My Samsung Galaxy Player 50 Preview

[lebellium]

Here are my first impressions on the Galaxy Player 50, the first one in the "Galaxy Player" range. It replaces the Samsung M1 (The YP-MB2 should have been the successor but from my informations its release has been cancelled)
The one I had in my hand was a sample with a very beta firmware and there was no working wifi network around so I was not able to test many things.

Slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/generat...97856235/show/



So basically it looks like a small (105,5 x 54,2 x 11,1 mm) Galaxy S without the phone features. The design is not ugly but not very original either.

On the front there is a TFT LCD 3,2" WQVGA 400 x 240, one tactile button and 2 touch buttons. On the side there is the power/hold button and the microSD slot. On the back you can see the 2MP camera and the built-in speaker. There is a microUSB connector. And the PC connection mode is MSC/MTP


Nothing special regarding the interface, it's Android 2.1. Contrary to some competitors (Philips GoGear Connect for instance), you can access all Google services with the Wifi B/G/N: Google Chrome + Flash Lite 3.1, Youtube, Google Apps (Gmail, Gtalk, Agenda etc). You can also download applications on the Android Market.
There is also bluetooth 3.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, PBAP). A GPS and a G-Sensor are embedded.
I'm a bit disappointed by the screen. It's just a normal LCD, not Amoled, and the resolution is not high (only 400*240 for 3,2"). I hope there will be a better screen on the future Galaxy Player models








Okay the Galaxy Player is almost like a smartphone but it remains a mp3 player so what's about audio?
It supports many codecs: MP3, M4A (AAC, AAC+, eAAC+), AMR (AMR-NB, AMR-WB), WMA, OGG, WAV, FLAC. So almost everything except APE. Battery life in audio is 25hrs
Nothing special to say about the now playing screen. There is something new though: As you can see on the picture, you can browse by letter now. That's great if you have many songs on the device.
And of course there are the new SoundAlive effects. But there are not in their final version yet. I was not able to test the sound quality (I only had Creative EP630 with me and the environment was noisy)
There is also something really interesting: The microSD card integration is great, finally. Like on Cowon and Sansa DAPs, both internal and external memories merge in the music library. And that should be the case on all future Samsung DAPs with a microSD slot. Now I know it's useful to harass them for a specific feature. I'll continue until we get the gapless playback too^^




The Galaxy Player 50 can play videos without reconversion (MP4, 3GP, AVI (DivX, XviD),WMV, ASF, H.263/H.264). The screen size is enough but as I previously said, you can see the lack of definition.
Battery life in video mode is 5hrs



There is also a RDS FM tuner. The interface is a bit like on the R1 or M1.


And you can take pictures and videos with the 2MP camera. 3,2MP would have been better for flagship product like that.


Conclusion: This is a very interesting PMP for those like me who don't care on the phone features. There are many interesting features. My biggest disappointment is the screen. It will be available in France in 8GB (€199) and 16GB (€249) in November. So with the well intregrated microSD slot, that's potentialy a 48GB DAP Don't ask me for the US release, I don't know

[CrowdAds]

[deadohiosky]

thanks a lot for the pictures and the preview.


i have to admit though, that your kind words could not warm my cold heart for this thing.

battery life is sub par, prize is sub par, display as you said...

all in all, the features are all rather mediocre and can't justify the pricing.
the ipod(3g) does all this... better (apart from codecs) and for a much more reasonable prize, and i say that with a heavy heart.

[lebellium]

Well I guess it depends on your needs and how a "fashion victim" you are.
But for me Android + microSD slot + real video and audio capacities is far better than an iPod Touch. The only advantage of a Touch is its better display.

Until now, the Android vs iOS debate regarded the smartphones. Now, we'll have the same discussions about the PMP

[deadohiosky]

Originally Posted by lebellium

Well I guess it depends on your needs and how a "fashion victim" you are.
But for me Android + microSD slot + real video and audio capacities is far better than an iPod Touch. The only advantage of a Touch is its better display.

Until now, the Android vs iOS debate regarded the smartphones. Now, we'll have the same discussions about the PMP

that's true.

android and micro sd are delectable features.

however, when it comes to pure usability and features, i have to say the ipod wins, the display is better, battery is better, prize is ok.

i don't need a puny 2mp camera, for what it's worth.

imo this is a half assed attempt to compete with the ipod touch on a low level and it does a very poor job. my problem is not so much the features but the prize. $150 for the 8 gb ($200 for 16 gb) version and i would have said, it's kind of an accomplishment, but selling it at $250 (16 gb) shows a lack of market research or failing at correctly interpreting their surveys (or maybe asking the wrong questions).


it makes me wonder about the prize range for the "real" galaxy touch.
knowing samsung's prizing policies (p3 comes to mind) i guess they will sell the 16 gb version for 299 and the 32 gb (if there is any) at 379.

[lebellium]

Regarding the price, you must bear in mind:
-This is the first Android PMP by Samsung. That means new components, new software, no economies of scale. The iPod Touch 1G was also expensive, wasn't it?
-This is the launching price. For sure the price will drop some months later and many webshops sell their products cheaper than the official price.

