Samsung Vibrant Android Phone


  • 3G-enabled, Android 2.1-powered smartphone with 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen display and 16 GB internal memory
  • Pre-loaded with The Sims 3 Collector's Edition, James Cameron's Avatar movie, Kindle for Andoid app, and more
  • 5-megapixel camera with HD video capture; Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity; microSD expansion; Swype keyboard
  • Up to 4 hours of talk time, up to 96 hours (4 days) of standby time; released in July, 2010
  • What's in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, charger, 2 GB microSD memory card, USB cable, wired stereo headset, quick start guide

Amazon.com Product Description
Ideal for those looking to combine mobile entertainment and communication in one device, the Android-powered Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile is pre-loaded with a variety of games and video--including The Sims 3 Collector's Edition (a T-Mobile exclusive) and James Cameron's blockbuster, Avatar. It also comes with the pre-loaded Kindle for Android app--enabling you to search and browse more than 500,000 books--and offers access to MobiTV streaming video. Read More About This Product >>

2comments:

pzhusaid...

Great Hardware. No questions about it. Beautiful screen, really slim body and sexy looks. It has a nice powerful processor that makes it speedy but alas the software is no match for the hardware. I bought this phone after reading good things about Android and hoping that Google will do justice to the hardware but was totally disappointed.


The phone comes with android 2.1 which is a fairly recent version but it still feels pretty old and boring. The phone is capable of displaying beatiful visuals but all that I end up using is the boring default UI and confusing visuals that Samsung decided to put on it. Theere are many annoying things to it. The phone locks up every so often, the programs are organized in a confusing manner. The Phone is littered with a number of crapware that I cannot get rid of etc...


Battery life is another thing that I did not like on this. Now I am not sure if it's Samsung who decided to put this anemic battery in there or its the Android that is eating it up but the phone barely makes it through a day. HTC Touch Pro 2 which was my last phone easily lasted for a couple of days.


Overall this phone gets 2 stars due to its good looking hardware. But nothing for the poor software.
Rating: 2 / 5

settsusaid...

Let's be clear: The screen is AWESOME. Period.


It's almost freakishly thin. (Certainly svelte.) The size and weight makes it almost imperceptible in your pocket.


You get pretty good photos and respectable HD video with notably clean audio. And there's some preloaded fun with Avatar (looking dang good on that screen) and a special edition of Sims 3. It even has some tricks up it's sleeve, like running Google Earth.


Now here's the BIG BUT: It's almost unusable.


Let's start with the buttons: The power/lock button is a joke, especially on such a thin, slippery device. It's barely a pimple (on the "but") - and I don't have stumpy fingers at all. Then, there's the touch sensitive Android function buttons (Home, Menu, Back, Search), which sounds cool except they often just plain refused to respond. It sometimes took 3 or 4 "presses" to get any reaction.


I came to the Vibrant from a Motorola CLIQ, so I'm no stranger to a highly-modified OS. And while Android may not necessarily be described as "elegant", Samsung ruined a completely workable UI, mangling the usability in a sorry attempt to be something it was not *coughiPhone*. (Paged, horizontal menu, huh? THAT'S original...) Oh, and thanks to all the questionable "enhancements", the thing lags all over the place. What's the point of all the power if it chokes just jumping between home screens? (Are you sure there's really a 1GHz processor in there??)


Yes, as you may have heard, the GPS is definitely jacked up. I was lucky if it ever got a lock.


Finally, and here's the biggest "but" of all: The reception absolutely, positively blows. So good luck with using this as an actual phone...


Anyway, I returned it after 2 days and got a myTouch 3G Slide. It's got none of the glamor but completely blows the Vibrant out of the water in everyday use while costing fifty bucks less.
Rating: 2 / 5

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