Samsung Galaxy R (GT-I9103) Review

The Samsung Galaxy R is the company’s attempt at making their success story with the Samsung Galaxy Slcd move over to the higher segment. Read on through to understand why we don’t recommend this device.

Build and Hardware

The i9103 is build in traditional samsung fashion, making “plastics feel like metals” look, which makes the device look great and feel great in the hand. But what makes it better is the fact that its styled almost along the lines of the Galaxy S2, which is Samsung’s Flagship. The overall use of materials and build quality is good if not better than the S2.

In terms of Hardware Specs the Galaxy R fails to stand up to serious competition that the S2 gives.

COMPARISON	Samsung Galaxy R I9103	Samsung Galaxy S 2 I9100

Platform
Operating Freq	GSM – 900, 1800	GSM – 850, 900, 1800, 1900; UMTS – 2100
OS	Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)	Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
User Interface	TouchWiz	TouchWiz 4.0
Java
Processor	1 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core	1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core
Graphics	ULP GeForce	Mali-400 MP
Display
Type	Super Clear LCD	Super AMOLED Plus
Size	4.2 Inches	4.27 Inches
Resolution	WVGA, 480 x 800 Pixels	800 x 480 Pixels
Colors	16 M	16 M
Camera
Primary Camera	5 Megapixel	8 Megapixel
Secondary Camera	VGA	2 Megapixel
Flash	LED	LED
Video Recording	1280 x 720	1920 x 1080, 30 fps
HD Recording	HD	HD, Full HD
Other Camera Features	Geo-tagging, Smile Detection, Auto Focus, Image Editor	Auto Focus, Shot Mode, Photo Effects, White Balance, Geo-tagging, Face and Smile Detection
Zoom		Digital Zoom
Dimensions
Size	66 x 125 x 9.5 mm	66.1 x 125.3 x 8.4 mm
Weight	135 g	116 g
Battery
Type	Li-lon, 1650 mAh	1650 mAh
Talktime		18 hrs (2G), 8 hrs (3G)
Standby Time		710 hrs (2G), 610 hrs (3G)
Memory and Storage
Internal	8 GB	16 GB
Expandable Memory Slot	Micro SD, upto 32 GB	Micro SD, upto 32 GB

Display, Camera and Multimedia

The device is after all a good spec’d phone, so expect great performance in terms of the display and sound quality. The display is not as vivid as the one on the S2 simply because of the lack of an AMOLED screen. The speakerphone we found was a bit more organized with its audio quality. 

The device features a 4.2 Inch SLCD which appears to be washed out in front of the high intensity black of the S2′s Amoled display. Although both rank in at the same resolution the S2 has a slightly larger 4.27 inch screen. Watching videos and browsing websites is great in the combination of the internal hardware and external display. The device fares well agains competition like the Optimus 2X , but then again if you can spend a couple thousand and get the S2 why wouldn’t you?

Phone and Battery

So here is the segment where there is an actual improvement. The earpiece is exceptionally clear, and sounds great when on a phone call, the mic pics up your audio without the effect of any breakage and overall network connectivity is robust. 

The device also has a greatly improved battery life over the S2, with a decent talk time of 5-7 hours depending on usage , we were pretty impressed to see that the device delivered upto 24 hours of music playback.

OS and UI

The device runs Android 2.3.5 and atop that is the TouchWiz UI from Samsung, now the interface is the same on the galaxy S2, but somehow it looked really dull on this device, possibly because of color usage and definitely because of the SLCD. the UI also adds a large variety of good widgets which make the daily usage of the phone a wonderful experience. 

Conclusion

The device is a great alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S2, but not at this price range(Available for Rs. 27,000). It offers far less features to justify just a 1.5-2k price gap between the R and the S2. Our recommendation is DON’T BUY THE GALAXY R, instead get the S2 or some similar device from another manufacturer.