Who's tempted by this phone?

[Techno79]

I love Android but I really don't like the designs of the HTC phones. I mean, I know HTC can design quality phones (Diamond, Diamond 2, Touch Pro 2 etc) but they do not seem to use the same design team for the Android phones.

The Samsung phone on the other hand is in a different league to the G1 and Magic in terms of design. I've been wanting an Android phone since the G1 came out but have held out due to the poor design. The Samsung i7550 is the first phone that actually makes me think I'll snap it up as soon as it arrives.

Anyone else?

 

[shivers316]

Samsung has a good track record with cameras, so I'm pretty excited to see how the camera performs on this phone.

 

[dynodroid]

I don't know why all these people are attracted to the Samsung phone. I think it looks rather childish.

I understand that you might not interpret that description the same way I do, so don't consider it incorrect.

Also, it's i7500, not 550. I'm assuming that's a typo though as I would've never noticed it if I didn't copy it to Google.

To me, the G1 looks classier and more unique. If all these phones were on the shelf when I purchased my 1st Android phone I still would've chosen the G1. Despite the specs, only because every other touchscreen phone is the same.

Also, I can't live without my phsyical qwerty. I just don't see the point.

 

[Dr.Drane]

I don't know why all these people are attracted to the Samsung phone. I think it looks rather childish.

Imho, it looks pretty good. But the Touch Pro2 looks even a lot better and has a hardware keyboard. But I don't really care about looks anyway, I prefer a lot of features.

Also, I can't live without my phsyical qwerty. I just don't see the point.

Exactly! I really need a hardware keyboard, though I'm going to test the cupcake keyboard on the Magic which will be available in the Netherlands any time now.

Btw, I've had a lot of different phones from different brands and for me nr. 1 is of course HTC, but Samsung comes second.

 

[dynodroid]

Everyone also comments on the camera on phones. I don't get the point. I prefer my phone and my camera to be seperate. If you want a nice camera that takes good pictures, you might as well get one.

 

[justjimjpc]

I'm really getting twitchy about this phone. I have no real reason why, I just know I want it; and I'm willing to purchase it from Europe. Although I'm double hoping that Google will make a Dev phone out of it.

Swizzy >>> if we can flashy-rooty it ... then we can made a dev phone out of it ..

 

[justjimjpc]

Well durr. But if Google goes Dev a few things will happen:

I wont need to worry about unlocking
I wont have to wonder if I'm getting a second hand phone
The Dev1 was designed to stand out from crappy stock phones
Your mom goes to college

My logic is sound.

Dev's are NOT suppose to have flashy showing machines ... they are suppose to stay in their caves wacking out awesome apps and calling out for pizza and chinese and have 36 hour marathon coding sessions ...

 

[dynodroid]

Dev's are suppose to have flashy showing machines ... they are suppose to stay in their caves wacking out awesome apps and calling out fro pizza and chinese and have 36 hour marathon coding sessions

+1.

 

[punkzanyj]

Everyone also comments on the camera on phones. I don't get the point. I prefer my phone and my camera to be seperate. If you want a nice camera that takes good pictures, you might as well get one.

I don't get that either. Until battery power improves and we're able to get the kind of optical zoom features you can only get on a real camera, phones on a camera are a "nice to have" but no one should expect them to be as good as a real camera.

 

[x3haloed]

I am torn between the G1, the I7500, and the G1 V2. I'm really sick of my LG Dare, and I know that my next phone will be an Android phone. I'm paying too much for the plan, and I will come out even if I just quit now, and switch to T-Mo. I want a physical keyboard and I like the trackball, but the Samsung has a big, beautiful OLED screen, lots of storage space, and a great camera. Plus, I have always had good experiences with Samsung devices. The I7500 may never even come to the States though, and if it does, it may not get here until Nov. (Samsung i7500 (Houdini) Hitting T-Mobile In November? | Android Phone Fans) And it could be significantly more expensive than either the G1 or G1 V2. Information about the G1 V2 is very scarce. There isn't a final photo of it yet, and I haven't seen any specs.

