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].
posted July 15th 2010 4:04AM
@bp1001 No, it won't. Its Samsung's darling for the year, and has variants going to every carrier. They WILL update this phone to FroYo, and more than likely beyond. If they pull a Behold 2, then this will be a huge nightmare for them and will sour everyone from buying their products. So its a safe bet they will continue to support it. and FYI, its friggin' gorgeous!
@RockTripod Samsung said they will update this to Froyo by end of the year and by then Google will have a new version out.. so i think this phone will always be behind. Nexus One seems like a great buy because it will be the 1st phone that gets updated.
@bp1001 The Nexus One is great if you're going to buy a phone unsubsidized, but I think the Galaxy S is the better way to go if you're going to sign a 2-year contract. My understanding is, with most Android phones, you could root it and upgrade it to 2.2 if you really wanted to, right?
@bp1001 Samsung said they will update it early in the next month.
@bp1001 So what if the Nexus is the first to get updated? Samsung WILL update this. You might just have to wait a month or so. As of right now, there's still only one phone that officially has FroYo, and that's the Nexus. If you want updates right away, get that phone. If you have just a sliver of patience, the Galaxy S is an excellent option.
@bp1001 Nexus will always be the first to get the updates because Google makes the ROMs for it themselves. Every other phone has to wait for the manufacturers to build a ROM for it. Or you can just flash a hacked ROM as soon as it becomes available. This phone was rooted before it shipped, so there will almost certainly be a froyo ROM soon, and gingerbread whenever that is released, regardless of what Samsung does.
My baby!!!!!
Going to be picking this up in the coming days!
My upgrade fee says $165 lets hope the website is not lying.
One of my employees just got to work after getting his Galaxy this morning. About 40 people at the T-Mobile location he went to waiting for the doors to open.
Many of us have iPhones, so a side-by-side with a 3G and 3GS suggests the Galaxy is a VERY nice device. It's pre-loaded with Avatar and I gotta say....looks absolutely amazing on the display. Sound is good, although not as loud as I would like. Minor quibble.
It's a little lighter in weight than a 3GS. Applications and phone functions are FAST and nice to watch.
I'm keeping my iPhone 3GS and probably upgrading to a 4, but I see nothing wrong with the Galaxy. I may take a hard look at one before taking another sip of Apple-flavored Kool Aid.
@NinjaNerd56 I would definitely take a good hard look at the Galaxy S (Vibrant or Captivate - I couldn't tell which carrier you're with based on your comment). I have an iPhone 4 now and, honestly... it's an iPhone. I mean, it's a great phone. Tons of apps. Great picture quality. If you want a phone that "just works" (aside from the recent antenna issues) then it doesn't get any better than the iPhone. The thing is, I'm getting bored with the iPhone. Sometimes I like to customize my phone just the way I like it. I like the idea of integrated voice-to-text and text-to-voice. Live wallpapers, while unnecessary, are really cool. The screens on these newer Android phones are awesome, and the Galaxy S with its Super-AMOLED screen is no exception. An Android phone like the Captivate would give me what I want and more, all without having jailbreak my phone. If you're looking to buy an iPhone 4, you'll likely soon see mine on eBay.
How do you have a Galaxy phone/ camera phone with no flash? TMO fail!!
@willielewis2 You're absolutely right. I just ordered one anyway, but lack of a flash is stupid. Especially since the international version has one.
Just picked up this phone a few minutes ago and it is incredible. Ridiculous speed over wifi and still pretty quick over a less than ideal 3g connection.
I dont know which one should I get N1 or this phone... Im really in need of a new phone....
@Dino Same difficulty I was having. I decided to get the Vibrant this weekend because it has better specs, is cheaper unsubsidized, and though it"ll get updates later than the N1, with it being released on every US carrier it will have an active modding community so I'll be able to get gingerbread even if Samsung doesn't want to release it.
Also, the camera, HD camcorder, and TV out were just to good to pass up.
Oh, and the fact that if there is an issue I don't have to send it to google, I can actually go and yell at someone in person. That helps too.
@dissident75
Yeah u right about all of that... The lack of Camera flash just kills it for me and I don't know if Vibrant can be rooted yet... But yeah the specs of vibrant are better than N1... N1 to me looks way sexier than vibrant but performance wise vibrant might be better...
