It hasn’t been that long since the i7500 Galaxy was launched in the UK, selling at the moment on the O2 network. The slimmest Android based phone to date, the i7500 further confirms the commitment of Samsung to producing high end, high spec handsets across a whole range of operating platforms, wherever you look, there is a Samsung phone available. Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, plus Samsung’s own operating system, a whole feast of mobile phones. Samsung even get a look in with the new Vodafone 360 handsets, and even on the iPhone, as many a geek will have fun informing that “40% of the iPhone is made by Samsung, ya know”
Samsung also have a habit of releasing handsets to suit many budgets, ranging from the high end smartphone down to the basic budget pay as you go device, and the handset we are going to look at in more detail now is the Galaxy i5700 Spica, a slightly lower spec version of the Samsung Galaxy.
The Samsung Spica, or Galaxy Lite as it may also be known as, has a stunning AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 16 million colours and measuring 3.2 inches, with a screen resolution of 320 x 480. AMOLED screens are starting to become more prevalent on phones, and they have many benefits. One is that they reproduce colours to stunning effect, and offer a much richer clarity than found on the more common TFT displays. AMOLED screens also take less battery strength to power them, and are less prone to breakage, and with a lowering cost this technology should start to become the default on many mobile devices. The Spica display has an auto rotate option, allowing the screen to automatically adjust between portrait and landscape mode, depending on the application that is being used at the time.
The i5700 runs on the hugely flexible Android operating system, and will most likely ship with version 1.5, known as cupcake. The processer on the i5700 is the most powerful yet on an Android device; the i5700 sports an 800MHz processor, which should help with multi tasking and running power hungry applications. Internet integration is a central part of the Android experience, and as such any device running this OS needs to feature a strong line up of connectivity options, and the Galaxy Lite does not disappoint. As well as HSDPA Mobile Broadband, up to 3.6 Mbps, the Spica offers WiFi, plus GPRS, HSCSD and EDGE. The handset includes a MicroUSB connector for connecting to a PC via a data cable, and there is also support for Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, but this is only for connecting to a headset – The Bluetooth connection cannot be used for connecting to another device to share files.
The i5700 has an internal memory of 128MB RAM, and supports MicroSD cards up to 32GB in capacity, which is a huge amount of storage space. There is a 3.2 Megapixel camera on the phone, which has autofocus, and also offers video recording functionality. It’s a pretty basic camera, but will suffice for MMS usage, or for attaching a quick snap and sending via email. With a built in GPS receiver, images can be geotagged with the location of where the image was taken. The GPS also delivers for location based services, such as the pre-installed Google maps as well as a host of other applications that can be downloaded from the Android Market.
The media player on the Galaxy Lite is adequate, but nothing special. Support for the main formats is included, with MP3, AAC, WMA, plus WMV, MP4, H.264 and H.263 catered for, but there is nothing for the more popular DivX or XviD formats currently. As well as being able to install a whole host of apps from the central store, the i5700 comes pre-installed with a strong software suite of Google applications. Apart from the already mentioned Google Maps, the Galaxy Lite offers native support for Gmail, a YouTube client, plus Google Calendar and Google talk integration. The included battery on the i5700 is a Li-ion 1500 mAh, which should help with battery standby times; as an always connected device, battery standby can be slightly less than is common with more standard devices.
Clearly then, the Galaxy Spica i5700 is a capable handset in its own right, despite its nomination as a lower featured device to the original Samsung Galaxy. The i5700 will be available in either Black or White, and whilst there is no confirmed release date, it is expected to be released sometime during December 2009.
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5:17 am
I bought this in Dubai, UAE. Doesn't have Android Market even though manual says that. Calling Samsung support and they are not equipped to support. All most all apps crashes always. Never ever will I buy Samsung or Google phones. They are also not providing any updates to 2.1 also. PC doesn't recognize USB after installing some apps, you have to reset the phone for USB to be detected by PC. I am not using the phone now, gone back to my Nokia 5310 which is far better.