I think there will be a better Galaxy Player in 2011, hopefully with an Amoled Screen but I'm sure it will be more expensive too.
It's difficult for the brands to keep their price at a reasonable level. We saw it with the new iPod range...

[Bonetwizt]

Now if they can make and Updated P3 with new innards, even if they use its CURRENT screen, add the wifi, the android, the Micro SDHC slot, and Release internal capacities Up to and Over 32 GB (More options always makes me feel warm inside), they may just have the greatest line up this year.

Although i gotta say if the price was lower the lacking screen definition would be forgivable. But, as you said, First android PMP release, first a lot of things for Samsung. also you can always go into a coma for a few years and wait for updates

[electron]

it does look very nice, imo.
I've been waiting for this kind of product from samsung for quite a while, and if they can keep the price low here in the US, I probably will get one.
one quick question, what is the resolution limit on the video playback?

thanks for the preview, dude

[lebellium]

Originally Posted by electron

it does look very nice, imo.
one quick question, what is the resolution limit on the video playback

It's not written in the spec yet as the specifications are not definitive, they may still change.
But I'm quite sure it plays videos up to something like 720*480.

[lyunmet]

Looks like good device running android. I've been looking for a device with wifi and have been considering the new archos device or the new ipod touch. I hope samsung uses a different screen than the ones on the P3. My P3's screen is not responsive after less than a year so I've lost faith in samsung.

[Bonetwizt]

screen and touch sensitivity are two different things. the same LCD screen in two devices has nothing to do with the touch driver's responsiveness.

Im just wondering if its glass and metal or plastic, because it looks plastic.

And also the whole "If it sells well in Europe THEN we will release it in the US" lines i have been hearing is complete crap if they are true.

[RicardoDawkins]

oh..no.
How come Samsung cancelled the YP MB2? Are they dumb or what?
I can't afford the Galaxy phone here in my country.

Anyway...some questions
Can you output games to a TV set like the Galaxy phones ?

Does the music apps has these options ?
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i900...view-478p6.php

[crazycanuck332]

Oh god this looks amazing. Goodbye Sony and hello Samsung

[crazycanuck332]

although the battery life is a bit disappointing

[lestatar]

Lebellium, thanks once again for being our "inside man"....I am sure we all appreciate how great a resource you are...

[sam sung]

So was the screen so bad that it look pixelated or was it just not in HD?

[lebellium]

Originally Posted by lestatar

Lebellium, thanks once again for being our "inside man"....I am sure we all appreciate how great a resource you are...

And regarding the Galaxy Player 50 preview that's even a world exclusivity (I haven't posted the preview on gmp3 yet since our forum is temporarily close)

Originally Posted by sam sung

So was the screen so bad that it look pixelated or was it just not in HD?

I would not say it looks pixelated (or maybe just on some icons on the home page) but well I'm used to the P2/P3's display (43520px/inch) and M1/S9/J3's display (39563pixels/inch) so the Galaxy Player 50 screen definition (30000pixels/inch) looks not enough for me. I guess it may be problematic above all in video playback.

That's just my first impressions of a sample. We'll see when I get the final version at home where I can compare it with a dozen of other DAPs

[rohit3192]

benefits of being an insider.........get free players
strange thing is no company is able to give "serious" competition to Apple(so far).

[lebellium]

Originally Posted by rohit3192

benefits of being an insider.........get free players

Not as simple as that. Even though I admit I did not pay all my DAPs. But I think I really deserve it regarding all I've already done for Samsung...for free
But if you talked about the Galaxy Player 50, I did not get it and I don't know if I'll get it (longer than the review period I mean). Trust me, Samsung do not give $200 DAPs just like that!

strange thing is no company is able to give "serious" competition to Apple(so far).

Regarding the products themselves, of course some companies give serious competition to Apple. That's the case for Cowon or Samsung for example.
But they cannot compete on the advertising and communication field.

[Olley]

Originally Posted by rohit3192

benefits of being an insider.........get free players
strange thing is no company is able to give "serious" competition to Apple(so far).

I throw all that is involved to sell a device into "willing to compete". That includes marketing, advertising, encouraging retailers to carry your line, etc.. Apple is simply too big and focused to take on realistically. They carry a few computers, the iPad, and iPod/iPhones. Samsung is spread much farther/thinner it appears. Cowon might have the focus, but doesn't seem to have the advertising budget to spend in the U.S.. Creative and Sandisk and all the smaller companies diversify enough to not have to rely on MP3 player sales. MS's Zune division is a tiny fraction of everything MicroSoft. I'm not convinced any Korean company "wants" to go toe-to-toe with Apple, even if they had the hardware and budget to. As the Android OS becomes better and broader, it holds the potential to make a better touchscreen player, yet Samsung and Philips seem to have dumbed down the specs on their attempts.

[RicardoDawkins]

As the Android OS becomes better and broader, it holds the potential to make a better touchscreen player, yet Samsung and Philips seem to have dumbed down the specs on their attempts.

exactly. Lest see if the Android based Walkman materializes and if Sony wants to reclaim their lost glory in the portable audio department.