@Dino I've looked at a bunch of samples of the pics all over the net and really the photos are pretty good. I find the led flash to be mostly useless and pics seem to turn out crappier with with it on. They all seem just washed out and the color is off.
Oh and from what I've read the galaxy s has been rooted already and there are even roms floating around already.
I've spent a few days solid doing the research because of my indecision. Hope it helps ya out.
@Dino it was rooted days ago
@dissident75
Awesome thanx for all your help... I guess Galaxy it is...
@Dino I was also disappointed by lack of a flash, but not so disappointed that I didn't order one today. This phone is MUCH faster than the nexus, and a heck of a lot cheaper too, especially if you're on contract.
PS Justification for the "faster" comment - Hummingbird beats snapdragon hands down: http://theunlockr.com/2010/07/07/hummingbird-processor-vs-snapdragon-processor
I'm surprised that T-Mo is doing a mail-in rebate since AT&T isn't. It's only a $50 rebate, but still.
no cam flash no buy
already ordered it
All I have to say is if you get the N1 enjoy NO warranty support from any tmo location and having to ship your phone back to google for any issue that may arise! Fun times! I'm a tier 2 PDA tech (in store pilot in Dallas Texas) I turn n1 users away every week with issue we just don't support! Sucks!
Oh, the phone was awaiting me, all right. I even wore my tapping shoes so that the staff could hear me coming from a mile away (no joke: the Samsung rep saw me walk in the door and didn't even bother selling me on it ... he knew).
The phone is amazing ... the data service is great so far ... 3mbps outdoors is a walk in the park ... I'm getting almost 2mbps indoors in a building where iPhones and EVOs go night-night as soon as they enter past the revolving door.
One concern so far ... the stock (yet heavily Samsung-ified) web browser has quietly quit on me a few times ... it seems it gets overwhelmed and just implodes. I can't wait to download something else from the Market. Also, I didn't think this would phase me but ... no pointing device? I can think of a few apps (including one of my own) where a pointing device was quite handy.
Orderd last night and it has been shipped this morning. Paid full price $500 to get the even more plus plan. Supposed to get 35% cash back from Bing.
Just went to the T mobile store to check out the vibrant. The phone looks goods, feels a bit plasticky but fits well in the hand. Looks a bit like the iphone from far, also the menu is arranged like a iphone. Apart from that the camera without the flash is not a big problem i guess. The UI is smooth. Avatar movie started in no time. All in all a nice phone.
But i dont think it will be a big hit. Thats not the phone's fault but its TMo's fault. I went to the store, when i read online the phone was actually out today. But when i went into the store there were no posters, no seperate section for the new phone. The store still had the mytouch slide in the entrance section. So i went in not many people in the store, i wondered if the online info was wrong. But i found it with other samsung phones in a corner. I was shocked at the way Tmo is handling the best android phone in its line up. A truely sad sight.
@sunilmsahoo So true. Just got my vibrant today, wonderful phone.
There was nothing in the store saying it was in stock. Nothing at all. I am probably the ONLY person today who bought the phone at my tmobile store.
I do love the phone though, I hope samsung and tmobile support it for at least a year.
@sunilmsahoo NO KIDDING!!!! I went in and actually had to ask someone because I couldnt find it. They had it in the middle of the line against the wall. They used to line up the phones in order of price/power or something like that now they just kinda threw it where there was an empty dock and left it. there wasnt even a viewable spec card like the ones around it. They claimed that it was to new for the spec card and they will have one eventually. (not that I needed it of course) but still WTF mate?
@audiogod69
I was asking a sales rep at T-mobile about the lack of in-store advertising for the Galaxy S (while watching the incredible looking Avatar movie on the phone of course ) and he said it was because they don't have enough units in stock to advertise it fully, so it was more of a "soft launch." That makes sense, since Samsung is experiencing a bit of an AMOLED shortage right now.
At least that leaves enough in stock for us geeks to come by and pick it up on launch day.
Just picked mine up this morning. So glad I sold my n1. Amazing.
