Review : Samsung Galaxy R I9103

I was looking for a fast,well capable phone having a large display covering almost every feature a smartphone can have. But i was not willing to spend more thn 20k on a phone.My requirements were atleast 1Ghz Procc, 512MB Ram, 4" display & all other usual things. I was considering Galaxy SL & Neo V(skipped O2x coz of smaller screen & less RAM thn SGR) but then price of Galaxy R dropped to 20k and i bought it.
*i40.tinypic.com/ws18k.jpg

Design - I love the design of SGR more thn other galaxy phones out there. Its looks so sleek & shiny from both front and backside. Its much slimmer thn i imagined by seeing its picture earlier on the net. It easily fits in my shirt's pocket although its a bit wider.

Package contents - I got main set, 1650mah battery, charger, data cable, an earphone, a leather pouch (I really loved the pouch, need not to purchase other), No Kies CD(although it can be downloaded)

Memory shown - RAM - 724MB, System storage - 1.97GB, USB storage - 3.75GB(although its printed 8GB on the box... lots of space is system reserved), and a microSD card slot
*i44.tinypic.com/20z3ddy.jpg

Multimedia - It played every audio format it tried. But the stock video player failed to play some 720p video.. I tried flv,avi,mp4 format of different size & resolution. Later i installed Mobo Video Player, MX Video Player, Real player & some codecs with them which almost fulfilled my need. But still searching for a good video player app which can handle every format without any hitch.

Browsing - Browsing is a fun on SGR believe me. I never worried that i'm browsing on a mobile phone. It always felt that i'm on PC having a bit smaller screen. Opening webpages and switching between pages & sites is very convenient. It never lagged, crashed, hanged or whatever till now. (paisa vasool for me bcoz its one of my primary requirement). I tried stock browser as well as Dolphin HD, Opera & Skyfire. Opening multiple webpages doesn't make it operate slow.

Apps & Games - Till now i've installed more than 50 apps on my phone. It handles running multiple apps simultaneously without any lag. I not much into games so hvn't tried any of them yet.

Battery - With medium to heavy usage it easily lasts whole day while on 3G. I have to charge it daily(as in the case of maximum android phones). No complain.

Camera - This 5mp camera is sufficient for all casual needs. but i'm not satisfied with video recorded with it maybe i'm comparing it with my digital camera's video quality thts why.... Although it shoots nice quality pictures. Front camera is the added benefit.

Conclusion - I'm happy with the money i spent. it's totally worth.... Its the best one around 20k.
*i41.tinypic.com/11l7p91.jpg
*i44.tinypic.com/b7ng5k.jpg

If the fellow members have any doubt or query regarding this device which they think i can answer thn pls post them here. i'll be happy to help......

- Abhishek

did u get any sd card with it??

abhidev said:
did u get any sd card with it??

No.... but ordered separately Samsung 16GB card...

Nice. Will get one next month. btw, how much internal memory it has? Flipkart's site shows 8gb.

what about hdmi connectivity?
are you facing any "deep sleep" problems as stated here *forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1385767

Skud said:
Nice. Will get one next month. btw, how much internal memory it has? Flipkart's site shows 8gb.

Actually, its also mentioned over the box(8GB... as u can see in pic) but the actual memory available is
System memory - 2GB approx(for installing apps)
Inbuilt storage - 3.75 GB
& a microSD card slot which cn take upto 32GB
(see the pic in my first post)

reddead said:
what about hdmi connectivity?
are you facing any "deep sleep" problems as stated here [Q] Galaxy R I9103 Deep sleep problem!!! - xda-developers

No... no such 'deep sleep' problem... its working fine

---------

it doesn't have hdmi port... in my case not needed(as of now)

OK, got it.

U

nice review bro
waiting for my unit to arrive :sigh:

Congrats for the phone & excellent review...

Sweet price, last time I checked in sept this phone was selling for 27k.

ofabhishek said:
No.... but ordered separately Samsung 16GB card...

nice!!!! this one looks more slimmer and shiny...

How is screen visibility under direct sunlight?

Are packaged earphones good or you are thinking of purchasing other..

How much ram is used by os? so how much ram is available with no apps(one yo installed) running

clmlbx said:
How is screen visibility under direct sunlight?

Are packaged earphones good or you are thinking of purchasing other..

How much ram is used by os? so how much ram is available with no apps(one yo installed) running

Screen visibility under sunlight is very good (u'll have to increase brightness)

packaged earphones are decent but u may like to buy another pair depends on ur preference... it comes with three S,M &L eartips....

