[devrajman]

I thought of starting a new Thread and keep posting my new discoveries and learnings. I hope Spica owners and most of Android owners get some useful info.

I have already posed few things in Andriod Thread, however im reposting it here for completeness.

After almost 7-8 weeks of wait, I finally bought Samsung Spica on Monday! I bought it from a friend of mine. Its only 1.5 months old, scrachless and almost showroom piece with bill/warranty. I got a great bargain as I bought it for 8.5K, Bill says 14K!!!

I used it extensively with Android 1.5 and got it updated to Android 2.1 yesterday from Samsung service center.

Now its got better! Its a great phone for 8.5K (for me) its an awesome deal.

Main advantages are:
-Android OS hence no limit to want you can do with Apps!
-Super fast CPU
-Great Screen
-Screen resolution is enough to use latest apps
-Wi-fi
-GPS
-Push mail
-etc

For me Its the best cellphone i have owned!

Here is a small video. This is my first. Read the desc ;-)

YouTube - Samsung Spica Small Demo

The apps i have are:

GPS:
OruxMaps, RMaps and GPSTrackerLite. All have different features i like. However Oruxmaps and Rmaps support offline maps. Other one uses Google Maps cached.

OruxMaps: Lots of options and very high fundo interface.
RMaps: Very simple, fast, lite. Easy to view. Also you can download maps in your phone itself, no need of PC.
GPSTrackerLite: Has lots of tracker features. Also can tweak GPS performace for speed, orientation, altitude, etc calculation.

Secutiry:
F-Secure : It has remote lock (you can unlock with swipe pattern thingy) and wipe data sending sms to new sim card phone number, Sim card change SMS notification. These are most required features.
Planning for some anti virus, etc solution. It might slow my phone. Hence still thinking

Browser:
Opera and Dolphin Browser HD

Sync: Kies overall however outlook sync for contacts : Android-Sync app and its desktop thingy

Misc (few came with Andriod 2.1 update and few i installed) : DivX VOD, Layar, Voice Search, Android System Info, Navigation (from google), Compass, SvoxClassic (junk), fring, ConveyThisTranslator, MorseCode, LED PartyBoard, SoloLite, xPiano, Dice, aFlashLite, AdobeReader, documetnsToGo, Alarm Clock (as this one has custom snooze time ;-) ), File Manager and AdvancedTaskManager (i guess other one was better however lacked app uninstaller), TTS (text to speech) (it reads out new recieved SMSes), 160by2 (for india free sms), tagreader, orkut, facebook, talk,

There are few apps i couldnt find:

Skype
Good Webserver from phone by which i can do data transfer Phone<->PC using wifi :-D
And list keeping on.... (greed)

My next focus would be on look and feel of the phone....so keep watching!

[Newpunter]

Opera has just the final version of their Opera Mini 5.1 browser. You should get that one as it will save you on the data costs and is also very fast.
I wanted to get this phone but the lack of AMOLED screen turned me off. Planning to get the Wave soon. Congrats on your phone and good luck .

[greenhorn]

8.5k is a superb deal! I got mine for 10.5, and I thought I got a deal!
PS: Install Launcher pro. Its vastly better than the stock samsung application

[devrajman]

Few updates,

I have been installing and uninstalling loads of apps.

I will be writing a short review in some time, However this is my current list of apps installed in my Spica:

Best Apps are:
Andriod System Info
QuickMark
Dolphin Browser HD
Adobe Reader
F-Secure
Unistaller
Bluetooth File Transfer
DroidCam
fring
ZP Dashboard
Opera
Documents TOGO
RMaps
OruxMaps
GPS TrackerLite
jetVD-Youtube
Advanced Task Killer
Droid PhoneControl
File Expert
daily enpense manager
APN on/off

Fun Apps:
Solo Lite
xPiano
Dice
LED party board
Morse Code
Tic Tac Toe
finger bowling
party light
punch'em
pinball
action patato


Guys, let me know if I missed out on a great app!

