Samsung Galaxy S review

We review Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone to see if it really is as smart as they come.

Samsung Galaxy S
IT Pro Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S really is a range-topping device, and not just in Samsung’s portfolio either. The screen is easily better than any other smartphone on the market, battery life beats most and it’s speedy too. In fact, when the Android 2.2 update pops up, the handset will be even better. All Samsung needs to do now is jazz up its Touchwiz UI and this will most likely be the best smartphone that ever lived.

There are two basic document editors onboard ThinkFree Office that allows you to access your Microsoft Office documents while on or offline and Write and Go for writing quick notes.

ThinkFree can be linked to a cloud storage service so you can always have access to your documents whether you're on or offline. It's pretty basic, but is handy if you need to quickly peek at any of your documents on the go.

We'd recommend downloading Docs To Go for a fuller editing experience though.

Other apps preinstalled include an iBooks-like app called Aldiko for viewing eBooks and the Layar augmented reality app. They're handy extras, but a whole selection of different eBooks and augmented reality apps are available on the Android Market many of them better too.

The bundled browser displays web pages in their full glory (those without Flash requirements anyway), and multi touch allows you to pinch to zoom into parts of the page.

The browser isn't as intuitive or highly featured like HTC's own browser, but it's fine for viewing web pages and the like.

The Samsung Galaxy S is available with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage. Our review sample had 16GB. There's also a microSD card slot, which is just one of the areas where the Galaxy S beats the iPhone.

You can have up to 48GB of space on the Galaxy S at any one time, but this is limitless if you're willing to swap cards too.

Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.