It shows total 724MB of RAM out of which 270-300MB always remains consumed(for background processes of various apps & OS itself)...
lots of RAM remains unused even after running few apps simultaneously

C

how big is it when u hold it in your hand??? is it as big as the s2? can u put it in your pocket and roam around?also if u run only videos on it,how long does it last???can u take it and roam about in local trains???

coolgame said:
how big is it when u hold it in your hand??? is it as big as the s2? can u put it in your pocket and roam around? can u take it and roam about in local trains???

Its similar in size to the Galaxy S2... Definitely can be carried around.. though you may have a look at it yourself b visiting a nearby mall

coolgame said:
also if u run only videos on it,how long does it last???

not sure about the duration of video playback only... I was continously on Wi-fi along with calls and the usual stuff of music playback, downloading apps and it lasted me for a whole day on full charge with some 20% battery still remng.

P.S : Have been using Galaxy R for only a couple of days.. would be providing more feedback in a few days

N

i want to buy a smartphone in the range of 20k to 22k,i'm really confused between optimus black and s.galaxy r.On reading reviews i found that sgr was not a success as not many people bought as the phone is not worth the price...and sgr does not have apps and games in the android market which can utilize its features like geforce graphics and the dual core processor....

please advise me on which phone should i go for....how abt sony ericsson
phones....

i can wait till the end of january 2012......

J

Can u connect the phone to a tv by tv out or micro hdmi

@ofabhishek
do they give the ICS updation..?

V

sulekha.com
giving it for 18989 after cash back

Samsung Galaxy R I9103 now just Rs. 20,489. - Sulekha Offers

is it safe to order from there ???

jassim said:
Can u connect the phone to a tv by tv out or micro hdmi

havn't checked for whether i have the tv-out option or not... and there is no hdmi port in this phone

SeenuGuddu said:
@ofabhishek
do they give the ICS updation..?

official ICS will come next year... maybe around the end of Q1

vips said:
sulekha.com
giving it for 18989 after cash back

Samsung Galaxy R I9103 now just Rs. 20,489. - Sulekha Offers

is it safe to order from there ???

very good price... but can't assure you about safety with sulekha....
an Onine shopping thread is running here... visit there
u might get some help or feedback

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/internet-www/145536-online-shopping-guide-feedback-thread.html

U

got mine too

It shows total 724MB of RAM out of which 270-300MB always remains consumed(for background processes of various apps & OS itself)...
lots of RAM remains unused even after running few apps simultaneously

My Galaxy Y uses just 170-180 MB RAM without any additional apps. Why is ur R using 270 MB ? I've Android 2.3.5 and i felt it same as in my friend's S2

Galaxy S2 and Y feels on 2.3.5 feels same to you?
The extra RAM is eaten up by the infamous Samsung bloatware, ofcourse Galaxy Y does not have so much of bloat(it wont be able to handle half of them)
Solution...root..install titanium back up pro..freeze all those bloatware..done!
Or cutom ROM, if there is any.
Head over to xda for detailed explanation.

C

Hey do u have a scratch guard on????sgr is running on 2.3.4 or 2.3.5?

cdhant said:
Hey do u have a scratch guard on????sgr is running on 2.3.4 or 2.3.5?

yea i've managed to put one which i bought locally

---

its 2.3.5

C

thanx...i vl b getting my sgr tomoro...vry much excited

V

Hi,

Thanks for sharing such useful info and helping people like us to make a infomred choice about tech products. I have received my samsung galaxy R two days back.

Wanted to know how we can customize the applications using internet. I mean i want some app like gmail/whatsapp to be online but not all like pulse etc to continoulsy use the data. I want them to run when i am on wifi. Can somebody plz help me with this. Thanks a Ton in advance.

Regds,
Vikas

vikas.kjs said:
Hi,

Thanks for sharing such useful info and helping people like us to make a infomred choice about tech products. I have received my samsung galaxy R two days back.

Wanted to know how we can customize the applications using internet. I mean i want some app like gmail/whatsapp to be online but not all like pulse etc to continoulsy use the data. I want them to run when i am on wifi. Can somebody plz help me with this. Thanks a Ton in advance.

Regds,
Vikas

Go to Settings -> Accounts and Sync -> Manage account -> choose which account can sync or not....

If you have too many application with background data syncing thn u can keep "Background data" off while on 2g/3g network & switch them on while on wi-fi
i think this is ur condition......

cdhant said:
thanx...i vl b getting my sgr tomoro...vry much excited

u must've got ur SGR... Congrats...!!

share ur experience with it....

Thinking of buying it. How is the camera?

marvelousprashant said:
Thinking of buying it. How is the camera?