[girishv]

Hi Dev,

may I know where and how you got spica for 8.5 k ? I am looking for a new mobile and spica at this price seems like a steal

thanks in advance

girish

[pjbiju]

Your review of applications will really be helpful. I have only added a few applications in my phone.

1. Call Confirm - this prevents accidental dialing of numbers
2. Unit converter - Has got many units covered. Quite useful for engineers etc.
3. Color Drips - a game for my son
4. Scientific Calculator
5. AK Notepad - has got the Enter Key and contents can be messaged. (Was missing the Enter key in the Samsung/Android keyboard.

I am particularly interested in the review of offline GPS solutions that you have installed.

-Biju

[joe1980]

I own a Samsung Galaxy since almost a year and I'm waiting for an Android 2.x upgrade from Samsung which never happened. I really repented buying this phone and even more worried when I came to know that Samsung is working on its own Mobile OS, the Bada. Having knowing this I was even sure that Samsung would never concentrate on any OS upgrades. Can you pleaselet me know if the Samsung service center would upgrade my Samsung Galaxy to Android 2.2? I know that there are some unofficial ROM's which when used will void my guarantee / warranty.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by joe1980

I own a Samsung Galaxy since almost a year and I'm waiting for an Android 2.x upgrade from Samsung which never happened. I really repented buying this phone and even more worried when I came to know that Samsung is working on its own Mobile OS, the Bada. Having knowing this I was even sure that Samsung would never concentrate on any OS upgrades. Can you pleaselet me know if the Samsung service center would upgrade my Samsung Galaxy to Android 2.2? I know that there are some unofficial ROM's which when used will void my guarantee / warranty.

Joe, do you have the Samsung Galaxy or Samsung Galaxy Spica? When I bought my Galaxy Spica in May 2010, it came with Android 2.1. Also many people have got their Galaxy Spica phones upgraded to Android 2.1 from Samsung Service centers. I think Android 2.2 is not yet officially available for any phone. There were reports that some phones would have them from June 2010 onwards.

-Biju

[joe1980]

It is Samsung Galaxy i7500 and it is the first Android device from Samsung. Spicia came after that.

[Newpunter]

The Samsung Galaxy will stay with 1.6 and Samsung has confirmed it won't be upgraded to Android 2.1 as it doesn't have the required RAM. We have to remember that this was Samsung's first Droid.

Also, the Nexus One is currently the only phone that has Android 2.2 officially. Galaxy S will soon be upgraded to 2.2 . I don't think Samsung is working on a 2.2 for the Spica either and it will most probably stay with 2.1 .

[joe1980]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

The Samsung Galaxy will stay with 1.6 and Samsung has confirmed it won't be upgraded to Android 2.1 as it doesn't have the required RAM. We have to remember that this was Samsung's first Droid.

Also, the Nexus One is currently the only phone that has Android 2.2 officially. Galaxy S will soon be upgraded to 2.2 . I don't think Samsung is working on a 2.2 for the Spica either and it will most probably stay with 2.1 .

This is sad to know as a owner of the Samsung Galaxy.

[kvish]

Would be great to know where you picked up the spica for 8.5K? I am badly looking for one!

[rnidumolu]

Originally Posted by kvish

Would be great to know where you picked up the spica for 8.5K? I am badly looking for one!

kvish, this one he bought from his friend. He took 1.5 month old one for 8.5K.

[clevermax]

I was comparing few Andriod phones and this one (Spica) seems to be the best out of the lot for that price range.

However, I have a question - Spica's spec shows just 180MB 'storage' and not any RAM whereas HTC Magic shows 288 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM.

Can someone explain this? Does it mean Spica's RAM is just the 'storage' mentioned as 180 MB?

EDIT: Does Spica support 3G networks in India?

[pjbiju]

The Spica supports 3G networks. However it does not have a front-facing video camera to support video calls.

I think the internal storage of Spica is its internal memory.

-Biju