Super Clear! (Samsung Galaxy SL i9003 late review)

It's simply the tone downed version of the Samsung Galaxy S.

More than a year ago, Samsung released the Galaxy SL i9003 Super Clear LCD. It looks identical with the original Galaxy S, the difference is barely noticeable.

The Galaxy SL is just a little bit thicker than the Galaxy S. It retains the major aesthetics of what Apple claims to be an "iPhone-ish" design of the Galaxy S and yes, its body can be messy at times because it's fingerprint magnet.

The hardware of i9003 is where a different story can be told. It runs on a less powerful 1 GHz Cortex-A8, TI OMAP 3630 chipset with a PowerVR SGX530 GPU. On a day-to-day basis, the performance of its 1ghz CPU is almost the same with what other CPUs at the same clock speed can offer.

The 4-inch display was retained save for the Super Clear LCD (SLCD) technology which is somehow inferior to the Super Amoled of the Galaxy S. Some may disagree and would prefer SLCD over Super Amoled and vice versa, so it's also a matter of preference. But having gone both SLCD and Super Amoled, I would choose Super Amoled anytime.

i9003 has a 5 Megapixel rear camera with autofocus (unfortunately without LED flash) and shoots video up to 720p and a VGA front camera. It can take fantastic quality photos with natural lighting and can record a pretty good HD video.

The 1650 mAh battery of the Galaxy SL can certainly deliver. 4GB of internal storage is available while it can be expanded up to 32GB via MicroSD card slot.

The Android experience on Galaxy SL is nothing to write home about. Its last official firmware release is Gingerbread 2.3.6, but that doesn't  mean it lacks the good stuff that Android brings on the table. Its stock UI runs on TouchWiz Launcher that can still be heavily customized using other launchers, apps and widgets. Most applications available on Google Play are compatible with this device while Gingerbread is still one of the most rock stable and reliable Android version out there.

There are custom roms available for this device for those who want to experience Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or even 4.1 Jelly Bean. Custom roms usually come with bugs but it won't spoil the fun.

Samsung Galaxy SL i9003 is still available for brandnew and second hand purchases online.





Alternatives: LG Optimus Black, Samsung Galaxy S, Google Nexus S, Sony Xperia Neo L, HTC Desire C 




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Slim and Bright (LG Optimus Black P970 late review)

LG claims that the Optimus Black (OB) has the brightest display among all smartphones, thanks to its NOVA display, during the time of its release last May 2011. That's a good selling point for people who like to use their phone outdoors. 

The design of the Optimus Black is really sleek and sexy. All plastic body does not mean that it looks cheap, it actually has better design compared to Samsung Galaxy Ace and Galaxy SL. The slim Optimus Black will fit perfectly in your pocket.

On the spec sheet, OB looks good but not an eye-catcher these days as smartphones gone quad-core already. It packs 1 GHz Cortex-A8, TI OMAP 3630 chipset (same chipset with Samsung Galaxy SL) and a PowerVR SGX530 GPU for games. It also has 512MB of RAM good enough for multi-tasking. OB also has 2 GB storage (1 GB user-available) and a microSD card slot expandable up to 32GB.

5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash is capable of 720p video recording. It is good but not really impressive, I've seen better 5MP snappers like Galaxy Ace, SL and Nexus S. Video Recording is also not its strong point, but I'd pick 720p over VGA or 480p any day. The 2-megapixel front camera is nice though, especially if you always like taking pictures of yourself and you're always on Skype.

The 4-inch 480 x 800 pixels NOVA display is fantastic, I'd say it's really bright and performs really well under the sun. Going indoors, the NOVA display still delivers, colors are crisp but not too vibrant. It still outperforms a bunch of Android handsets available today.

Froyo sounds a bit outdated last year, how much more today? Never worry because OB now runs on Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread with the same LG UI. We can expect some performance boost (web browsing, smoother UI) from Gingerbread as the OB does not put on a show on Froyo. Battery life (1500mAh) may also be better considering it runs on 2.3.4, but Android phones usually don't get long battery life.

Sounds like a good phone? So-so. LG has been really lousy when it comes to software updates. They promised Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to this device, but its users are not so optimistic. It may arrive late this year or probably next year, who knows?

Having a future 4.0 update, the LG Optimus Black still sounds like a good bargain though.

The good:

-4-inch NOVA Display

-Sleek, sexy, slim design

-Runs on 2.3.4 Gingerbread

-Future Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 update

The bad:

-LG's reputation on software updates

-Camera could've been better
-LG's customized UI hampers performance



Philippine price as of this post: 13,000-14,000PHP




Alternatives: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, HTC One V, Google Nexus S

Midrange Droid

Android phones are all over the tech news so I was wondering for a great deal of time, when will I have one?

It was 16th of June when I decided to go to SM Cyberzone, It was also the day when I decided to part ways with Nokia.

Don’t get me wrong, Nokia has been good to me for so many years. Nice build quality, durability, reliability, regular software updates it offers.

I didn’t know what I’ve been missing until I got my first Android.

Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830: 13,600Php

I was disappointed when I saw its box; I was expecting a much bigger one. Welcome to the Philippines. It didn’t matter though; all the basic items were included in the package. (Micro usb cable, 2GB memory card with adapter, headset, papers, cd and 2 back covers)

At first, I was having difficulties using it. I was like in an unfamiliar terrain because it was almost nothing like Symbian smartphones that I had.

Galaxy Ace is not cheap and doesn’t look cheap. Its minimalist design still gives elegance to it.

It is compact and good to hold, its back cover (the black one) is slightly rough textured for better grip. It has another back cover included. (White)

Ace is packed with Android 2.2 Froyo infused with Samsung’s own Touchwiz 3.0. It also has a speedy 8ooMhz CPU and Wireless LAN.

User interface is brilliant; it lives up to Android’s reputation of being user-friendly. Customization can be done easily; you can have up to seven panes in your home screen which you can populate with different shortcuts and widgets. Tons of free applications can be easily downloaded at Android Market Place.

Battery life has been its weakest point; I have to recharge it once every 24 hours even if I turn off its 3G signal and set the screen brightness to minimum.

Forgot your digital camera? No problem. Ace is equipped with 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. It produces crisp pictures even in low light situations and an HD like image at daytime.

At the end of the day, I felt proud I got myself a decent Android phone that can do most of what you’d expect on a smartphone. 

Was it worth the cost? 

Definitely.