- Powered by Android 2.3.5 , with access to over 250,000apps including games, productivity software, and more
- Uses a Wi-Fi connection (802.11 b/g/n) for Internet access
- 8 GB internal storage with a microSD card slot for adding up to 32 GB
- 4-inch super-clear LCD touchscreen with WVGA (800x480) resolution
- 3.2-megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front-facing camera for video calling
Galaxy 4.0 vs. 5.0: I settled on 4.0 since it is mainly used as a music player and a hand-held game machine for my daughter and, thus, the smaller size makes it more convenient for her to carry it around. I did try out Dell with a 5-inch screen at BestBuy to get the feel for larger 5" screen, and, although I liked it better for web surfing and videos, I felt the 4" would be just fine for her. So, if you are going to use the Galaxy to stream shows over NetFlix or consume media on the web, then you might be better off with 5.0.
Galaxy vs. iPod Screen: There's only an half inch difference between them, however Galaxy looks much larger and much, much brighter than iPod. Although iPod has slightly higher mechanical resolution at 960x640 than Galaxy's at 800x480, I like the Galaxy's screen better and find it to be easier to look at than iPod's.
Galaxy vs. iPod Sound:
(1) For both machines, sounds coming out of earphones are nothing special. Some earlier post mentioned that the Galaxy's earphones are 'crappy/horrible', but in my opinion, they are pretty much dead even; iPod's earphones are equally 'crappy/horrible'. So, if you want much better sound quality, I recommend you to buy a set of more expensive earphones. For non-audiophile, both of them are adequate and serviceable.
(2) For sounds from built in speakers, Galaxy is much better than iPod. Galaxy produces clearer and more crisp stereo sounds than iPod does.
(3) For in-car sounds, they are comparable. They both generate much better sounds than through earphones.
Galaxy vs. iPod Web surfing: For Youtube videos, Galaxy performs faster than iPod. For other general websites, iPod tend to be slightly faster, but it is because many websites have flash contents and Galaxy loads all of them. Actually, I do like the fact that you can view all the videos on the regular Youtube site with Galaxy; it's not limited to just Youtube Mobile videos. Also, that small difference in screen size makes a big difference in viewing web pages, so Galaxy shines here.
Galaxy vs. iPod Apps/Games: It depends on whichever app/game you prefer. For my daughter, Galaxy has a full range of free games/apps that she can play, including Angry Birds, so it's a non-issue.
Galaxy vs. iPod Battery: Yes, we all could use longer lasting batteries. But we found Galaxy's battery to be excellent for music listening and video playing. However, if you play games all the time, then you'll find both Galaxy and iPod batteries to be inadequate.
Galaxy vs. iPod File Management: If you're married to iTunes, you are going to like iPod better, but I found iTunes to be extremely buggy and slow, not to mention very limiting. So, it felt very refreshing not to have to be tied to iTunes to manage my files. In addition, I didn't have to convert videos to play on Galaxy since it plays most of the known video types. Again, if you're tied to iTunes and don't know what else to do, go with iPod. But if you want flexibility and know what you're doing, Galaxy is better.
Galaxy vs. iPod Camera: This is one of main gripes that I've had with iPod. Galaxy's camera wins, hands down. Also, Galaxy handled Skype video chat with ease and we didn't have any issues with casual picture taking. However, if you want to take really high quality pictures, buy a separate digital camera.
In summary, my son likes his iPod and my daughter is happy with her Galaxy. However, if I'm interested in a media player/mobile internet device and wouldn't want a phone/data contract, I'll definitely pick Galaxy over iPod Touch. I'm actually considering buying Galaxy 5.0 myself this Christmas. :-)
Buy Samsung 4-Inch Galaxy Player Now
This is a review of the 4 inch model. I bought this mainly for it's ability to surf the web and check email at WIFI hot spots, as I was searching for an economical solution of not lugging around a laptop on trips, and I did not want to incur expensive monthly smartphone / data charges.This unit is very lightweight, slim, and easily slips unnoticed into a pocket.Until this came out, there was only one other choice: the Apple iPod touch. I evaluated both and decided on Samsung for the following:
Easily replaceable / accessible battery
Wins the "drop" test (see various videos on the web)
Expandable memory (just drop in a microSDHC card)
Larger screen
Tip: I went to Samsung's Website and downloaded and read the complete 140+ page manual, to get familiar with this unit before purchase, and also to quickly get it up and running when it arrived.
WiFi: I can honestly say that this unit exceeded my expectations. When it arrived, the unit charged up quickly ( 1 hr). I headed out to our local library to check the WIFI, and it was excellent. Pages loaded quickly. No dropped connections. I repeated this at several other hotspots around town, all good. Although the screen display resolution (800 x400) is arguably not as nice as the Ipod's retinal display, it was nice and clear, even when "pinched" to high magnifications.YouTube videos played with ease. I was quickly able to set up all my bookmarks, set up all my email accounts, customize the home screen to my liking, and load a few free android apps all within an hour.
Battery life: very reasonable; able to surf for all day with music in the background and still had some battery power left. Tip: turn of the WiFi and GPS when not needed. It is easy to access this functionjust swipe a finger from the top of the screen downwardsyou now have a quick menu to turn these functions on or off. Also you can access the "task manager" wigit and shut down all running programs not needed.
Music player: It synced very easily to all my tunes stored on my Windows media player software on my laptop. The earbuds provided with the unit are a step above the usual cheapies, with a pause and skip button. They fit snugly and comfortably into the ear canal (silicone) to block out external sounds and give a better listening experience. Sound is average.