Camera of SGR is decent enough in daylight but in low-light conditions where u need to shoot object far from you(such as landscape scenes) it may disappoint you....
but it performs very well for closer subjects using flash

i'll be uploading some camera samples soon to help u further.......

vikas.kjs said:
Hi,

Wanted to know how we can customize the applications using internet. I mean i want some app like gmail/whatsapp to be online but not all like pulse etc to continoulsy use the data. I want them to run when i am on wifi. Can somebody plz help me with this. Thanks a Ton in advance.

Regds,
Vikas

If you are rooted use droidwall.
Works perfect.

How is the build quality. ( Is the body made of plastic or is it metallic)
What about the sound quality through headset. ?

R2K said:
How is the build quality. ( Is the body made of plastic or is it metallic)
What about the sound quality through headset. ?

Build quality is decent till u open the back cover... back cover seems a bit fragile, its all plastic built although its shiny backcover gives u a feeling of metal.
I like its build quality & design too more than other galaxy phones out there...

Sound quality is good... it also depend upon wht earphone u use.. btw i've read somewhr in xda tht it also got the same DAC tht SGS has.... so voodoo may come to this device too..........though not 100% sure now

D

Hi,
Does any one tried tv out feature in this set using a MHL hdmi adapter... Does this phone support tv out...

drpudhi said:
Hi,
Does any one tried tv out feature in this set using a MHL hdmi adapter... Does this phone support tv out...

MHL adapter doesn't work with SGR(checked by some xda members)...... but it does support the USB-OTG feature
i'm gonna try tht soon......

does it fit inside the pocket

P

Hi,

Good to note that you are happy with the performance of you SGR. How do you compare it with S Plus ?

Gollum said:
does it fit inside the pocket

it does

punter said:
Hi,

Good to note that you are happy with the performance of you SGR. How do you compare it with S Plus ?

I havn't used SGS+ so can't compare directly... but i can answer why i chose SGR over SGS+

and thts for the dual-core proccy, 1gb RAM and slight bigger display..... and yea i'm okay with SC-LCD

Hey abhishek I'm thinking to buy samsung galaxy R.Can you tell about it's build quality.Do you need a screen guard/cover to protect it?And do you recommend me buying this phone

C

Sirji,

If i update to ICS as (samsung has announced) then will still be left with 3.75 GB of internal memory?

and

If i get to use so less memory then i guess i wont be able to play any HD games coz those games are almost 4 GB in size?

Should i go in for SGR ??

ofabhishek said:
MHL adapter doesn't work with SGR(checked by some xda members)...... but it does support the USB-OTG feature
i'm gonna try tht soon......

@ ofabhishek: I bought SGR on 31/12 based on your review/recommendations & thanks for the same. It is a wonderful phone, Im just loving it. I bought OTG cable for Rs.250/- SP Road, Bangalore and it is working fine. Connected 4gb pendrive with songs and movies and we can watch movies on the go......... nice feature. :grin:

Tried connecting OTG cable for my cousin's SGS plus, it did not work :shock:

punter said:
Hi,

Good to note that you are happy with the performance of you SGR. How do you compare it with S Plus ?

Im proud owner of SGR for just 12 days, it is very quick in processing as it has dual core. My cousing has S Plus and hence below are few noticed things.
Display: S plus has 4" AMOLED display, colours are bright, good visibility in sun light, comsumes less battery, so longer battery life. SPlus has gorilla display, strong and scrach resistant. SGR has 4.2" SLCD which is bright and equally comparable display quality. SGR does not has gorilla display.

CPU: S plus has 1.4GHz Qualcomm chipset but has 512 RAM, GPU:Andreno. SGR is Dual Core 1Ghz Nvidia Tegra chipset, good for gaming has 1GB RAM. GPU:Geforce. Both are 2GB ROM and 8GB internal storage.

Camera: Both are 5MP 720p video, but SGR has flash. Surprised SPlus has no flash.

Others: Both plays all type of media files. S plus is lighter in weight with all plastic, SGR bit heavy with all pastic, but behind looks like brushed alluminum cover with up market feel. SRG shape is very similar to SG II. S Plus has TV out, SGR does not have, but can connect to TV if TV has DLNA. Also, SGR can be connected to pendrive with OTG cable and watch movies on pendrive. You cannot connect pendrive to S Plus.

Hope this helps you to go for SGR

chinar said:
Sirji,

If i update to ICS as (samsung has announced) then will still be left with 3.75 GB of internal memory?

and

If i get to use so less memory then i guess i wont be able to play any HD games coz those games are almost 4 GB in size?

Should i go in for SGR ??