-from vibrant
EPIC NOW!!!!!!!
so where the hell is the Epic 4g I saw a commerical for Galaxy S Phones it had the Sprint logo and all the others at the bottom
@Tech Dude
I was just wondering the same thing. Apparently nobody really knows except the good ole folks at Sprint and Samsung! And they are not saying anything concrete. Some people say August, September, or even as late as November (That November BS I don't believe, or least hope not). Im hoping for an early August launch - Late July if we are lucky! Epic 4g will be my next phone, Im dropping this mytouch 3g even though its running cyanogenmod froyo.
Sorry so long to respond but TMO is supposed to get a dual core processor HTC qwerty slider Android phone in the fall or holidays. There are more moto phones coming too. The Vibrant seems like a cheap build compared to my N1 so I'm saving my upgrade for something really high end in terms of build and performance. which is easy to wait as my N1 is outstanding.
I doubt August because if TMO version is being released this early why not the Epic 4G?
Went to a T-Mobile store today and they reps said they had a few in stock. I asked why none were on display, and the rep said "it's more of a soft launch, so if you know about it, you can come down and get one. We don't have enough in stock to do full advertising for it yet."
So if you want one and don't want to buy it online, check out your T-Mobile store
Got mine today and it's everything I was hoping for. Feels good in the hand, looks good, and the screen is incredible. It's fast, very fast. Everyone that looks at it starts Avatar and can't believe how good it looks.
Does anyone know if the Galaxy S i9000 is compatible with T-mobile's 3g bands and if it will work alright? The international version is so much better than the T-mobile variant.
Just switched my sim over and all I can say is I love this phone!
I got my Vibrant this morning. Every time i turn it on to play, if it has been longer than five minutes since the last time i used it, it is already on either the contacts screen or the task killer screen. I have no idea why it's doing this or how to make it stop doing this. Has anyone else had this problem?
Just got the Vibrant.....it rawks!!!!!! I swear it has a front facing camera. It is just to the left of the mic on the top. I know they said it was not supposed be in the TMo Galaxy....am I crazy???? Any one else seeing it????? I can't figure out to activate it either.
I went into a tmo store today whipped out my froyo updated n1 and began some side by side testing. Using the web bowser i tried different sites and each and everytime my nex beat it to the page. I wont even get into heavily flash supported sites, on the bbc site the vibrant force closed. I also opened some apps and used the browser again. my nex beat it biiiig time to each site while the vibrant got it there it did it slowly. It is even crashed once. the sreen however was nicer and more , well vibrant. Compared to other phones the vibrant did do a good job and i suspect once 2.2 is applied it will be on par if not better speedwise. Im glad I kept my nexus, it still does most jobs better. I also dont want to go back to 2.1 or have to wait 6 months after the nexus gets ginger bread to get it on the galaxy. just my 2 cents
@Bigmerf The nexus build is so superior. The screen isn't, but the screen is fantastic as it is. I won't upgrade to some plasticky cheap build, and we don't even know if it will supported, etc. I just hope that whatever new superphone TMO drops later this year is raw unskinned Android. I love raw-roid. (Raw-Roid- you heard it here first folks!)
Still lags. Like when sliding over to another part of the home screen. Seems the 3G slide was more liquid. Put the exact same apps on it. Less in fact. Video looks beautiful though. Camera does good without the flash. Kinda want to go to Sprint bc they have this phone but with a keyboard.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Six-New-HTC-Phones-Before-Year-s-End-147783.shtml
http://www.tmonews.com/?s=vanguard&x=0&y=0
So if you can wait....your patience may be greatly rewarded.
and this- http://androidspin.com/2010/07/15/8-5-million-devices-could-be-shipped-by-htc-in-q4/
and before I go to bed, doesn't it just figure that when tmo does put out something with some special specs, it has to look like (not a new iPhone4) but like an outdated iPhone3g.
pretty decent review of the phone here. I had changed my iPhone 3GS for a moto milestone and finally got the Samsung Galaxy S and so far i love it!
Sorry forgot to link the youtube video
pretty decent review of the phone here. I had changed my iPhone 3GS for a moto milestone and finally got the Samsung Galaxy S and so far i love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9PTB5wW3gg
Began order process online at T-Mobile site and the UPGRADE price with rebates was $206.45 with shipping, taxes, and $18 upgrade fee. Called the local store, they have it in stock, but upgrade price would have been over $300 after taxes, etc. They said they can't beat it - can't even come close. Returned home and just ordered online. 7/25 estimated delivery date, but saved $100!