Super OLED!

After two years, the age of my Nokia E-71 showed.  The main shortcoming has been the display size.  The good and real keyboard has made it impossible to go higher than 320x240 without increasing the thickness of the phone.

So I got myself the Samsung Galaxy S recently.  It is a very good copycat of the iPhone 3GS, down to the packing box.  What did they say about imitation and flattery?  I am speculating that the next version of the Galaxy would, like the iPhone 4, have rectangular instead of curvy edges on the sides.

I have not used the iPhone other than testing it.  I find Android much more usable compared with my experience with the iPhone.  The menu and back buttons on the Galaxy S are really handy.  The Program Monitor gives me a very visible state of my phone.  If control equals power, I am power-drunk.  People like me would have difficultly living under the yoke of Mr Jobs.

The biggest jump in capability has to be Swype.  I guess Samsung has to pay for it as one Motorola model I know does not have it.  It is so powerful that it makes you become more verbose.  Ever since my first SMS in 1996, I have always ensured that every word in every single SMS I send is spelled in full and every sentence is properly punctuated.  Hence Swype is an excellent tool for me.

The Super OLED display is just super.  It gives new meaning to the term "vibrant colors".  If you have not seen it go to a phone shop and check out the weather forecast in Daily Briefing.  The lightning or moon behind clouds will stun you.

One thing I will have to get used to is that I have to get some basic essential stuff from the Market. I am used to Nokia providing a basic set of software for the hardware they sold.  In the Android world, you are expected to use those written by some kind souls out there.  I still don't feel good that my location accurate to 5m can be reported to some unknown person every time I use some application.

One feature I wish for is an on/off switch for celluar data.  Other than roaming protection, there are times when I need to control radiation.  For example if I am still outside and my battery is low, I want to be able to conserve power until I get a chance to recharge.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S is an excellent phone.

I have not upgraded to 2.2 Froyo as I keep hearing all those negative reports.



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