it up??????? Reread your whole review, that is all you did. Every referrence was "Like the ip4" or the ip4 still wins on this.

If this is your review style, it seems very bias towards the ipos and I suggest you stop doing reviews.

I would also like to know who said the Incredible was the "Top Dog" the "Phone to Beat" I personally dont think it is all that special. I tell everyone they named it the Incredible because naming it after the truth... the "its ok I guess" wouldnt help sell it any.

Not really. If you actually read his entire review, this isn't exactly a glowing endorsement for the iphone:

Things I don't like:

2) Touch Whiz. It is way too much like an iPhone. The Home and UI is pretty lame BUT the Samsung apps are better than the HTC versions (music/media/camera/etc).

Unless you're a complete hater, you have to recognize that there are some "head of the pack" traits of the iphone 4, and the screen is definitely one of the best aspects, but it's only a fragment of the experience. Personally, the high res IPS screen is a wonderfully engineered display, but it was a bonehead move for Apple to keep it at 3.5". I completely agree that the iphone UI is lame, especially since it cannot be changed or skinned. I'm hoping touchwiz can be disabled and one of the home apps can be run (or at least the stock Android experience).

 

[birthofahero]

I have a Galaxy S with me today and I am comparing it to the Droid Incredible (with the OTA leak update). I have the AT&T Captivate version

Some things about the Galaxy S:

1) Colors are more accurate. But it is not as bright as the Incredible. Outdoors is better but not as good as iPhone 4 IPS. It still suffers from the same Pentile-Matrix rendering as the Incredible and Nexus One. The iPhone IPS is still the one to beat.

2) Camera/Camcorder is amazing. I'd say as good as the iPhone 4. Even without flash. It records 720p h.264/30fps in a 3gp container. Audio in AAC format not the tin-can AMR shit we have on the Incredible. Camera shoots as low as ISO 50. IT has more stuff like pre-sets like a point-n-shoot. It has various scene modes like Fireworks, Text, Beach, a timer.
You can do Panaromas. I don't give a f... about the flash. The Samsung takes better pictures and video period.

3) Web Browsing. Incredible wins. There is no option for "non"-Mobile view on the Samsung.Mobile view is default. No Flash lite either. I guess you can use 3rd party browser.

4) Speed. Samsung is definitely faster. Scrolling, everything is faster

5) Battery life. Well I killed it in a matter of hours. I did a lot of video recording to test it out. I'll have the phone for a few more days and I will have a better opinion.

Some cool things about it I like over the Incredible:

6) Plays 720p video locally off SD and of a media server. There are lots of files/certain bitrate the Incredible will not play. The Samsung will play them no problems whatsoever. I have RockPlayer on the Incredible and still is choppy. Built in HTC media player won't play certain files with high bitrate. The media player is AS good as the iPhone 4. Every 720p that an Iphone 4 plays will play on the Samsung. No need to re-handbrake my video files.

7) Media playback and Photo is iPhone like.
The Samsung media player plays in landscape mode. None of my album art gets mangled.

8)
The photo gallery is like the iPad. If you've seen the iPad photo gallery, it is almost like that. You have stacks and you can pinch and zoom in. The scrolling, the thumbing through photos is fast like the iPad. The Incredible is slow as hell. In short, the photo gallery is amazing piece of software.

9) It also has tv-out. No special cables. Just a headphone jack w/ RCA

10) The built in storage is readable by any app. It mounds the SDCARD as a folder inside the internal storage. So it looks like this:
/sdcard
/sdcard/sd (your microsdhc)
Whereas the INC is
/emmc/ (only readable by HTC apps)
/sdcard/

11) Build quality is there. The carbon fiber-finished back is a nice touch. It feels better in the hand than the HTC. It feels solid yet it is lighter.

12) Gyroscope & Accelerometer. The Accelerometer works in both directions unlike the DINC which only switches from portrait to landscape counter-clockwise. Again, very iPhone like.
You can also lock orientation when playing a video.

Things I don't like:
1) Non-market app blocked off by AT&T
2) Touch Whiz. It is way too much like an iPhone. The Home and UI is pretty lame BUT the Samsung apps are better than the HTC versions (music/media/camera/etc).
3) It is way too sensitive. When I'm in camera mode, I'm always accidentally clicking on the search button which exits the camera app.
4) The USB port is recessed so some of my cables don't fit. It has a cover which is nice but it is way too recess and not all micro-usb cables work.

Other notes:

I think the wifi on the DINC is faster. I can't tell right now because my home router is wonky. I have a N router at work so I will try it out. The INC can go up to 12Mbps (with OTA leak and 802.11n). The iPhone 4 goes up to 27Mbps on wifi. I am hoping the Samsung can be at least 12 like the INC.

3G speeds is a toss-up. AT&T is faster but VZW is more reliable.

When the Samsung version hits Verizon. I am definitely going to try and get it.

Sounds like you should get an iPhone instead

 

[gruss]

What were you testing the dinc Wifi speeds with? If it was something that transfers a big file to the sd card, well that 12 was probably the write speed of the card not any issue with wireless.

 

[mrspeedmaster]

Thanks for your impressions, MSM! Just one question I had... I know the touchwiz user interface on the Omnia II could be completely disabled if you wanted to run stock WinMo. Do you know if you can turn it off on the Captivate and easily run stock Android? Or is it permanently imbedded like Sense?

