Thinkin to buy i7500

[anonymouz1828]

I have my eyes on i7500's features a year ago but never bought it bcuz of the price .. but now it is affordable ($290-350). Yesterday, I found many posts with i7500 problems. I have some questions before I make the decision to buy i7500 this month. I am planing to use phone for music, wi-fi ONLY, camera, and phone (of course) on tmobile USA.

1) How buggy is the original firmware (1.5?) to accommodate my needs??

2) Did samsung release any new firmware from the default on i7500?? I know they wont update do 2.1

3) How long does the battery usually last?

4) Can I add/instal market app??

5) I see two hacked/flaw firmwares 1.6 & 2.1 .. which one is more stable and hardware compartible??

6) Does anyone has a place to recommend to buy the phone??

Thanks in advance.

 

[chronodekar]

Among your 'required features' you should realize, the camera on the i7500 has NO zoom. It's a great 5MP camera, but for some shots, the lack of zoom is ... limiting. :-/

If you can get it, I would recommend the Samsung i5700. It's Android 2.x and has 3MP camera with zoom.

By default, the phone (i7500) usually ships with Android 1.5, but the 1.6 firmwares running around here are stable and indirectly from Samsung. In the sense, that they were leaked from Samsung. I doubt if Samsung has made any 'official' update for the phone.

The battery depends on what you do with the phone. Early on, when I bought the phone, I was experimenting with it all the time and saw battery life of barely 18 hours. Afterwards, I settled into my routine (with minimal phone usage) and the battery life came to 150+ hours. (no kidding, I even created a thread about it)

The phone comes with Android Market, so I don't understand your 4th question.

For question 5, like I said, firmware 1.6 is 'almost' from Samsung, so I don't think its fair to call it hacked. But, if you are talking about Galaxo or Mustymod, well, I'm waiting for a month to see if the latest over-clocked Galaxo is worth it or not. Your choice (I think it voids the warranty).

I'm not from the US, so I can't recommend any stores for you. Sorry.

Hope this helps,
chronodekar

 

[dryhte]

Your choice (I think it voids the warranty)

Only when you send it in with Galaxo You could always flash the original fw back when you want to send it back... that leaves no trace of 'tampering' afaik

 

[Rastaman-FB]

the italian and russian 1.6 roms are official and not leaked now (they can be ontained on fus and samsung firmware downloader)
galaxo1.6.3.1 is rapid and overclocked, its got a few bugs but no more than the official 1.6 but its mega fast
i have mine running @ 710mhz instead of 528 and it makes a big difference

 

[golanster]

does tmobile USA sell this phone or you can buy it from a store that imports then unofficially ?

i remember that there were news that all north america android will get 2.1 and in this forum some people said that the i7500 isnt on sale in the usa so no 2.1 for us.....

so tmobile USA selling or not?

 

[Kouske]

Among your 'required features' you should realize, the camera on the i7500 has NO zoom. It's a great 5MP camera, but for some shots, the lack of zoom is ... limiting. :-/

If you can get it, I would recommend the Samsung i5700. It's Android 2.x and has 3MP camera with zoom.

chronodekar

spica doesnt have any zoom...maybe a digital zoom which is worth nothing. also doesnt have flash which the galaxy does have. id say the spica would be a bad choice tbh...id wait a bit until htc prices go down and buy one without any contract, but thats me.

also i would have to agree with rastaman...for its price the galaxy does seem appealing, but thats only if you are willing to mess around with the phone (upgrading to galaxo 1.6.3.1 which is awsome compared to other roms).

 

[anonymouz1828]

does tmobile USA sell this phone or you can buy it from a store that imports then unofficially ?

i remember that there were news that all north america android will get 2.1 and in this forum some people said that the i7500 isnt on sale in the usa so no 2.1 for us.....

so tmobile USA selling or not?

Not that I know .. USA tmobile website does not have the phone to sell. I was looking online to buy a white galaxy i7500. The site says it has international warranty ... no USA warranty.

