Samsung Galaxy S: Captivate, Vibrant, Epic 4G, Fascinate - Page 2

HansTWN · 08-07-2010, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlowRain

Dopedangel, have you had any problems with your Galaxy S (Is it the i9000?), or have you heard of any quality issues? Samsung has had issues in the past of not supporting their devices, and they'd never been a major player in the high-end smartphone market until the Galaxy S came along. So, while I love that Super AMOLED screen, I'm approaching this purchase with caution.

The best website to read up on all Android and Windows phones is the forum section of xda-developers.com.

SlowRain · 08-08-2010, 02:28 AM

Thanks.

T3_reader · 08-12-2010, 04:57 PM

I went to the store to buy one, tried it and immediately hated the pentile screen. For me it was unacceptable for ereading: text is too fuzzy and close by you can easily see the matrix of the screen.

SlowRain · 08-13-2010, 07:48 AM

T3_reader, could you explain that a little more for me. I didn't notice any problem when I looked at it in the store, but, admittedly, I didn't sit and do much reading with the demo unit. How will that differ from my current Palm Tungsten E2?

T3_reader · 08-13-2010, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlowRain

T3_reader, could you explain that a little more for me. I didn't notice any problem when I looked at it in the store, but, admittedly, I didn't sit and do much reading with the demo unit. How will that differ from my current Palm Tungsten E2?

Pentile screens actually have a lower resolution than proclaimed when it comes to displaying text. Different people experience this differently so what I see (and say) may or may not apply to others.

When you look closely at text on a pentile screen, it is slightly fuzzy. That may or may not annoy you. I found it disturbing in apps like Aldiko.

Much of my reading is done at night, just before going to sleep. I am nearsighted so I typically hold the screen of my Palm T3 pretty close to my face. When I did that with the Samsung, I saw the oversized red pixels of the screen as small color artifacts on the edges of characters. The irregular grid of the Super Amoled screen also became noticable. The Palm T3 has a much lower resolution but does not display thin black lines between its pixels.

Google around on 'pentile screen' and you'll find some discussions about these weird artefacts. If you don't see them or are not annoyed by them, so much the better. There is much to like in Samsung's Galaxy S. I really wanted to buy it and liked everything except the way text is displayed. Since ereading and surfing were as important as the phone functions itself, this became a deal breaker for me.

becsta · 08-15-2010, 08:54 PM

I have been reading with my Galaxy S since I got it the other week and the text looks fine to me. I read every night before going to bed.

Sonist · 08-17-2010, 09:11 PM

Pentile screens are perfectly fine for reading, unless you stick your nose to the screen.

It's like saying that if I put my face against my plasma TV, I can see pixels, so it's no good for movies....

If I get close enough, I can see pixels on my 24" Apple monitor too.

HansTWN · 08-17-2010, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonist

Pentile screens are perfectly fine for reading, unless you stick your nose to the screen.

It's like saying that if I put my face against my plasma TV, I can see pixels, so it's no good for movies....

If I get close enough, I can see pixels on my 24" Apple monitor too.

But for many of us, that is exactly the point. I am near sighted, but like to take my glasses off for reading, so I basically have to stick my nose very close to the screen.

SlowRain · 08-18-2010, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3_reader

If you don't see them or are not annoyed by them, so much the better.

So far I've looked at three demo models of the i9000 (I believe it's Samsung's international version of the Galaxy S) and I can't see the red dots. I think I'm immune.

SlowRain · 08-25-2010, 12:52 AM

It looks like the Samsung Galaxy S smartphones have gorilla glass: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/24/s...that-precious/. There's a link within that article to a demonstration of the strength of gorilla glass on a Dell Streak. Warning: not for the faint of heart.

hel · 08-25-2010, 10:05 AM

I don't see any "pentile problem". I had about 10-15 PDA during the last 10 years. The screen of Galaxy S is extremely sharp and bright. The black is really black here. You could change font and background, and backlight in book reader program to find what would be the best for you. Huge jump in screen quality from my previous HTC HD (blackstone).

fencepost · 09-08-2010, 02:10 AM

I've been reading recently on my Vibrant (T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S). One thing that may make a big difference is to basically always use "night" mode - because the screen is LEDs rather than a backlit LCD, the brighter the screen the more power it's consuming. White or grey lettering on a black background has much lower power consumption on these devices.

I've been using Aldiko, and it also has a useful feature - if you run your finger up or down the left side of the screen, it adjusts the screen brightness. I've found that on low brightness the screen is indeed hard to see outside, but with the brightness turned up it's amazing. It's also nice that if I download an epub or open one from Dropbox.com Aldiko automatically imports it. This has turned out to be a very convenient way to get books onto the device, all I need to do is put them in My Dropbox on my PC, then click on them in Dropbox on the phone and they automatically pop into Aldiko. (the mobile device versions of Dropbox don't sync items to the device unless you request them due to space and network traffic concerns).

I experimented with FBReaderJ but didn't find a compelling reason to go with it, and if needed I can use it on Aldiko's library - FBReaderJ allows you to change the directory it uses for files. Unfortunately the Android version doesn't currently support the wide range of formats that the regular version does - at this point it has the same basic support as Aldiko.

I also tried Laputa (?), but it's not a good fit for the Galaxy S or other OLED phones - even its night mode is on a grey background, and there doesn't currently seem to be any provision for changing the display colors. That was a deal-breaker for me, but other than that it seemed to have some nice features.

