#VIBRANTRAGE
It’s the hashtag I tweeted just a couple days after buying a new Samsung Galaxy-S for T-Mobile (also known as the Vibrant.) I was frustrated with the clunky interface, faced with incredible amounts of lag when flipping between screens, and the audio processor was causing tons of snaps, cracks, and popples. Not exactly what I want from a phone that cost me $660 (I always buy phones at full face value.)
Well, I’m ready to erase that moniker, at least partially. I returned the phone to Radio Shack where I initially bought it and picked up a new one from T-Mobile for $110 less after tax. The new phone is snappier and the audio problems are gone. I still have some gripes, though I won’t bore you with another lengthy review. Instead let me give you my hypes, gripes, and tips:
Hypes
- The Galaxy-S really does have the best screen on a smartphone. Yes, it is better than the iPhone 4. The AMOLED screen is very close to the glass, so it feels like you are touching the image. The glass is smooth, and the image is incredibly vivid. There’s no other screen that can produce this level of brightness and contrast while remaining sharp and maintaining perfectly black blacks.
- It IS very fast. Other phones have a 1ghz processor, but they lack the graphics power the Galaxy-S has. Scroll in your browser, or open up The Sims and you’ll see what I mean. On par with the iPhone 4 as far as 3d strength goes.
- It’s tiny and light. I am impressed they fit hardware this powerful into something so tiny. Some people claim it feels cheap. If you want weight to convince you that something is well made, I suggest a cement brick. Meanwhile, I’ll be freaking out every 10 minutes wondering where I lost my phone because I can’t feel it in my pocket.
Gripes
- HOLY HELL WTF DID SAMSUNG DO TO THE UI!? Coming from Nexus 2.2-land where everything is beautiful and makes sense, this thing is a clusterfuck. Why does it look like a children’s toy? Why are they trying so hard to make it look like an iPhone. Android has a LOT of strong suits, don’t ruin it by trying to mimic a competitor. Instead, I suggest manufacturers spend their development time adding new widgets or applications. (Note Android 1.x users, life is much better on the other side of 2.)
- I’m seriously perplexed as to why there is no notification light. I’m constantly turning on the screen to see if I missed anything.
- No flash on the camera. Blah, blah, blah “night mode” blah, blah, blah. Night mode is crap unless you are on a ghost hunt and want to photograph some orbs. My friends are attractive. I want to remember them fully lit.
- I REALLY miss the trackball from my Nexus One. One thing Android does NOT do well is inserting the cursor where you want it; you really need something to help with fine-tuning. If you see me poking my phone, I am not tickling it, I’m just trying to copy some text.
Tips
- Mac users will want to know this: In order to mount the mass storage, you need to turn on USB Debugging under Settings > Applications > Development. After that you’ll get two mounted file systems- one for the built-in 16gb SD card and another for the removable SD.
- Install LauncherPro to undo some of the horrid things Samsung did to Android’s beautiful 2.x GUI. You’ll get back the regular home screen, app drawer, and a few extra features.
- Keep your USB door closed when it isn’t plugged in. The little widget on the inside is fragile and I’ve seen many people break them on other phones. Samsung did a wonderful thing in giving you a hard plastic door. Those rubber stoppers that other manufacturers include are crap.
Let me know your impressions, or ask me a question if you are interested in the Vibrant, or Android. I’ve been through the G1, Cliq, and Nexus prior to this, I can probably help ya 
I am in LOVE.
Robyn visited BBC’s Live Lounge to talk about her album, her upcoming tour with Kelis, and perform a couple songs. The full audio is available on the BBC website (though us Americans may have a hard time tuning in) and below is her cover of Alicia Keys’ “Sleeping With A Broken Heart” as well as her current single “Dancing on my Own.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[Download]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
[Download]
UPDATE: Dancing On My Own link is fixed.
No, he’s not literally covering up a man named Alejandro, he’s singing Lady Gaga’s song Alenjandro. This is easily one of the best Lady Gaga covers that I’ve seen. I know it’s meant as comedy, but I really do enjoy the more theatrical, broadway-esque form that the song takes on.
[via omg blog]
Once upon a time I loved Apple, then I couldn’t stand them, then they embraced unix and I loved them again, and now I’m starting to really dislike them again.
The trouble isn’t that they don’t make products that people find useful, the fact that Apple’s market cap recently surpassed that of Microsoft would suggest quite the opposite. Actually the reason is they are becoming increasingly more like the Office and Windows giant.
I agree fully with Jobs’s notion that HTML 5 and open standards are the future of computing, especially on mobile devices. I’m immersed in the world of development and design and trust me when I say there are few things that anyone in my line of work would enjoy more than never having to consider cross platform compatibility again. Open platforms are beneficial to all involved: end users have a wider range of choice in devices; creators spend more time making great products and less time working around incompatibility problems; and platform developers, knowing the next big thing is a click away, work to make their implementation the most desirable to all parties involved. This isn’t some new idea, it’s the same model that has made the United States one of history’s greatest and most successful countries.
My disagreement lies in the closed platform that Apple has built with their iPhone OS. Apple’s customers (perhaps unwittingly through lock-in contracts) pay between $500 and $700 for their mobile device, and yet they are consistently thwarted in attempts to use the hardware the way they choose. From the App Store lockdown that keeps people from having access to applications like Google Voice and Gay New York 101, to preventing users from installing other OSes on the phone, Apple has blocked users at every turn from doing things that they want to do with a device that the user technically owns.
While I respect Apple’s decision to create an experience that is easy to use, well designed, and (mostly) devoid of poorly designed or malicious applications; I can’t say that I agree with the way they’ve implemented it or in how they pompously tell their customers what is best. I’m a firm believer that a good product can stand on it’s own, and doesn’t need a closed marketplace to survive. Hey Apple, what are you afraid of?
Footnote: The majority of this was written using a drop in replacement keyboard (Swype) on an open source build of the Android operating system that I installed on my Google Nexus One. Forgive me for any spelling/grammar errors, but I think this came out pretty good for something written on a train… I’ll get around to editing it when I’m not in the middle of work.
Maybe it’s the constant evolution of my mind and feelings about the world, but my senses have felt unusually awake to the changing of seasons this year. When I’m not wearing headphones, I still find my feet moving to a strong beat. How is it that in 25 years of living – I never noticed the vibrancy of spring until now? Am I the only one?