 

[anonymouz1828]

the italian and russian 1.6 roms are official and not leaked now (they can be ontained on fus and samsung firmware downloader)
galaxo1.6.3.1 is rapid and overclocked, its got a few bugs but no more than the official 1.6 but its mega fast
i have mine running @ 710mhz instead of 528 and it makes a big difference

I see .. it seems like that galaxo1.6.3.1 is better than the italian and russian 1.6 roms .. huh?? I will definitely look to update firmware if 1.5 sucks. It should not be hard to update it.

 

[anonymouz1828]

The phone comes with Android Market, so I don't understand your 4th question.

chronodekar

Samsung SAM I7500 Galaxy Quad-band Cell Phone- Unlocked in Cell Phones at JR.com - On the review .. two people complain about the lack of market icon. I think that the market icon can be installed manually ... i saw some pages talking bout it .. not sure.

 

[anonymouz1828]

Darn it .. I went to a mobile store near home to try samsung galaxy but they did not have it. Instead, they showed xperia x10, nokia x6, and htc desire. I tried them and I got impressed with htc desire. I was intended to spend $300-400 for a phone and now I am thinking to spend $600 on the htc desire. I m just reading news about htc desire now. To test samsung galaxy, I will need 1 hour travel but I will go b4 I decide for galaxy or desire.

 

[mrqs]

if you can afford the desire without selling your first born son to medial experiments, you should definitely go for it instead of the galaxy

 

[Pennywis3]

if you can afford the desire without selling your first born son to medial experiments, you should definitely go for it instead of the galaxy

I agree with mrqs.
The Desire is far beyond galaxy, the phones aren't comparable.
And considering you are reading these forums, you are probably aware of the problems with the Galaxy, and i know you know that its not worth 300-400$ anymore.
My suggestion would be to buy a cheap android phone like Spica or go for the high priced ones like Desire. The middle ones like Galaxy are not worth the money and you'll always be struggling somewhere in between good and bad. If you have a cheap one, at least you can say it didn't cost much hehe.

BTW, SE Xperia X10 has started to sell in our country and to my suprise its not that expensive. 399 Eur from the store, no contract needed.
Impresive, considering how much Desire and HD2 cost, quite a few bucks more.

 

[Rastaman-FB]

x10 is a very nice phone with confimed 2.1 in sept

 

[chronodekar]

If you have the choice between HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy i7500, I will recommend the HTC. Really, there's no competition.

Now, if are a fiscally-minded person, for the price its asking these days, I don't think you can get any better than our i7500.

-chronodekar

 

[anonymouz1828]

Hahaha .. i was looking at htc desire until now .. i was leaning to desire for 75% .. stopped to check the spica now and desire went down to 60% .. video & review really tempt you to buy it hehehe.

I agree with mrqs.
The Desire is far beyond galaxy, the phones aren't comparable.
And considering you are reading these forums, you are probably aware of the problems with the Galaxy, and i know you know that its not worth 300-400$ anymore.
My suggestion would be to buy a cheap android phone like Spica or go for the high priced ones like Desire. The middle ones like Galaxy are not worth the money and you'll always be struggling somewhere in between good and bad. If you have a cheap one, at least you can say it didn't cost much hehe.

BTW, SE Xperia X10 has started to sell in our country and to my suprise its not that expensive. 399 Eur from the store, no contract needed.
Impresive, considering how much Desire and HD2 cost, quite a few bucks more.

Just checked online .. Spica is $450-550 .. Xperia X10 is around $550-600
The features the make me choose galaxy is the 8gb internal memory.

x10 is a very nice phone with confimed 2.1 in sept

On gsmarena .. it says android 1.6 but I dont think SE is an @SS like Samsung to deny update.

I just spot a video right now of galaxy .. can you tell the actual firmware??
YouTube - SAMSUNG GALAXY - SOFTWARE e PERSONALIZZAZIONI (ITA)

ps: I got to sleep now .. thanks.

 

[chronodekar]

I don't even need to play that video to tell you it's a custom firmware. It looks like Galaxo's.

For more information, have a look at the 'all things root' subfourm.

-chronodekar

 

[Haltemien]

Here til Norway they sell new unlocked i7500 for bout $150.