Warranty: It is 1 year. Initially I could not find any warranty info,so I called Samsung to confirm this. I was able to speak to a customer rep quickly, which is nice.
This unit is based on Samsung's famous Galaxy smartphone series. It Comes with a 1 Ghz processor (not dual core), 512 Mb RAM, 8Gb memory (expandable to 64 Gb with external micro card) and Android's 2.3.5 Gingerbread software platform. It has 3.2 MP camera (no flash on this 4" model, only the 5" has flash), and GPS, It is basically a smartphoone without the phone.
Warranty is 1 year.
One annoying note: if you accidentaly push the volume control bar simultaneously with the power on button when you initially turn on the unit (easy to do, they are on opposite ends) the unit goes into a scary "download mode" . It's eay to get out, just power the unit completely off then on again.
Read Best Reviews of Samsung 4-Inch Galaxy Player Here
For people who've wanted the capabilities of a smart phone, without the hefty monthly bill, the iPod touch was the best available option. The Galaxy Player provides another alternative. For me the Galaxy Player had the advantage with a removable battery and a mini-SD card slot.I primarily wanted a device that would easily sync with my Outlook calendar for work and my Google calendar for everything else. The Galaxy Player performs this function flawlessly. It easily hooked up to both of my accounts and shows them in a common calendar without any additional set up. It may give you a prompt about not saving items to Samsung's Kies calendar, but this is irrelevant and can be ignored. The Galaxy easily connected with other Google accounts I use such as Gmail and Google+.
Once you set up a wifi connection in the device it will remember it and automatically switch to that connection when it becomes available. This means I can go from home, to work, to a cafe, and it will connect to each network without any input from me. About the only time I'm without a wifi connection is in the car, and I was pleasantly surprised the the maps and driving directions continued to function adequately with no internet.
As a media player the device performs well. It sounds good and I found it easy to use. Videos are crisp and vibrant. The battery allows me to get through a day of regular use without needing to recharge.
The biggest disappointment (and why this isn't a 5 star review) is the camera. The Galaxy 4's camera has a poor auto focus that only seems to work half the time. It needs a fair amount of light to take pictures that are not blurry. The camera controls are also poorly designed when compared to the controls for the rest of the device.
There were two other minor issues as well. I found the auto brightness feature a little irritating and eventually disabled it. The Google Sky Map did not function correctly until I turned off the magnetism adjustment and restarted the app.
Overall I'm very happy with the Galaxy Player strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for wifi-based smart phone alternative.
Want Samsung 4-Inch Galaxy Player Discount?
If you dont like reading or want to see the device here is a video review:Form/Design: The player is very light me and saleswoman both agreed. For its size you would think it would be alot heavier but it is a nice weight and fits comfortably in the hand. Its is easy to use with either 2 hands or one to control the whole screen.
The player looks really sexy haha, people have said it looks like a white iphone from the back at a quick glance. Everyone asks me if i got a new phone and i say no, and they start to tell me i did its kind of funny to watch people fight about it cause noones heard of it
Screen: The screen looks great, and i choose the 4.0 for this reason. the 5.0 has the same resolution so i figured this screen would look better with a higher pixel density. looks the crisp and colors stay true from all viewing angels. the screen is different from the galaxy s but it looks just as good
Performance: Runs smooth, very responsive, i haven't got it to lag at all, and as far as i know it doesnt heat up much either.
Headphones: I love the headphones that came with this, comfortable and good quality.
Camera: 3.2 rear facing camera is surprisingly good quality with a res of 2048x1536. It also records 720p but the audio on the videos isnt too good, and it wont let you record with the vga (front) camera :(
Reception: Everyone thinks its a phone and will continue to think so until you tell them. Then once you say its like an ipod touch they add in "except way better" its pretty amazing how people are drawn to it
Battery: I have had some weird stuff happen with the battery. It should last you all day, but whenever your not using it put it on idle, the display uses 50-60 percent of the battery on the lowest brightness. Also be aware of applications that use WiFi, they will use wifi even if you exit them in the task manger.
Its a galaxy phone without the phone part, and i love it. I prefer this over the ipod touch and would recommend this to anyone looking for an ipod or mp3 and more. i use this for way more then audio and video its a great device
Ok, now for the good news.
Other than the above, this unit has surpassed all my expectations. It is fast, has enough processing power and memory to get the job done and with a $35 microSD card at 32GB this unit now is a 40GB unit. (Eat that Apple!)
Even with the Wifi issues I have been able to use it to view you tube videos, download new android apps, and browse the internet.
The screen is nothing short of amazing. Everyone I show it to cannot believe how crisp and clear it is. The colors are vibrant and deep. It makes the screen of the ipod look like yesterday's news. There really is no comparison.
Also, I have to say it is really nice to be able to load media directly to this unit without rooting or using special software like the crappy itunes garbage software. (I say this from experience because I used itunes for about a week, it is slower than molasses running on win7 with a 2.4Ghz quad core with 3GB Ram) Every movie (.avi, .mp4, .mpeg, etc.) has played on it without a problem. You can load .mp3 files right on it and play them with no problem (which is the main reason I bought this.)
Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention. The sound quality with headphones is incredible. Crisp and clear with plenty of volume to spare. I have noticed that is another downfall of the ipod, it lacks in quality of sound a little, but really lacks in volume. This unit has stereo speakers on it that provide ample volume but of course do not sound nearly as good as headphones. It is nice for games and movies on the go though.
The GPS works nice too. You have to load the maps ahead of time because of the lack of internet access on the road, but as long as you load the maps ahead of time, the navigation works like a charm.
Well, guess I will stop now. My conclusion is this unit crushes the ipod. It is far superior.
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