Well, after using a smart phone for 8 years now, first palm, then windows. I decided to try out the new and much hyped Android platform. A major reason for this was money. A decent windows phone with gps and 3g will cost minimum of 20K(samsung omnia, htc touch-2 3330, etc). I came across this phone the samsung i5700 while wandering aimlessly in the net.
The price was around 13K and the specs were too good to be true!
+800Mhz processor
+128 RAM (android doesnt drain RAM like windows)
+micro SD support of 32GB!!
+high res screen
+Divx support (the only android phone to have it!!)
+3G
+A-GPS
+3.2MP camera
+Standby Batt. Time of 400 hours! (This really got my attention!)
- free upgrade to latest android OS 2.1(eclair) which is supposed to be the best OS there is..
Needless to say, I was impressed. I bought the phone from Indiaplaza.in (a horrifying experience..dont buy from here!!) for a relatively paltry sum of Rs.12, 600. with a 2GB card free.(got it just 1 week back) I will elaborate on the PROs and CONs...
PRO:
The display is crystal clear, very bright even at low settings, and has one of the best readability in sunlight I have ever seen. Sharp and fine pictures, excellent movie quality with no hanging whatsoever
The interface is smooth, moves to the lightest touch, leaves the windows/HTC touchFLO tech. light years behind...but still not as good as the iphone. for example, the gyroscope, automatic screen alignment from vertical to horizontal and vice versa is not as smooth as the iphone. but for all practical purposes, Its very very good.
You need a mobile internet conn.(prices have dropped a lot recently) to have full use of the android phone. theres an application called android market where u can download 1000s of free apps of all kinds. u can also load them via computer but the process is a bit cumbersome. Excellent apps.
3G and GPS - havent used the 3G yet..but the GPS is awesome. the location lock is accurate, picks up and loads images very fast and has inbuilt route makers which will tell u exactly how to get from A to B
I actually thanked God for showing me a good touch phone with a big screen with battery life like this one.. it gives me 2 days with internet running on full-time and moderate number of calls. with more judicious use, 3 days+ is not unattainable. Its sleek, fits well in your palm, calling quality is good (way better than iphone) but there is some distortion at max.volume.
Messaging is bliss..just turn the mob.horizontally and a full screen keypad with touch response(the letter u touch bubbles up and the screen vibrates) opens up for your use, very user friendly.
Media playback is awesome..super picture quality with decent sound(even though its not stereo) supports almost all files. It comes with a 3.5 mm jack which means your favorite. Noise cancelling headphone as well as any other earphone in the market will fit it.
CONS
Camera takes very good pics in good light, but with low lighting its a waste of time.NO FLASH FOR CAMERA
I have windows 7 and the CD that came with the mob(Samsung New PC Studio) is not syncing properly, shows some error messages. Planning to download the latest version off the net.
No bluetooth transfer. u can only use bluetooth for a headset. BUT.. bluetooth transfer is available on android 2.1 OS to which this phone is upgradeable. am planning to get it done at the bangalore service centre.
The buttons dont have backlighting so its a lil tricky using it at night..but its not a prob once u get used to it.
OVERALL: Excellent Multimedia phone with a very nice OS (By all signs appears to be the OS of the future) very user friendly, with good battery time. as u can see the CONs are either inconsequential, or easily fixed.. I give it 5 stars... :-)
UPDATE:03/06/10: OFFICIAL UPGRADE IS AVAILABLE IN ALL SAMSUNG MOBIEL AUTHORISED SERVICE CENTERS. I HAD MINE UPGRADED TO 2.1 ECLAIR AND GOT BLOWN AWAY!! ITS AMAZING.!! AND I HAVE TO CUT OUT ONE OF MY CONS...IT SUPPORTS BLUETOOTH TRANSFER WITH A SMALL SOFTWARE CALLED BLUETOOTH FILE TRANSFER BY MEDIEVAL SOFTWARE.
INCREDIBLE!! YOU START WONDERING WHY U WANT TO EVEN BOTHER WITH A 20K+ PHNOE WHEN U HAVE EVERYTHING IN THIS ONE....IVE HAD THE MOB. FOR ALMOST A MONTH NOW...