I donot know how much ICS will eat memory, but for HD Games, you can download it on SD card, Get a 16gb card. Also, SGR can be connected to USB pendrives also via OTG cable.
I recommend to go for SGR, if you have 7K more, then go for SG2 :youwish:

PurusH said:
@ ofabhishek: SPlus has gorilla display, strong and scrach resistant. SGR has 4.2" SLCD which is bright and equally comparable display quality. SGR does not has gorilla display.

No gorilla glass display ? ....So its not scratch resistant?*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_cry.gif

R2K said:
No gorilla glass display ? ....So its not scratch resistant?*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_cry.gif

Galary R does not come with Gorilla Display..... It is not tough as Gorilla Display and I do not know whether it will resist minor scratches. Im planning for a screen guard

@ galaxy r users : what is the battery life that you getting from the Galaxy R when connected via 2G/3G and when not ??

I kinda seem to get very less battery (on an average 8 hrs when connected via 2G and about 9-10 hrs when checking mails intermittently) while doing the normal tasks like call/checking mails/ music(maybe for an hour).I have the display set to just above min. brightness but still feel the battery life is somehow less. Also, another thing I noted was that I usually saw a drop of 30% battery level during the night(1-8 my sleeping time) when there is minimal to no calls as well no 2G connections.

Just wanted to know if other users too facing the same battery life or am i the unlucky one :-|

R2K said:
No gorilla glass display ? ....So its not scratch resistant?*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_cry.gif

it has some scratch resistant display instead of gorilla glass, although its not mentioned on samsung india site...
but its better to get it protected with screenguard..

A

I am looking for some queries regarding the SGR features. Could somebody confirm/deny/answer these
--> At many owebsites the phone has been shown as only 3G(EDGE) enabled and not 3.5 G(HSDPA) which means slower browsing/download speeds when using 3G.(EDGE is an older technology as compared to HSDPA/HSPA)
-> HD Recording available is only 720p
--> This phone has serious battery Issues

Can anybody help me whether the above facts are true or not?

amit3987 said:
@ galaxy r users : what is the battery life that you getting from the Galaxy R when connected via 2G/3G and when not ??

I kinda seem to get very less battery (on an average 8 hrs when connected via 2G and about 9-10 hrs when checking mails intermittently) while doing the normal tasks like call/checking mails/ music(maybe for an hour).I have the display set to just above min. brightness but still feel the battery life is somehow less. Also, another thing I noted was that I usually saw a drop of 30% battery level during the night(1-8 my sleeping time) when there is minimal to no calls as well no 2G connections.

Just wanted to know if other users too facing the same battery life or am i the unlucky one

Good Battery backup on Android phones is a Dream, however on SGR, it seems battery backup is a bit low on moderate usage also.

I do set brightness just above min, have daily calls (2G) on an avg 1-1.5 hrs, internet/emails/FB app (2G) 20-30 minitues, maps 10minutes. Music very little. For all the above usage, I get battery goes down from 100% to 20% in 12-14 hrs, so every day morning and night, I do charge battery. But its ok to compromise on battery for such a great phone for the price of just 21K. SGS2 has AMOLED display which mininimes the power consumption to great extent.

Tips: The white & blue screen display consumes more battery. So better to have green or orange coloured wallpapers, also when you stop activities on your mobile, just click on/off button to close the display.
Also, turn off the vibrator which is power hungry.
Close the background data to off as internet will be active even if you donot use (settings>accounts & sync> background data> off. Try disconnecting data network mode at Off, whenever you use mobile for internet, turn it on. deep press on/off side button>datanetwork mode>press to off or on.
Make a habit to listen music from earphones which is crystal clear and also reduces battery consumption by external speakers.
3G mode consumes lot of battery. If you have 3G, turn on to 3G mode only for videos calls and internet usage. For daily emails, read in 2G mode only as GPRS/EDGE if enought for emails.

Mine is just a week older. Currently on 2G. Except battery life there's little to complain. Yet to experience any lag.

^^
lag?
why would A phone with a dual core 1 Ghz proccy lag?

running too many programs, widgets may be.

Skud said:
Mine is just a week older. Currently on 2G. Except battery life there's little to complain. Yet to experience any lag.

Did you buy online or from a Shop ? Street PRice ? [ Sorry for asking and even more so if you;ve already mentioned it previously but i'm on a very slow connection right now

\]

Online from Letsbuy @ 21k minus some cashback. Local shops were asking 3-4k more.

