Samsung I9070 Galaxy S Advance review: While-u-wait

Here's one to keep you busy while you wait for the Galaxy S III. One that may help the original Galaxy S finally take the hint and hang up its boots. The Galaxy S Advance is the next in a string of sequels looking to get the best afterburn out of Samsung's top-selling Android flagships.

Samsung I9070 Galaxy S Advance

The Samsung Galaxy S Advance could be spotted at this year's MWC along with other space-fillers like the Wave 3 and the Omnia W. Nothing wrong with either of those but the actual stars of the show were a couple of tablets and a new projector phone. Samsung had a rather underwhelming showing and used the venue to promote the hell out of their Galaxy Note.

Phoneblets and tablets must be higher on Samsung's agenda these days. Or they may've been asked to kindly abstain from major launches to give the Galaxy Nexus a good free run. Whatever the reason, the Galaxy S Advance comes at a dry time for the company in terms of major phone headlines.

Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support 4.0" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution; Scratch-resistant coatingAndroid OS v2.3.6 with TouchWiz 4 launcher1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400 MP GPU, 768MB of RAM 5 MP autofocus camera with a powerful LED flash, face and smile detection 720p HD video recording at 30fps Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n support; DLNA and Wi-Fi hotspotGPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass 8/16GB of inbuilt storage, microSD slot Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor Standard 3.5 mm audio jack microUSB portStereo Bluetooth v3.0 FM radio with RDS Gorilla Glass 1.3MP secondary camera Document editor File manager comes preinstalled No 1080p video recordingNo Super AMOLED Plus, pentile matrix display suffers pixelationNo dedicated camera keymicroSD card under the battery coverLaunches with Gingerbread

OK, life is a series of peaks and troughs and the S Advance finds itself at the low end of the oscillation. But it's by no means in need of being comforted and reassured. This is a rather solid package we're looking at, considering it'll be competing in the midrange. The combination of dual-core and Super AMOLED puts it in the elite company of the Note, the Nexus and the Galaxy S II.

Of course there's fine print in just about every deal. The AMOLED screen of the Galaxy S Advance is the PenTile variety and the WVGA resolution isn't the best there is. The NovaThor U8500 chipset is still to prove its worth and there's no commitment to ICS upgradability as yet.

The Galaxy S Advance at ours

Samsung are known for trying to rule any price segment by sheer numbers and the Galaxy S Advance gives them extra penetration in the upper midrange. What we're not sure about is whether they need all that depth. Having already seen the Galaxy R at work, it seems the S Advance doesn't offer that much more.

They're perhaps meant for different markets. The S Advance for example is expected to debut in Russia before seeing wider availability. Anyway, the S Advance and the Galaxy R look very similar on paper save for the screens and the chipsets. But we won't rush to judgments before we've run our usual benchmarks. No need to tell you they're coming up, but first we'll see about the design and build.

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Samsung Rugby Smart review: Tough INC.

The Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T is bound to bring a massive dash of toughness to the Korean giant's Android ranks. Compliant with MIL-STD-810f military grade standard, the handset will also enable Samsung to compete in yet another smartphone segment of the already saturated U.S. market.

While it is no secret that Samsung's smartphone lineup in the United States is difficult to keep track of due to its sheer size, a rugged device had been a notable omission until the arrival of the subject of today's feature.

Samsung Rugby Smart official photos

Despite being a newcomer to the U.S. market, the Samsung Rugby Smart is hardly a revolution in terms of design or specifications. What Samsung have done essentially, is put the single-core, 1.4GHz Scorpion CPU and Snapdragon chipset of the Galaxy W into the casing of the Galaxy Xcover. Add a 3.7" Super AMOLED screen to the mix and there goes the Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T. Here is the full list of key features for you.

Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support14.4 Mbps HSDPA; 5.76 Mbps HSUPAMIL-STD-810f ruggedness standard compliant1.4GHz Snapdragon CPU; Adreno 205 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset; 512MB RAM4GB storage, microSD card support (up to 32GB)3.7" Super AMOLED display with WVGA (800 x 480) resolution; 252ppi pixel density5 megapixel auto-focus camera; HD (720p) video recording at 30fps, LED flashFront-facing VGA camera for video callsAndroid 2.3.6 Gingerbread with TouchWiz 4.0 launcherRich video format support out of the boxWi-Fi b/g/n; Hot-spot and DLNA connectivityBluetooth 3.0 with A2DPGPS with A-GPS; Digital compassStandard 3.5 mm audio jackAccelerometer and proximity sensorDivX/XviD/X264 video supportOffice document viewer/editorWeb browser with Adobe Flash 11 supportNot exactly a lookerHardware is not exactly at the cutting edgeNo dedicated camera button

As you can notice at its key features above, the Samsung Rugby Smart is not exactly at the cutting edge of the Android realm today. The smartphone surely is not a looker either. Instead, the handset is here to offer its potential users solid functionality, without compromising on toughness.

Samsung Rugby Smart live photos

Traditionally, we are now going to kick things off with an unboxing of the Samsung Rugby Smart, followed by design, build quality, and toughness inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include all of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The Samsung Rugby Smart for AT&T is a US-only phone, so it will probably never get to the shores of the Old Continent. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!

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