Hasta La Gadget!

Most high-profile smartphones launch exclusively on one of the major carriers in the U.S. The Samsung Galaxy S, though, will come to market via all of them under different names, different industrial designs, and, in one case, with different input options. And yet, its screen’s quality and size – big but not too big – will certainly make it a contender at all of them.

But the handset will encounter anything but a level playing field in its respective portfolios. The Galaxy S will provide a good lab in which to study how much motivation to push a high-end portfolio device counts versus the muscle of having the largest subscriber bases but stronger handset competition. With the Galaxy S’s lack of exclusivity already dampening some carrier enthusiasm for promoting it heavily, it appears as though the handset’s impact goes down as the number of carrier subscribers goes up. Let’s look at the universe of Galaxy S distribution.

Continue reading Switched On: The Galaxy S paradox

Switched On: The Galaxy S paradox originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On August 20th, at 4:30PM Eastern Standard Time, Samsung will show off the Epic 4G smartphone on their television support website. Why is this of interest to you? Simply because the last two times the company did such a thing — for the Vibrant and Captivate, respectively — these infomercials all but coincided with the phones’ planned release date. We wouldn’t go around making any wagers if we were you, but if someone asks you when we might see a Galaxy S with a physical keyboard, you’ll be able to make a ballpark estimate instead of pulling numbers out of your hat. Don’t know what we’re on about? Read our full preview of the Hummingbird-laden device.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung TV schedule points to Epic 4G in August? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve got to hand it to Samsung with its Galaxy S line. Coordinating the launch of a single family of devices across all four national US carriers (plus a regional or two) is a feat very rarely accomplished, and usually reserved for really unique handsets that those carriers wouldn’t be able to effectively source from anyone else; HTC’s Touch Pro2 is a prime example of that. Add to that the murky issue of exclusivity periods… and, well, yeah, Samsung definitely has reason to be proud here — on the business end of things, anyway. Never mind the awesome contractual maneuvering that undoubtedly took place to make this all happen, though — we all know that it’s the hardware (and software) that really counts. Today we’re looking at the first two models of the American run, the Captivate for AT&T and the Vibrant for T-Mobile; Verizon’s Fascinate and Sprint’s QWERTY- and WiMAX-equipped Epic 4G are still forthcoming, though we expect the Fascinate to be largely similar to these first two.

Beyond their simple appeal as sexy, high-end Android phones, what makes the Captivate and Vibrant especially interesting is that they are actually their respective carriers’ only high-end Android phones at the moment. In other words: if 1GHz processors and high-res AMOLED displays are how you roll, these are basically the only game in town if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile — particularly now that Nexus One sales are winding down. Do they rise to the challenge? Let’s have a look.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S review shootout: Captivate for AT&T and Vibrant for T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S review shootout: Captivate for AT&T and Vibrant for T-Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In response to a question at its press conference today about whether Apple could’ve done anything to avoid its antenna issues with the iPhone 4, Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” helps, but that “no one’s going to buy that.” We’re assuming he’s likely talking about the latest crop of 4-, 4.3- and 5-inch phones that include the Galaxy S series, the EVO 4G, Droid X, and Dell Streak, even going so far as to call them “Hummers” (we take it you don’t ever drive a Hummer, Steve?). Though ripping on the competition is to be expected, perhaps the more interesting takeaway here is that we can’t realistically expect an iPhone much bigger than the 3.5-inch display they use today — presumably that’ll all be reserved for iPad territory going forward. We personally don’t mind something with a little more screen real estate — but hey, maybe humans need to go through a few more cycles of evolutionary hand enlargement before Cupertino’s willing to capitulate.

Apple’s Steve Jobs: ‘no one’s going to buy’ a big phone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A tiny bit of uncertainty has been cleared away thanks to good old Twitter, where T-Mobile has made July 15 (aka, today!) the official launch date for its Galaxy S derivative, the Vibrant. The original Tweet seems to have disappeared into the ether apart from that screenshot above, but T-Mo has reiterated the statement in subsequent missives, telling its followers that the Vibrant will be on sale today. We imagine the typical $199.99 price point will remain unaltered, so all you’ll really need to do now is decide whether this is the Super AMOLED handset for you, or whether you can wait the extra few days until Sprint et al intro their offerings. Decisions, decisions.

[Thanks, Alex]

Update: And it’s now available to buy directly from T-Mobile’s online store [Thanks, Volaris].

Samsung Vibrant launching today, awaits new owners in T-Mobile’s online store originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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