C

Have you tried installing games from the market which run only on Tegra2 devices or any other high end big game. Because these games
(specially gameloft) makes a directory in the phone memory..Some games require more da 1gb space(eg. back stab)..some require 500-700mb...So i needed to know if you are facing any problem installing such games in your phone as you hv only 2gb for the internal storage...

Have installed one, Real Racing. On running it says it will download another 600MB data. Yet to try out.

chinar said:
If i get to use so less memory then i guess i wont be able to play any HD games coz those games are almost 4 GB in size?

Mobile games of size 4 GB? :shock:

I feel I'm still in nGage's era

S

Would you recommend this over Sony Erricson xperia arc s which i am getting in the same price from ebay US ?? please reply asap as i have to order it by today if needed.

U

all things apart this bugger supports my Skullcandy headphones

G

Hello, I would like to know about the audio quality when connected with headphones. I currently have an in-ear sennheiser headphones. Will that provide good quality. Also please mention what headphones u r using with it right now .. Thanks in advance

umeshtangnu said:
all things apart this bugger supports my Skullcandy headphones

Get rid of those headphones ASAP.
You will be able to appreciate the sound quality of the phone.

U

red dragon said:
Get rid of those headphones ASAP.
You will be able to appreciate the sound quality of the phone.

A

Friends I actually bought one today hurriedly from Sulekha.com for 19K...and after buying I tried to confirm the color of the phone and asked to send the black one...they said that they dont have a control over it and will send any available color

so I want to confirm that is this mobile available in any other color...I mean black or Metallic Gray will do but I certainly will not want any other (brown)...does Brown colored Galaxy R exists ?

U

anjanu said:
Friends I actually bought one today hurriedly from Sulekha.com for 19K...and after buying I tried to confirm the color of the phone and asked to send the black one...they said that they dont have a control over it and will send any available color so I want to confirm that is this mobile available in any other color...I mean black or Metallic Gray will do but I certainly will not want any other (brown)...does Brown colored Galaxy R exists ?

dont think so

S

anjanu said:
Friends I actually bought one today hurriedly from Sulekha.com for 19K...and after buying I tried to confirm the color of the phone and asked to send the black one...they said that they dont have a control over it and will send any available color so I want to confirm that is this mobile available in any other color...I mean black or Metallic Gray will do but I certainly will not want any other (brown)...does Brown colored Galaxy R exists ?

Is your mobile shipped?
I too purchased galaxy r 27th night but status says being processed even now

umeshtangnu said:

I meant,try some decent iem or headphones with it.
Even the cheap chinese M2 is better than the top tier skull candy.

Sent from Galaxy S2

A

srinivasanr.cs said:
Is your mobile shipped?
I too purchased galaxy r 27th night but status says being processed even now

no...the status is still "being processed"...do tell me when the status changes :neutral:

...where exactly is your delivery, mine is in Noida

S

anjanu said:
no...the status is still "being processed"...do tell me when the status changes...where exactly is your delivery, mine is in Noida

I'd surely post the status change.
My delivery is tamilnadu(near chennai).

03-Feb-11
PS: My Order is cancelled due to stock issue :-x

Just got my USB OTG cable.... its working flawlessly......

*i42.tinypic.com/vfd21d.jpg

ofabhishek said:
Just got my USB OTG cable.... its working flawlessly......

How much did you pay for OTG cable, I paid Rs.250/- in Bangalore. It is too much compared to online

PurusH said:
How much did you pay for OTG cable, I paid Rs.250/- in Bangalore. It is too much compared to online

Rs.215 after applying a 150 off coupon from ebay... i found it excellent in quality so......

Definitely a good phone, hard to buy now a days, found one after 15 days search in Delhi .. Paisa vasool , purchased for my brother as gift.

Ricky said:
Definitely a good phone, hard to buy now a days, found one after 15 days search in Delhi .. Paisa vasool , purchased for my brother as gift.

for how much ??

Rs. 22300 with 4 GB sandisc class 4 micro sd card.

N

ofabhishek said:
Rs.215 after applying a 150 off coupon from ebay... i found it excellent in quality so......

does s2's otg work for galaxy r,,,,,,askin coz searched r's otg ,, it's nt available anywhere :-(

ninad galaxy royal said:
does s2's otg work for galaxy r,,,,,,askin coz searched r's otg ,, it's nt available anywhere

yeaa... it should definitely work

yeah, it works.

C

How much time time does it require to full charge Samsung Galaxy R?
My SGR takes a charging time of 3-4 hrs which I think is taking a lot time, so any idea guys?

^^

in my case it takes almost 2hrs

^
This guy is ....... hmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Mods should take a look at his posts really. I don't have a clue why he posts specs like an online store on every post and nothing meaningful at all.

Hm bot?