Samsung Galaxy S Advance

No one could have predicted the appearance of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance. Its identity was so well kept, the tech site that had an hands-on was just as surprised no one else had previously reported on it. Now that we have some specs to match the pictures, it looks like Samsung may have a potential winner on its hands.


It seems like the Korean chaebol has run out of ideas for its naming conventions. The Galaxy S II was the sequel of the original S, so the company had to tack on "Advance" for its refreshed model instead. Expect, perhaps, to see more refreshed Samsung handsets sporting the "Advance" tag, which will be quite a mouthful. It's also a hint of things to come that the company may choose to go with a refresh route for its smartphones.

Upside

Looks-wise, the phone, with its curved glass screen, resembles the Nexus S, while also borrowing the design of the Samsung Galaxy S II. It also looks like the phone has done away with the "chin" found on both models, opting for a svelte appearance.

Unlike the original Galaxy S, the S Advance comes equipped with a dual-core 1GHz processor, which was quite the norm for higher-end smartphones last year. Even then, the smartphone seems targeted at the midrange market, especially with its expected launch price of US$535. and should be quite affordable with the right contract.

Downside

The Galaxy Advance comes with Gingerbread (Android 2.3) at launch, with no mention in the official release of whether it will eventually get an update to the Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) operating system. The Galaxy Advance will also come with TouchWiz and Samsung's suite of Android Apps, which you may dislike, especially if you prefer the stock experience like we do.

The curved glass screen of the S Advance is nice to look at, but we're slightly disappointed the handset did not pack a higher resolution display. Instead, the handset settles for a 4-inch Super AMOLED WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) screen. Of course, adding a higher resolution display will affect its retail price, so perhaps there's an economical reason for this hardware decision.

Outlook

The Gingerbread Android handset will debut in Russia in February, before gradually making its way to other markets such as Asia. With a possible slew of new smartphones being announced at the upcoming Mobile World Congress next month, the Galaxy S Advance may not be as attractive to consumers, especially if they come packing the latest Android OS. We'll see if the lack of ICS will be a deterrent to potential buyers once the smartphone hits retail.