My Samsung Galaxy Player 50 Preview

[Alwyn]

Trustedreviews has posted a review, don't seem to like the player that much though..

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/re...y-Player-50/p1

[CrowdAds]

[Joe_Linux]

Originally Posted by Alwyn

Trustedreviews has posted a review, don't seem to like the player that much though..

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/re...y-Player-50/p1

Very interesting. I'm now totally on stand-by until I hear more.

[bbaasje]

I wonder if the sd card content is integrated in the menu's or that you have to select a special folder, like the creative zen players.

[bbaasje]

Originally Posted by mrrtmrrt

Unfortunately the Galaxy Player 50 doesn't pose much competition to the iPod Touch.

Spec-wise this Samsung PMP falls far short of the iPod Touch:

- smaller screen (3.2″ vs 3.5″ on the iPod Touch)
- lower res screen (400×240 vs 960×640 only 16% the number of pixels!)
- lower storage capacity (8 or 16GB built-in and 32Gb expansion extra but still less than the 64GB maximum of the iPod Touch)
- No 720P HD video recording
- No front camera for video conferencing
- It’s almost twice as fat – 11.1mm thick vs 7.2mm
- Poor battery life:
- 25hrs vs 40hrs for audio playback
- 5hrs vs 7hrs for video playback

In addition, the biggest audience for the iPod Touch is the games market but if you want games, then an Android device is not a good choice.

Here are the stats for numbers of big name game titles released by some of the largest mobile Game publishers:

* Gameloft – 136 games for iOS vs 12 games for Android
* Capcom Mobile – 27 games for iOS vs 4 games for Android
* EA – 74 games for iOS vs 0 for Android
* Ngmoco – 42 games for iOS vs 0 for Android
* Pangea – 24 games for iOS vs 0 for Android
* Popcap – 5 for iOS vs 0 for Android

And total number of games:
iOS = 38,000 vs Android = 13,000

Although Popcap and EA have said they will start porting some games to Android soon, this disparity is not likely to change much with iOS developers making 50x the income ($1 billion) compared to Android ($21 million) over a similar timeframe and with piracy ranging from 50-97% on Android.

In addition to the severely limited choice in cases available for Android devices like the Samsung, only iPod Touch users can choose from thousands of different HiFi systems, clock radios, home automation interfaces, insulin pumps(!), car hands-free kits, FM transmitters, GPS amplifiers, 70% of cars with steering wheel control integration, etc etc etc all of which have iPod/iPhone docks and are designed to work with iOS devices.

With all of these disadvantages, this Samsung PMP is only about $30 cheaper than the iPod Touch.

All things considered, the Galaxy Player 50 doesn’t really hold a candle to the iPod Touch.

-Mart

I agree with Mart, not a fan of the ipod but it's better in my opinion

[lebellium]

I should get the Galaxy Player 50 on Saturday for a feedback/review

[lebellium]

The first Samsung android-powered PMP is now in my hands for a full review
Don't hesitate to ask me what you want to know about this device and I'll try to answer here or in the review.
Here are the first pictures. Enjoy

[meetooman]

Thank you for this preview gallery lebellium.
Only one question: At the same price as the 8GB M1 from Samsung, does all the Android stuff is worth the lost of AMOLED and 30% of screen estate for a 16:9 movie?
Should we consider it as a media player or an GPS enhanced traveler tool (for maps and restaurants)?

[The DarkSide]

I have 3 questions sir:

First, does the microSD card fully integrate into the players media library?

Second, does the startup scan take forever (like it does w/the D3)?
I just reread the beginning of the thred, & I see the sd card integration is excellent!!!

Third, how good do games play - like Angry Birds?

Thanks in advance Iebellium!!!

[lebellium]

Originally Posted by meetooman

Thank you for this preview gallery lebellium.
Only one question: At the same price as the 8GB M1 from Samsung, does all the Android stuff is worth the lost of AMOLED and 30% of screen estate for a 16:9 movie?
Should we consider it as a media player or an GPS enhanced traveler tool (for maps and restaurants)?

Good question. What I miss the most on this G50 is a better screen. The poor resolution is a problem for videos playback and overall for web surfing (font rendering etc...). I'm not sure it is relevant to compare a connected device with a non-connected one. But in my opinion the M1 is better for the videos and music playback. I wouldn't say it is a "GPS enhanced traveler tool" either due to the lack of 3G. With the Wifi connection you are limited to home and some public hotspots....And the GPS reception doesn't seem to be very sensible...
On Amazon UK it is much cheaper than a M1 though (£130)

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

I have 3 questions sir:

First, does the microSD card fully integrate into the players media library?

Second, does the startup scan take forever (like it does w/the D3)?
I just reread the beginning of the thred, & I see the sd card integration is excellent!!!

Third, how good do games play - like Angry Birds?

Thanks in advance Iebellium!!!

Indeed, the microSD integration is good.
The first startup scan is very long (about 1min for my 8GB microSD card) but you can use the device during the scan. The following scans are very quick. Actually the scan only takes forever when you (remove and) insert a microSD card.

Some applications won't set up for an unknown reason (shazam for example). Angry birds plays fine but some text doesn't display properly (blank text) for an unknown reason too.
Paper Toss works too but it is not fully smooth, I don't know if that comes from the game itself or from the G50 performances.

Globally sometimes the interface is very smooth and sometimes it is a bit laggy, I don't really know why. Maybe it is due to the processor or maybe to Android 2.1 + Touchwizz

Oh and I have to say contrary to the other reviews already published on the web, I have a fully functional commercial version. I don't see the point of reviewing a prototype and say in conclusion "Android Market doesn't work"...

