Samsung Gallaxy Portal, anyone got one?

V4NT0M

V4NT0M

V4NT0M

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So I've been dancing around the issue in a few posts now but I'm pretty much sold getting shot of my G1 and "upgrading" to a Samsung Galaxy Portal until my contract is up and I can get something better, wondered if anyone else here has one and what experiences you've had with it.

Just want to make sure I'm not going to get it and have some serious issues or find it slow or buggy.

Also wondering about 2.1 on the Portal, is it being rolled out through their sync software yet rather than having to download an image from the net? And if anyone has upgraded has it improved performance at all aside from obvious improvements like the camera app.

Thanks.

Edit: Galaxy*, don't know how that happened. =/
 
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Hello

I have one and I love it, it's my first smartphone though. Currently running 1.5 various stories (more than rumours) of an update to 2.1 within a month (t-mobile).

Fast enough and slick enough for me, actually it's brilliant.
 
at the risk of going ot, what could a smartphone do that the Portal can't?

serious question
 
Slam62 said:
at the risk of going ot, what could a smartphone do that the Portal can't?

serious question
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It is a smartphone IMO.

Begbie said:
Can't see it being an 'upgrade' to the G1? Well not that much.
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Indeed, but it seems the camera is better, faster processor, XVIX/DIVX support, smaller, not creaky like my G1 and 2.1 is coming out soon, whereas it's still not confirmed that G1 will get 2.1.

mortals said:
I was also looking at getting one

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18120400

They look really nice but I'm thinking of getting a desire or a hero atm as the i5700 only seems to have 180mb ROM storage :(
Also only has a 3mp camera :(

The HTC Legend is also looking nice with it's aluminium casing etc but it still seems as expensive as the desire :(
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Thanks for the link, surprised I didn't see the thread. Some nice opinions in there, that photo and other ones I've seen look a lot better than images I get out of my G1.

I'm only really considering it as I'm getting a little bored of my G1 after a year and my contract isn't up for another 6 months at which point I will get a better phone, the i5700 is cheap and something a little different.
 
something to remember when comparing this phone to others, it has a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. Which is a fantastic bit of mobile GFX kit.

It can render ~ 3x as quick as what you'll get in the Desire / N1
 
GeX said:
something to remember when comparing this phone to others, it has a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. Which is a fantastic bit of mobile GFX kit.

It can render ~ 3x as quick as what you'll get in the Desire / N1
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I think you're confusing it with the Galaxy S, there's a few different Galaxies around.
 
I've got an i5700, and despite the lower number i think it's very much an improvement. That and the upgrade to 2.1 has been officially confirmed.
 
How about the free alternative? Root the G1, install the latest Cyanogen build, see how much of an improvement that is. If you're going from stock to his last build, it should be night over day improvement. Worth a try before splashing out on another phone :)

Superewza said:
I've got an i5700, and despite the lower number i think it's very much an improvement. That and the upgrade to 2.1 has been officially confirmed.
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The Hero was confirmed to be getting 2.1 in January, its still on what? 1.5 or 1.6? Never count on getting an upgrade when choosing a phone is always my advice :)
 
griffo_001 said:
How about the free alternative? Root the G1, install the latest Cyanogen build, see how much of an improvement that is. If you're going from stock to his last build, it should be night over day improvement. Worth a try before splashing out on another phone :)
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Well honestly, it's the hardware I'm sick of more than the software, don't get me wrong I love the form factor of the G1, the way it sits in your hand when you flip it open, but the loose, creaky construction and the terrible camera are getting on my nerves, not to mention that it's not really splashing out, with a few of the extras I'll be selling with the G1 I'm pretty sure I'll come out even moving to the Portal.
 
Quoting the first review I've found (Techradar)

it's the Vauxhall Astra of Android - dull but will get you where you need to be.
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Seems about right.

The Cyan build will bring some of the hardware back up to spec, bringing the processor back up to 528MHz from its underclocked stock state etc etc.

Personally I'd hold off and spend the cash you would spend on this on buying yourself out of your contract early and getting a Desire, the difference between a G1 and Desire will be night and day, the difference between the G1 and a Portal.... Won't :p
 
griffo_001 said:
The Hero was confirmed to be getting 2.1 in January, its still on what? 1.5 or 1.6? Never count on getting an upgrade when choosing a phone is always my advice :)
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It's been a while. Unfortunately HTC's policy appears to be that they need to get the Legend into the hands of consumers before they upgrade the now-legacy devices.
 
griffo_001 said:
Personally I'd hold off and spend the cash you would spend on this on buying yourself out of your contract early and getting a Desire, the difference between a G1 and Desire will be night and day, the difference between the G1 and a Portal.... Won't :p
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You might be onto something there I never considered that approach. Will have to figure out how much that will be and then make a decision.
 
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