Sure, they’re not likely to impress Apple fans, but Samsung’s actually one of the few companies around that is managing to release products to rival Apple’s iOS devices. The Samsung Galaxy S is a capable smartphone that almost has the luster of the iPhone 4; likewise, the Galaxy Tab is probably the only real competition to the iPad out there in the tablet market.
What about Samsung’s answer to the iPod Touch, though? Meet the Samsung Galaxy Player in this utterly charming little commercial.
Dare I say it? I think it looks awesome. I love my iPod Touch, but the Samsung Galaxy Player is a very, very strong competitor. Running on Android 2.2 FroYo, the Samsung Galaxy Player features a 3.2-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen running at 800 x 480, a 2MP camera, between 8 and 16GB of internal storage and — swoon! — a microSD slot for expansion. There’s also a GPS unit, an FM radio, built-in WiFi and — swoon again! — native DivX support!
Wow. Sure, the iPod Touch has a few legs up on Samsung’s Galaxy Player, but the advantages are actually pretty marginal: the Galaxy’s Super AMOLED display is almost as good as the iPod Touch’s Retina Display, leaving the iPod Touch’s main advantages lie in FaceTime, iOS and the Apple brand. For a lot of people, though, those advantages are going to be obviated by the Galaxy Player’s expandable storage.
I’m impressed. I’d actually consider buying one of these if I wasn’t so heavily invested in Apple’s App Store. The Samsung Galaxy Player isn’t available in the United States yet, but it’s selling in France right now for €200 for the 8GB and €250 for 16GB. I’d expect it to cost the same in dollars when it hits the States… which could possibly happen as soon as this month.
[via Gadget Lab]