[Booga-Booga]

So from what you've been saying, the GPS is no good? The big question I really have is, is it worth the money? Or would it be better to wait for the Samsung YP-MB2 ?

[lebellium]

I have only used it for one day so I can't give you a conclusion yet and I only tried the GPS indoor close to my window for the moment. Maybe outdoor in the street it works better.
And it depends on the price. At £130 on Amazon UK it may be worth it, we'll see when my review is done. But at €200 in France it's probably not worth it.

Of course the MB2 is better as basically it's just a Galaxy S without the phone feature but it won't be released in Europe before several months and will probably be more expensive so...

[zivija]

Thanx for review!

I have Q1 and looking forward to this one (or YP-GB1). I want to know is there a way to browse folders, or everything depends on tags? How do You rate web browsing experience, are the web sites readable? How Youtube videos look?

Thanx a lot!!!

[Harhumph]

Too bad Samsung could not "bring it" with this device. My Vibrant stomps on this player with its specs. I hope the next Ipod Touch out has at least a 4" screen or even a 5" screen. I hate Apple but no one else out there knows how to compete. I want gapless playback, 128gb of space with no moving parts (ie: flash), I would pay $500 for that. Right now my Vibrant has 48gb of space which is good just not great. I hope the new Ipod Touch is thicker too, the current one is too tiny, and I refuse to shell out 400 for the 64gb model when later this year a new one will be out soon. Better yet if Tmobile merges with ATT then maybe I will look into the Iphone 5 if it has 64gb memory. I love my Vibrant, but eventually 48gb will not be enough for my music collection, for now it is. I should create my own company because the specs I desire would "rule them all"!

[RagingDaemon]

Originally Posted by Harhumph

Too bad Samsung could not "bring it" with this device. My Vibrant stomps on this player with its specs. I hope the next Ipod Touch out has at least a 4" screen or even a 5" screen. I hate Apple but no one else out there knows how to compete. I want gapless playback, 128gb of space with no moving parts (ie: flash), I would pay $500 for that. Right now my Vibrant has 48gb of space which is good just not great. I hope the new Ipod Touch is thicker too, the current one is too tiny, and I refuse to shell out 400 for the 64gb model when later this year a new one will be out soon. Better yet if Tmobile merges with ATT then maybe I will look into the Iphone 5 if it has 64gb memory. I love my Vibrant, but eventually 48gb will not be enough for my music collection, for now it is. I should create my own company because the specs I desire would "rule them all"!

What microsd card are you using?
where did you get it?

I want to get my Vibrant to the 48GB range...16GB is way too paltry.

[Harhumph]

Originally Posted by RagingDaemon

What microsd card are you using?
where did you get it?

I want to get my Vibrant to the 48GB range...16GB is way too paltry.

Go to amazon and search for microsdhc 32gb, you will find SanDisk cards for between 60 - 80 which is not bad for that size. I have had mine for over 6 months and still going strong, back then they were 100 - 120, so they are slowly dropping in price. Enjoy.

[sandro87]

lebellium I see that you have a lot of players, how does this compare in terms of audio quality to sansa clip+, creative xfi and cowon?
Is the audio player the standard android one?
Thank you

[AquaRegia]

I posted a thread in the main MP3 player section, but nobody seems to want to reply. I want a PMP which runs the Android market. This player is currently top of my list, but the reviews seem to be universally bad. Are there any other PMPs for around this price which run the android market? If not, this is the one I will be getting.

[lebellium]

I don't understand the point of buying a shitty player just to save some bucks. This player sucks, I guarantee you. I did not even have the motivation to finish the review!
Spend more money for a YP-G1 or buy a good non-Android player! Don't sacrifice quality just to save a few dozens of dollars. That applies for any device, not only for a mp3 player.
Samsung themselves know it's a shitty player and no Android upgrade is scheduled. It will remain in v 2.1 forever.
The G1 and G70 will be upgraded to v2.3 and new firmwares are released regularly (no firmware for the G50 unless I report to them some bugs but I don't have any G50 so you see...high level support -_-)
Only Samsung sells Android mp3 players with official Android Market access as far as I know.

[AquaRegia]

Hmmm... alright. I was originally going to get one without android and then I saw the Archos 28 and that put ideas in my head. Strictly speaking, £130 is already exceeding my budget just a little (I have about £100 of vouchers from an insurance company after the house got burgled and my beloved Samsung T10 was taken ).

Few questions. Firstly, is there anything wrong with the actual MP3 playing on this device? I'm thinking of it that I could get an MP4 player that would do the music, videos, photos and all the other stuff for less than the vouchers will pay for, but the subsidising £30 extra allows me to use some fancy Android features even if I can't do them as well as if i'd paid £80 more than the vouchers.
Secondly, how restricting are, say, ZiiO space, the Archos market and the Cowon equivalent? And, regarding forum etiquette, would I be better off posting in the Archos and Creative Zen sections asking that last part?

Finally, could you clarify the crazy naming system for the Samsung machines? :P

[$ony$tyle]

I have got a galaxy two (the phone), and I am after a android mp3 for a relative. I have come across samsung galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 at amazon china, pchome taiwan and some other hongkong online retail like yes asia. all of their samsung galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 come with android froyo 2.2 and they have also indicated that these samsung galaxy 4.0 and 5.0 will come with gingerbread 2.3 update as well. I have read samsung office sites in china, hongkong and taiwan, they have also indicated that it comes with froyo 2.2 and gingerbread 2.3 will come soon.

it seems the player is smooth but its ram as indicated by samsung is 384mb. it's close to samsung galaxy s phone (512mb ram). anyway those sites above can provide international shipping. i can't get this player from where i live, so i probably will go for import one. it seems samsung is doing well in asia.