74
Samsung Vibrant (SGH-t959)
$199.00
Released July, 2010
The Pros:5MP backside camera with HD video recording (720p @ 30fps). Stunning 4" Super-AMOLED display @ 800 x 480px, takes phone displays to a new level (esp. color, contrast, viewing angles & brightness). Stunning graphics acceleration (PowerVR SGX540 GPU): 90 million triangles/sec (iPhone 3GS: 28 million/sec; Snapdragon Adreno: 22 million/sec).
The Cons:Does not currently support the latest version of Android OS (2.2). No camera flash. No dedicated Camera button.
The Samsung Vibrant (SGH-t959) is T-Mobile USA's high-end Android-based smartphone of the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones. Like the other Galaxy S smartphones (Verizon Fascinate, Sprint Epic 4G, AT&T Captivate), the Vibrant features a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and Android 2.1.
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At the time of its release, the Samsung Hummingbird integrates the most powerful graphics accelerator found in mobile phone processors: Its PowerVR SGX540 processes 28 MPolys/s and 1Gpx/s@200MHz. As a comparison, the iPhone 4 and 3GS use the SGX535 (14 MPolys/s, 1Gpx/s@200MHz) and Motorola's Droid X uses the SGX530 (14 MPolys/s, 500Mpx/s@200MHz). Besides being exclusive to the T-Mobile network, the Samsung Vibrant sports a few unique characteristics from the rest of the Galaxy S phones: a 2GB microSD card preloaded with the movie Avatar and Sims 3 is included with the Vibrant as well as some preloaded apps, namely Amazon Kindle for Android, free 30 days of MobiTV, and Slacker Radio.
The Vibrant's 1GHz Hummingbird processor allows it to handle tough full multitasking, live wallpapers and games with minimal trouble. Its 4-inch Super AMOLED screen ensures optimal viewing from practically any angle as well as vibrant picture in nearly any lighting condition while still going easy on battery life (LCDs draw about 20% to 30% more power than Active Matrix Organic LED displays). Additionally, the Vibrant's 5 megapixel camera allows it to take high-resolution images as well as 720p high definition videos.
Features
- Android 2.1 OS
- Samsung SmartLife/TouchWiz 3.0 Android skin
- 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor
- PowerVR SGX540 (powerful graphics accelerator integrated into Hummingbird processor)
- 5 megapixel camera with 720p recording
- 4-inch Super AMOLED display
- 802.11n WiFi, 3G (HSDPA)
- 16GB of onboard storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD/microSDHC)
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Included microSD card with Avatar and the Sims 3
User Reviews (17)
Pros & Cons
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6
5MP backside camera with HD video recording (720p @ 30fps)
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5
stunning 4" Super-AMOLED display @ 800 x 480px, takes phone displays to a new level (esp. color, contrast, viewing angles & brightness)
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5
stunning graphics acceleration (PowerVR SGX540 GPU): 90 million triangles/sec (iPhone 3GS: 28 million/sec; Snapdragon Adreno: 22 million/sec)
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4
runs a current generation high end 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU by Samsung (Hummingbird)
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4
WiFi (802.11b/g/n) and 3G (HSPA max downlink 7.2 Mbit/s, max uplink 5.76Mbit/s) connectivity
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4
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4
charging/data transfer via standard microUSB port
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4
Atmel maXTouch sensor for multi-touch (high precision, very low power, can detect indefinite number of points on the screen)
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4
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3
supports Bluetooth version 3.0
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3
16GB built-in flash memory (2GB for app installation, 13GB free out of the box for media files etc)
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3
user-removable Li-Ion battery with 1500mAh capacity
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3
one of the first mobile phones to support DivX HD
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3
memory expandable with standard microSD/microSDHC cards
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3
standard 3.5mm headphone jack
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3
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3
comes with the movie Avatar (1.4GB) on included 2GB SD card to show off the phone's graphics performance (can be deleted or moved to different SD card)
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3
3-axis gyroscope plus accelerometer for precise 6-axis sensing (same STMicro chip as on iPhone 4)
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2
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1
bootloader is unlocked & Samsung released their code for the Galaxy S - will make it an excellent phone for hackers and consumers looking for custom ROMs and "unofficial" OS updates
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1
Samsung provides a desktop sync app ("Samsung Kies") - Outlook contact sync, SMS backup, tethering setup, etc.
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1
Corning® Gorilla® glass (environmentally friendly alkali-aluminosilicate thin sheet glass that is both scratch resistant and durable)
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0
runs the latest version of the open source Android OS (2.1)
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4
does not currently support the latest version of Android OS (2.2)
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3
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3
No dedicated Camera button
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3
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no forward-facing camera (international version Galaxy S has 1.3MP front-facing camera)
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2
Samsung has never provided a premium UI / good support for their mobile devices
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1
microUSB and 3.5" audio ports located on top - not optimal for car holders, cradles, etc.
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1
ships with broken GPS receiver right out of the box
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0
extremely glossy glass screen atop the display
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0
no FM transmiter for in car stereo wireless audio
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Comments (6)
dom:
#samsung_vibrant_sgh_t959 There's a fix for the GPS locking issues at intomobile.com. Looks like Spirent's LBS server is corrupted; the instructions after the link change the LBS server and port to Google's own.
A more comprehensive tutorial ("Make The Vibrant Software Not Suck") was posted over at forum.cyanogenmod.com. This is a good read while we're waiting for an official CyanogenMod 6 version for the Vibrant, which I hear is in its alpha stages. It covers:
- changing the default launcher to something less iPhoney
- fix GPS (same as intomobile.com link above)
- rooting the phone & installing a custom recovery
- removing or replacing some potentially unwanted apps
- experimental lag fix
Sep 9, 10
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dom:
#samsung_vibrant_sgh_t959 The Vibrant can be unlocked and used on the AT&T 3G network! The unlock codes are stored on the device in a BAK file, and it is not necessary to root the phone for the unlock operation. Full article and source-link to XDA-developers on
Engadget Aug 23, 10
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dom:
#samsung_vibrant_sgh_t959 Despite the lack of a front-facing camera, camera button, camera flash, and the poor image quality, I still find this one heck of a tempting phone.
If only Samsung were a trustworthy company with bugfixes and updates, I would probably buy it soon. One advantage is that Samsung has made it easily hackable through a completely unlocked bootloader, and they open-sourced their enitre Galaxy S code (opensource.samsung.com -> Mobile -> GT-I9000_OpenSource.zip). This means that if Samsung decides to drop any software support for it, you'll still be able to get updates like Android 2.2 (Froyo) or 3.0 (Gingerbread) via the hacking community.
But I'm more inclined to think that Samsung is viewing this as the cheap exit out of software support and development. They're going to use the hacking community to do what is actually their job. It will be interesting to watch this unfold over the next 6 months....
Jul 16, 10
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Yale:
#samsung_vibrant_sgh_t959 Hey Dom, haha - that was funny to see. We've just added this new feature that auto-populates the related products based on price and release date. Any manual adds will remove an equal amount of automatic ones up to 15. I'm not sure if manually removing a poor auto choice will work, or if it will be re-added, maybe the system should be tweaked if that doesn't work. Also, the parameters the system is based on are editable, so I'm sure it will be improved as we figure out a good balance.
Jul 1, 10
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dom:
#samsung_vibrant_sgh_t959 I understand that the Galaxy S phones are different enough to want to have their own pages.
But let's not junk up the "Related" section with stuff like the Samsung i780. That really doesn't belong here.
Jul 1, 10
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