 

[Pennywis3]

Just checked online .. Spica is $450-550 .. Xperia X10 is around $550-600
The features the make me choose galaxy is the 8gb internal memory.

You can check prices in Slovenia ( no contract needed ) on mobisvet.si

Samsung Galaxy Spica: 229,00 Eur ( 297 USD )
Samsung Galaxy: 239 Eur ( 310 USD )
Htc Desire: 429 Eur ( 556 USD )
SE Xperia X10: 399 Eur ( 517 USD )

I have to say, phones are expensive where you are.

 

[anonymouz1828]

I think I will go for samsung i7500 (8gb internal for music and apps is crazy!!). Tomorrow I will make the journey to the store and put an end to it. Since I will definitely buy the new iphone 4g, it will be good to have a cheaper android phone to learn and use.

Here til Norway they sell new unlocked i7500 for bout $150.

Wow .. it is really cheap .. half the price over here. For $150, I would definitely have bought it now hehehe.

You can check prices in Slovenia ( no contract needed ) on mobisvet.si

Samsung Galaxy Spica: 229,00 Eur ( 297 USD )
Samsung Galaxy: 239 Eur ( 310 USD )
Htc Desire: 429 Eur ( 556 USD )
SE Xperia X10: 399 Eur ( 517 USD )

I have to say, phones are expensive where you are.

Wow .. Europe usually has the best deal and best phone. I could buy two phones.

 

[Bomberman]

8Gb and up MicroSDs are cheap these days - I really wouldn't let it be the deciding factor in choosing a galaxy...

 

[anonymouz1828]

8Gb and up MicroSDs are cheap these days - I really wouldn't let it be the deciding factor in choosing a galaxy...

Yeah .. that is true. Most of the new and best phone have low memory but I was expecting the newest phone to have a minimal of 500mb to 1gb internal memory. Another thing is that we need to install apps on the internal memory .. I know there is a hack to install on microsd but I did not look deeper into it yet (i have 2gb microsd). Good thing is google will allow to install in microsd soon.

 

[Bomberman]

1Gb is absolutely tons when it comes to apps though mate - honestly it isn't an issue.

 

[anonymouz1828]

8Gb and up MicroSDs are cheap these days - I really wouldn't let it be the deciding factor in choosing a galaxy...

1Gb is absolutely tons when it comes to apps though mate - honestly it isn't an issue.

Yeah .. I spent some time looking at android apps .. and surprised that they were only 'xxx kb' size. I used to think apps were by 'x mb' size. Well .. i guess i still like to have phone with minimal internal memory at 500mb-1gb.

I went store to get galaxy but it did not arrive .. it will arrive on monday .. and will sell to me for $275 compared to $350 on their website!! I am pretty excited but i hope it wont be a fake or damaged galaxy hehehe.

 

[anonymouz1828]

SWEEEEEEET!!! I just bought the galaxy and it looks so beautiful. The current firmware is 1.5 cupcake. I will test the cupcake firmware to decide whether to upgrade or not. I dont have market app .. I will see how to install it.

I have a some questions right now. I dont want to allow my phone to use data/internet except through 'wifi'. I dont want my bill to go crazy. How can I set permission for applications and browser to use only on 'WIFI'??

What is the latest official firmware name??? Is the lastest official firmware that have the low sound speaker/earphone?? Thanks

 

[anonymouz1828]

SWEEEEEEET!!! I just bought the galaxy and it looks so beautiful. The current firmware is 1.5 cupcake. I will test the cupcake firmware to decide whether to upgrade or not. I dont have market app .. I will see how to install it.

I have a some questions right now. I dont want to allow my phone to use data/internet except through 'wifi'. I dont want my bill to go crazy. How can I set permission for applications and browser to use only on 'WIFI'??

What is the latest official firmware name??? Is the lastest official firmware that have the low sound speaker/earphone?? Thanks

Sorry more questions .. on reset options, the "factory data reset" will reset all setting to default without deleting user files or apps right???

For 'factory format', it will wipe all data on it but do i need to plug to pc to reinstall the firmware?? If i have update to 1.6 firmware and do 'factory format', will it format back to 1.5 or 1.6??

Thanks in advance.