Samsung Galaxy Player 5 quick review

[icwhatudidthere]

Just got one last night. My Atrix was on its last legs, its screen needing to be replaced twice since I got it at release. I decided to switch back to my trusty 3GS but keep Android around via the Galaxy Player 5.

So far my biggest disappointment is the low screen resolution. This is one thing I can't stand about Samsung devices, they throw huge screens on them but saddle them with low resolution. The end result is a screen that's a full inch bigger than my Atrix but actually displays less information. And ebook readers which would be great on a 5" screen are definitely pixelated compared to the Atrix.

Also, app-wise, there's no Hulu and no Whatsapp.

And there seems to be no way to replace the default bottom row apps with anything. Guess it's time to replace the launcher.

Things I like? It's snappy. Surprisingly more snappy than my Atrix. I'm guessing that comes down to the fact that it's running Gingerbread while I never updated my Atrix (long story). There are definitely some situations where you miss the dual core processor though.

Nice to finally have an FM radio again too lol.

While it's lower resolution and much lower density than the Atrix, I do like having the bigger screen for media playback and games.

Overall I'd give it a 4/5, minus a point for the low res screen and partially for the lack of Hulu and Whatsapp, though I know those are more on the app developers than the device.

 

[DataPath]

And there seems to be no way to replace the default bottom row apps with anything. Guess it's time to replace the launcher

You can replace the first two default bottom row apps from the "Applications" grid view. When you're editing the layout there, you can also edit the bottom row app launcher.

 

[bmxracer240]

just got one of these yesterday. I am more than impressed with it! gonna dive deeper into it this weekend and will update.

 

[icwhatudidthere]

Some more hits and misses:

Battery life is incredible! Got close to 2 days on the first charge.

Wish the FM Radio app weren't so barebones. A pause button would've been nice, even an iPod Nano can do that? And it should have RDS support too.

Spotify worked once and now can't seem to go back online again. Not sure if it's just a crappy app (which it sometimes is) or if it's the device.

 

[stanlm2]

Yes, great battery life for games; xplane, sentinel 3, and movies i load on the sd card..
It might be an android version thing, icons don't seem to resize as they should under adw, and go launcher doesn't show up in the market yet.. but as a 2ndary device where i don't care about that, the player 50 has been a very functional big-screen ipod touch for android (big in the sense that it still fits in my pocket of course).

 

[aschuster2]

I was wondering, anyone who has this device or the Galaxy Player 4.0, does it support SIP? I'm working on an application for SIP and need a device and this would be perfect, but I don't want to spend the money on it if it doesn't support SIP. I thought any gingerbread or up device would support it, but my Iconia tablet doesn't, so I wanted to make sure before I bought it.

 

[beantown]

And there seems to be no way to replace the default bottom row apps with anything. Guess it's time to replace the launcher

You can replace the first two default bottom row apps from the "Applications" grid view. When you're editing the layout there, you can also edit the bottom row app launcher.

I tried going to applications > grid view, but as soon as you click on an icon to move it, it automatically brings you back to the home screen. So, unless there is another way, it appears as if the apps which are on the default bottom row can't be changed, unless of course you replace the launcher which I have not tried as of yet.

 

[beantown]

ok so I figured it out, applications>menu button>the apps will now show an outline around them..i did this with the stock launcher..

 

[khavalieer]

This device rocks!

I'm using it with WritePad, Evernote and a Jot Pro stylus as an updated PDA/ note taker.

All the basic apps plus great performance and battery life makes this perfect.

I'm even using Skype and Sling player which are both great!

Khav

 

[1jaxstate1]

Can this device be updated/modded like the phones?

 

[hindiurdu]

Don't have one yet, but I've been looking at the "5" for a bunch of reasons. One is to make a mini music server. I read in the user manual that you can play music from the SD card but what I want to do is connect a big hard drive with a music library using USB, then "stream" the music to another device over the Bluetooth to another device (a DAC) which sends out the analog signal to a HiFi system. Can the Galaxy CPU handle this? Any other reasons this might not work?

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[vferrari]

Don't have one yet, but I've been looking at the "5" for a bunch of reasons. One is to make a mini music server. I read in the user manual that you can play music from the SD card but what I want to do is connect a big hard drive with a music library using USB, then "stream" the music to another device over the Bluetooth to another device (a DAC) which sends out the analog signal to a HiFi system. Can the Galaxy CPU handle this? Any other reasons this might not work?

Thanks in advance everyone.

Likely won't work because the player can't host a USB hard drive. Might work with a wifi hard drive but those are expensive.

 

[blackdogAC]

I have had my SGP 5.0 for a couple of months and I really like it.
This is essentially a bridge product between a smart phone and a tablet.
I believe Samsung missed a marketing opportunity with these devices (the 4.0 version and the 5.0) by not calling them "Micro-Tablets". I like keeping my phone function on a separate no-contract, highly-reliable dumb-phone (old Motorola Razr quad-band on AT&T). So this device does everything else. Essentially it's an android tablet that I can keep on my belt or in my pocket. Skype with front-facing camera, and you can even set up a per-paid minutes account with Skype and do Skype voice to any phone, essentially running the device as s phone on wifi. If you had a google voice number you could send and receive calls via wifi.

Do not believe the criticism of the screen resolution. It is very, very good even though it's not AMOLED. Netfilx and photos look just beautiful. The 5.0 has a 2500 mAh battery that is just great; lasts all day no problem. Add a microSD card up to 32 gigs, and this is one competent and fast little device. Go check it out for yourself at Best Buy. And it's quite a value at around $230. I got mine at BB for $210.

With wifi at work, school, home, friends houses and restaurants...the need for 100% data coverage is not as great as it once was. If you feel you need data connection while in the car, on the bus, at your grandmas...well, this is not going to be your primary device. If you get good access to wifi maybe this is a way to avoid data plans, fees and caps. For me it's a great solution. And a LOT less money than buying an unlocked smartphone.