SlowRain · 09-08-2010, 09:34 AM

Thanks for posting all of that, fencepost. It was very informative.

labzuk · 09-08-2010, 09:45 AM

Don't count too much on Samsung firmware upgrade. I've got a Galaxy i7500 and it's only coming to android 1.6 and will not go to 2.2.

Thanks to the guys from the gaosp project 2.2 is already available though, even if it's not an official release.

SlowRain · 09-08-2010, 10:00 PM

I've heard Samsung is bad about that, but are you sure the specs for the i7500 can handle Android 2.2, or even 2.1 for that matter? For instance, I've heard Android 3 will only run on devices with a minimum 1GHz processor and a minimum screen resolution (I forget which size). If this is true, that means all those devices--HTC, Samsung, Acer, Sony, etc.--not meeting the minimum specs will not be able to run Gingerbread. Perhaps it's the processor or the screen that is restricting any chance of upgrade with the i7500.

But, like I said, many people have complained about Samsung's failure to support their products in this way.

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08-08-2010, 02:28 AM	#17
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	Thanks.

08-12-2010, 04:57 PM	#18
T3_reader Enthusiast Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: IPad & Android phone	I went to the store to buy one, tried it and immediately hated the pentile screen. For me it was unacceptable for ereading: text is too fuzzy and close by you can easily see the matrix of the screen.

08-13-2010, 07:48 AM	#19
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	T3_reader, could you explain that a little more for me. I didn't notice any problem when I looked at it in the store, but, admittedly, I didn't sit and do much reading with the demo unit. How will that differ from my current Palm Tungsten E2?

08-15-2010, 08:54 PM	#21
becsta Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 120 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Canberra Australia Device: Kobo Aura	I have been reading with my Galaxy S since I got it the other week and the text looks fine to me. I read every night before going to bed.

08-17-2010, 09:11 PM	#22
Sonist Apeist Posts: 2,126 Karma: 381090 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The sunny part of California Device: Generic virtual reality story-experiential device	Pentile screens are perfectly fine for reading, unless you stick your nose to the screen. It's like saying that if I put my face against my plasma TV, I can see pixels, so it's no good for movies.... If I get close enough, I can see pixels on my 24" Apple monitor too.

08-25-2010, 12:52 AM	#25
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	It looks like the Samsung Galaxy S smartphones have gorilla glass: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/24/s...that-precious/. There's a link within that article to a demonstration of the strength of gorilla glass on a Dell Streak. Warning: not for the faint of heart.

08-25-2010, 10:05 AM	#26
hel Sorceress Posts: 169 Karma: 19604 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Montreal Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Boox Air2&Nova 3C, Kindle, Sony, and more	I don't see any "pentile problem". I had about 10-15 PDA during the last 10 years. The screen of Galaxy S is extremely sharp and bright. The black is really black here. You could change font and background, and backlight in book reader program to find what would be the best for you. Huge jump in screen quality from my previous HTC HD (blackstone).

09-08-2010, 02:10 AM	#27
fencepost Member Posts: 13 Karma: 510 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Samsung Vibrant (Android)	I've been reading recently on my Vibrant (T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S). One thing that may make a big difference is to basically always use "night" mode - because the screen is LEDs rather than a backlit LCD, the brighter the screen the more power it's consuming. White or grey lettering on a black background has much lower power consumption on these devices. I've been using Aldiko, and it also has a useful feature - if you run your finger up or down the left side of the screen, it adjusts the screen brightness. I've found that on low brightness the screen is indeed hard to see outside, but with the brightness turned up it's amazing. It's also nice that if I download an epub or open one from Dropbox.com Aldiko automatically imports it. This has turned out to be a very convenient way to get books onto the device, all I need to do is put them in My Dropbox on my PC, then click on them in Dropbox on the phone and they automatically pop into Aldiko. (the mobile device versions of Dropbox don't sync items to the device unless you request them due to space and network traffic concerns). I experimented with FBReaderJ but didn't find a compelling reason to go with it, and if needed I can use it on Aldiko's library - FBReaderJ allows you to change the directory it uses for files. Unfortunately the Android version doesn't currently support the wide range of formats that the regular version does - at this point it has the same basic support as Aldiko. I also tried Laputa (?), but it's not a good fit for the Galaxy S or other OLED phones - even its night mode is on a grey background, and there doesn't currently seem to be any provision for changing the display colors. That was a deal-breaker for me, but other than that it seemed to have some nice features.

09-08-2010, 09:34 AM	#28
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	Thanks for posting all of that, fencepost. It was very informative.

09-08-2010, 09:45 AM	#29
labzuk Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 22 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS505 - Iliad	Don't count too much on Samsung firmware upgrade. I've got a Galaxy i7500 and it's only coming to android 1.6 and will not go to 2.2. Thanks to the guys from the gaosp project 2.2 is already available though, even if it's not an official release.

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09-08-2010, 10:00 PM	#30
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	I've heard Samsung is bad about that, but are you sure the specs for the i7500 can handle Android 2.2, or even 2.1 for that matter? For instance, I've heard Android 3 will only run on devices with a minimum 1GHz processor and a minimum screen resolution (I forget which size). If this is true, that means all those devices--HTC, Samsung, Acer, Sony, etc.--not meeting the minimum specs will not be able to run Gingerbread. Perhaps it's the processor or the screen that is restricting any chance of upgrade with the i7500. But, like I said, many people have complained about Samsung's failure to support their products in this way.