No, it is embedded.Can't disable it. You can install a different launcher but Touchwhiz is very much there. And it is annoying. There are some options that you can't remove e.g. Picassa. I have some pictures from long ago, can't remove them and they are linked to my gmail account. I've restored/factory reset a few times.
At least it doesn't come with any social-networking apps.

What were you testing the dinc Wifi speeds with? If it was something that transfers a big file to the sd card, well that 12 was probably the write speed of the card not any issue with wireless.

I am running FCC Test (FCC Mobile Broadband Test) from broadband.gov. You can find it in the android market. There is also an iOS version. It is more accurate than speedtest.net. Hey, it is from the US govt. Must be good. The 3G results are on par when I move the SIM out to another phone.

 

[closhedbb]

So the Inc is faster browsing the web and allows non-market app installs?

You just made me prefer the Inc...

 

[Deleted User]

So the Inc is faster browsing the web and allows non-market app installs?

You just made me prefer the Inc...

I don't see where he said it's faster. I see where he said you can't switch off the mobile view (there should be a market app for this, as all you have to do is change your browser's identifier), and the missing flash lite (alternate browser could solve this, as could rooting and FroYo).

Non-market app install being blocked sucks. Hopefully the Verizon version doesn't come with this limitation, or if it does, hopefully it will be rooted ASAP to circumvent it.

Nice comparison, though. I am absolutely chomping at the bit to get off of my iPhone, and have been struggling between getting an Inc or a Fascinate.

MSM; how is the copy/paste on the Samsung? Sense does it the best out of any Android phone I've seen. Didn't know if TouchWiz integrated anything like what Sense does.

I am frustrated that so many manufacturers don't seem to want to include navigational joystick/trackball/trackpad.

 

[jamor]

Ouch. That sucks. It's on AT&T? Lame. Terrible coverage phone and data - (lots of experience), worthless customer service.

Next!

 

[damewolf13]

So the Inc is faster browsing the web and allows non-market app installs?

You just made me prefer the Inc...

I have the Inc and the Vibrant, and I actually do prefer the Inc, as the phones go. I like T-mo better than VZ though.
As for the Captivate not allowing the non-mkt installs, that is an AT&T thing. None of the other versions will limit your choices like AT&T does.

 

[adrynalyne]

The non market installs thing so far has been an ATT thing...

Edit:

Oops, didn't mean to repeat info already given.

 

[adrynalyne]

Not really. If you actually read his entire review, this isn't exactly a glowing endorsement for the iphone:



Unless you're a complete hater, you have to recognize that there are some "head of the pack" traits of the iphone 4, and the screen is definitely one of the best aspects, but it's only a fragment of the experience. Personally, the high res IPS screen is a wonderfully engineered display, but it was a bonehead move for Apple to keep it at 3.5". I completely agree that the iphone UI is lame, especially since it cannot be changed or skinned. I'm hoping touchwiz can be disabled and one of the home apps can be run (or at least the stock Android experience).

The thing is, I wanted to read a review of the two phones the thread title mentioned. Instead, I got splattered with iPhone poo.

Its all through the thread, and has been in others as well. We know the OP is def. an iPhone fan, so I guess its to be expected

 

[mrspeedmaster]

Day 2:

1) Wifi is faster on the Samsung. Ive done this test 4-5 times. 3G is dependent on your area. See attachment. I can get 22 Mbps download on the Galaxy S. Woah nelly, that is fast

2) Now for the deal breaker. GPS is completely useless on the Galaxy S/Captivate. Long acquisition time. In a 30 minute ride, I had both running. I was up maybe 2 minutes out of the entire time. It kept losing signal. When it was on, it would also state I was 3-4 blocks to 1/2 mile off. It kept losing signal. I had both Cell tower triangulation and A-GPS on both. I thought it was the thick insulated windshield in my car. Nope, I took it out for a walk (5-6 blocks) and it was always off despite the fact I had a clear view. The Galaxy S is simply useless as a GPS device. The antenna is weak, it loses signal, and is inaccurate.

I am testing battery now.I have them both fully topped off and I'll see how they perform.

As for speed/performance. The Galaxy S won every benchmark I threw at it. The GPU is faster and it has better 3d frame-rates (45 vs 12-20fps in the DINC). However, to me, it is not really a bragging right. It isn't monumentally faster for most people. For gamers, you may notice it but for average use, it is only a little faster. The delay may be a slight millisecond in normal usage. The only clear advantage I see is in video playback of HD video and audio synch for the normal person.


I'll have more and notate them.

 

[adrynalyne]

I might be wrong, but I think there is a fix for the GPS issue. I'd have to look around again.

 

[mrspeedmaster]

MSM; how is the copy/paste on the Samsung? Sense does it the best out of any Android phone I've seen. Didn't know if TouchWiz integrated anything like what Sense does.

I am frustrated that so many manufacturers don't seem to want to include navigational joystick/trackball/trackpad.

This is where the DINC clearly wins. It is not so much Sense but the optical trackmouse/pad. I use it all the time; especially in the shell/terminal.

That is why I held off on the Droid X. I didn't want to get the Samsung but I was blown away by the price off-contract. It is freaking cheap off-contract, easy to root and use abroad (unlocked).