Basically, it's: Instant gratification and keyboard vs. Screen, Camera, Storage vs. keyboard and (unknown)

The G1 is only $98 on Amazon right now. I am seriously thinking about biting the bullet and grabbing it now, and then getting a really badass Android phone when my contract expires.

What do you guys think?

 

[PhxBlue]

My 2 gripes about this phone

1. I don't like the the D-pad, I prefer a trackball.

2. I don't like the phone speaker being on the bottom backside of the phone.

That's about it really. I love the rest of the design.

 

[sergey]

I'm torn between all these phones too.
The G2 is instant gratification and has the best design among the upcoming phones.
The i7500 is the first Android phone with real specs.
The G1 v2 is interesting, but that's a bit far out.
Then there is still the issue of battery life and if the soft keyboard is any good.

 

[TookyG]

The phone is slick. It had me fooled for a couple days then I realized it won't be the Google Experience that I'm looking for. Maybe I am uninformed but I'm not sure why anyone would want an Android phone that's not providing the user with the Google Experience. If it's running on android but I'm using some restrictive "enhancements" put in place by the device manufacturer...what's the point?

 

[JHan]

The phone is slick. It had me fooled for a couple days then I realized it won't be the Google Experience that I'm looking for. Maybe I am uninformed but I'm not sure why anyone would want an Android phone that's not providing the user with the Google Experience. If it's running on android but I'm using some restrictive "enhancements" put in place by the device manufacturer...what's the point?

I am rather tempted by this phone as well. In fact, I plan on getting the I7500 when it is released stateside. In my opinion, the fact that the phone doesn't tout the "Google Experience" is not a limiting factor. The operating system itself is the same, it is just that the phone isn't as geared towards Google's processes and applications as the original G1 may have been. Such things may not be pre-loaded, but at this moment, I don't see anything stopping you from getting the "Google Experience" with the I7500 once you have the phone.

 

[AdamHC]

I don't know why all these people are attracted to the Samsung phone. I think it looks rather childish.

I understand that you might not interpret that description the same way I do, so don't consider it incorrect.

To me, the G1 looks classier and more unique. If all these phones were on the shelf when I purchased my 1st Android phone I still would've chosen the G1. Despite the specs, only because every other touchscreen phone is the same.

Also, I can't live without my phsyical qwerty. I just don't see the point.

My first thought about the look of the i7500 was the same but then I saw some other screenshots of the phone and it actually looks quite nice. Look up a video of it, it looks pretty different to a lot of the photoshopped images i've seen of it.

And the G1 still remains one of the uglier phones, it doesn't know the meaning of class. The only thing that would make me want to buy it is that its the only one with a QWERTY keyboard, but I have managed the transition to the on-screen keyboards well and like the advantage it offers (being that the phone will be thinner).

Wish the i7500 had a trackball like the Magic. I'm still not sure whether I wanna buy the Magic or the i7500. We'll see when we get a review.

 

[RozzaC]

My first thought about the look of the i7500 was the same but then I saw some other screenshots of the phone and it actually looks quite nice. Look up a video of it, it looks pretty different to a lot of the photoshopped images i've seen of it.

And the G1 still remains one of the uglier phones, it doesn't know the meaning of class. The only thing that would make me want to buy it is that its the only one with a QWERTY keyboard, but I have managed the transition to the on-screen keyboards well and like the advantage it offers (being that the phone will be thinner).

Wish the i7500 had a trackball like the Magic. I'm still not sure whether I wanna buy the Magic or the i7500. We'll see when we get a review.

I don't know about you...but every time I pull out my G1 and slide out the keyboard...I feel like I'm the s**t...because that's when people start pulling out their BB's to try to show off...it's even better when you wear a suit...

A phone with just a touchscreen wouldn't give me that sort of feeling...

Design-wise...it's not amazing....true..
But people will still look at you on the street if you pulled out that phone and think "OMG...that's so kool!" (I've seen it happen...)

