ANDROID TAKE YOU OUT OF THIS GALAXY

The Galaxy S: It’s more than out of this world!

The Galaxy S is a great phone with excellent hardware. The screen, keypad and array of handy features and applications are a delight to use. Connectivity is well catered for, and all of this comes in a solid, slim build – despite the somewhat plasticky case. The only major criticism we have is that Samsung's own widgets are very weak indeed, and the manufacturers should really have left this sort of thing to Android, who have otherwise done a great job.

What we like

One of the first things we noticed about the Galaxy S was its stunning Super AMOLED screen, measuring a huge 4 inches and boasting a highly functional Swype keyboard. The phone does look rather large despite its thin build, and we were shocked to discover that it weighed a mere 119g. Sunlight legibility was much better than that we've experienced on previous AMOLED screen models too, and we were equally impressed by the sharpness of the colours and impressive saturation levels offered by the all-round brilliant display.

It's fair to say we had started on a high, but we weren't to be brought crashing down – at least not just yet – as we discovered just how slick the Android operating system was. We were able to connect to high-speed internet with relatively few difficulties, largely thanks to the phone's 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. Once we managed this, we had the opportunity to access the most impressive Android market place we'd come across yet.

The range of apps on offer in the marketplace is hugely impressive, particularly considering the amount of pre-installed apps for social networking and similar purposes that come with the handset in the first place. With an FM radio also in the mix, it's fair to say that Android and Samsung haven't disappointed here in feature-terms.

What we didn't like

Well, we didn't think the phone would be perfect – because let's face it, what is? - and so we weren't particularly shocked when we came across one of the Galaxy's first real shortcomings: Samsung's own widgets. Now admittedly, Samsung had excelled in providing the phone with quality hardware, but it's obvious that they should have left the app and widget collection to the tried and tested brains at Android.

The battery life was also rather disappointing for a phone of this calibre, whilst some of the apps were sluggish when loading. The absence of an LED light on the camera was somewhat of a let down too, but at least the 5 solid mega-pixels performed reasonably well in most lighting.

Conclusion

With the positives and negatives accounted for, it's clear to see that the Galaxy S is a high-quality smartphone with a fantastic screen, huge memory and solid range of connectivity options. OK, the battery life could be better, but we can accept that seeing as the device is so powerful. Even Samsung's own poor widgets can be forgotten about when the Android marketplace is so satisfying. An all-round top performer.