 

[punkzanyj]

My first thought about the look of the i7500 was the same but then I saw some other screenshots of the phone and it actually looks quite nice. Look up a video of it, it looks pretty different to a lot of the photoshopped images i've seen of it.

And the G1 still remains one of the uglier phones, it doesn't know the meaning of class. The only thing that would make me want to buy it is that its the only one with a QWERTY keyboard, but I have managed the transition to the on-screen keyboards well and like the advantage it offers (being that the phone will be thinner).

Wish the i7500 had a trackball like the Magic. I'm still not sure whether I wanna buy the Magic or the i7500. We'll see when we get a review.

Enh, to each their own. I personally, think that class is overrated, as it is of little to no practical use outside of self-indulgent petty circles. It's also so subjective as to be irrelevant.
Function is far far more important, this is, after all, a phone, not a diamond tennis bracelet.

 

[RozzaC]

Enh, to each their own. I personally, think that class is overrated, as it is of little to no practical use outside of self-indulgent petty circles. It's also so subjective as to be irrelevant.
Function is far far more important, this is, after all, a phone, not a diamond tennis bracelet.

But don't you wanna look good while you do what you do with your phone?

 

[AdamHC]

Enh, to each their own. I personally, think that class is overrated, as it is of little to no practical use outside of self-indulgent petty circles. It's also so subjective as to be irrelevant.
Function is far far more important, this is, after all, a phone, not a diamond tennis bracelet.

I guess everyone has their own views. I go for looks. That's probably the only reason I have reframed from throwing my Diamond at a wall. The thing is a bitch to use simply cause it runs on WinMo but I always get good comments on how it looks so I have just put up with the lack of performance.

 

[TookyG]

I am rather tempted by this phone as well. In fact, I plan on getting the I7500 when it is released stateside. In my opinion, the fact that the phone doesn't tout the "Google Experience" is not a limiting factor. The operating system itself is the same, it is just that the phone isn't as geared towards Google's processes and applications as the original G1 may have been. Such things may not be pre-loaded, but at this moment, I don't see anything stopping you from getting the "Google Experience" with the I7500 once you have the phone.

According to the Google's Andy Rubin in an interview with the New York Times:

These phones Google calls ​

 

[ManLike]

This phone lacks exactly two things to make it IMO the perfect phone..

#1 I'm not sure how I feel about the software keyboard. Historically they are not very good, but I have a friend with a G1 and he says this should be OK. I'd still rather see a hardware keyboard....

#2 Blasted phone is not getting released in the US at launch.

The US is always the stepchild when it comes to getting cool new phones. Someone told me it's because our networks stink over here. But seriously, who cares if our networks stink (besides the people who have to use them). We have more population than any single or even any 2 European countries where the "cool phones" typically launch. Since the phone is being launched in Germany why doesn't TMobile *cough*Deutsch Telecom*cough* flex a bit and bring the cool phone to the US?

Pardon my first post being a mini rant.

 

[JHan]

Haha, well, I've always been more of a hard-keyboard person myself. However, after taking a "joyride" on a couple of my friend's G1's, they seem quite adaptable to my lifestyle. I'm not a person who texts non-stop anyhow. And yes, it does seem strange that the US is always second tier when these snazzy new phones come out. Although, I suppose the Palm Pre is debuting stateside.

 

[ManLike]

Yes, but Palm is a US company. Nokia is Finnish, Samsung is Korean, etc, etc.

And I haven't spoken with Palm since they went Wind Mobile.

 

[JHan]

Ah yes, well, the Palm Pre does seem unique in that sense. I wish they came out with phones faster in the US as well... After all, the I7500 does support T-Mobile's 3G wavelength, so why wait until late in the year to release over here in the States? Ah well, I suppose I'll just satiate myself with video reviews for now.

 

[punkzanyj]

I guess everyone has their own views. I go for looks. That's probably the only reason I have reframed from throwing my Diamond at a wall. The thing is a bitch to use simply cause it runs on WinMo but I always get good comments on how it looks so I have just put up with the lack of performance.

refrained.

Reframed would mean something completely different.