Things I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy Portal for on the 3 network that you may not have thought of
Well courtesy of the lovely folks at ThreeMobileBuzz I’m currently trialling the Samsung Galaxy Portal Android phone and this time, I thought I’d post my brief thoughts on the phone then go into detail about some of the things I’ve been using it for on the 3 network.
The phone uses the latest current version of the Android operating system, 2.1, has a very sharp and responsive touch screen, and, as with all Android phones an on-screen keyboard which takes a little getting used to but once you’ve got the hang of it is really pretty good. The camera is a 3.2 megapixel affair with flash and digital zoom and takes perfectly usable and acceptable photos. The only thing I didn’t really like was the truly awful battery life but I suspect this is the same on most Android phones. Web browsing using the 3 network is, as always, a pleasurable and fast experience. I really liked this phone, so much so, that it’s probably the phone I shall get when my upgrade is due in two weeks time. Rating : 4/5 (1 point off for the battery life)
Right, now on to detail some of the things I’ve been using the Galaxy Portal for during my trial:
Using GPS to check-in on Foursquare
I’m a relative newcomer to services such as Foursquare but have really embraced it while using the Galaxy Portal and during my previous trial of the Nokia E72. For those who don’t know about Foursquare, it’s a cross between a game and a location-based social network. Upon installing the Foursquare Android app, it uses the phone’s GPS to list places nearby (if the venue you’re at is not listed, you can add it manually) and you can then check-in at the venue you’re currently at. If you check-in at a place or venue more times than anyone else you become mayor of that place and you also earn badges for various things. So far in the few weeks I’ve been using it, I’ve become mayor of no less than five places and earned 4 badges! You can also add your friends if they are using it so they can see where you are and vice-versa. I must also add that the GPS on the Galaxy Portal on 3 is very fast and extremely accurate at determining your location. Great fun and a great app.
I’ve also been using the Gowalla, Rummble and Brightkite apps, all are similar to Foursquare.
Using your Galaxy Portal as a travel planner
There are several apps on the Android Market that can be used for planning travel journeys, some of the best I’ve discovered are :
London Tube (Visual IT Ltd) – This provides live London tube running information, a full London tube map and best of all, a full journey planner for London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, the route results it produces are incredibly detailed and informative. An essential app for the regular London Tube user.
Catch That Bus UK – I’ve not yet tried this app as it’s a paid app (£1.79) but will be installing it once I get my own Galaxy Portal very soon. It gives real-time bus departure information for an amazing 370,000 bus stops across the UK and also shows bus stops at your current location (again, using GPS presumably) and also allows you to search using place name or post-code.
National Rail Enquiries – Again this is a paid app (£4.99) so have not yet tried it but will be very soon. It provides information on train fares, a journey planner across the entire UK rail network, directions to stations, real-time delay and platform information at stations and a widget displaying live departures from the station of your choice.
Cab4Me – a free app which uses GPS to list nearby taxi companies and their contact phone numbers, handy if you’re in a strange town/city and need a taxi!
Getting real-time sports scores
There are a number of apps for this but the best I’ve come across for Android is the free SportsTap app, this provides real-time score updates for NFL,MLB,NBA,NHL,College Basketball and Football,Motorsports,Golf and Tennis as well as all the major soccer leagues and the Champions League and Europa League. The information provided is very detailed and refreshes automatically, handy if you’re following a particular match. You can also set favourite teams using the app. The information appears very fast using the Galaxy Portal on the 3 network.
Uploading photos to Twitter or Facebook on the move
The Facebook app is pre-installed on the Galaxy Portal and includes an option to take a photo on the phone’s camera and upload it straight to Facebook. There is no Twitter app pre-installed, however I have been trying out the official Android Twitter app (only available for version 2.1) and Seesmic, both are excellent apps but my personal preference is still Seesmic. Using these Twitter apps you can also take a photo and upload it to Twitter using the photo sharing website of your choice such as TweetPhoto, TwitPic or yFrog. This is a quick and extremely easy process on the Galaxy Portal on 3 and once the photo is attached to your tweet you can also post a tweet describing your photo.
Google Calendar & Gmail
A feature I really like on the Galaxy Portal (and indeed all Android phones) is automatic syncing of your Google Calendar and Gmail accounts. You can enter an event or appointment into Google Calendar either on the web or the pre-installed app and within a few seconds it will be synced on both, very useful. There is also a Google Calendar widget available for the homescreen which displays your next appointment/event.
There is also an excellent Gmail app pre-installed which again features automatic syncing meaning automatic delivery of your e-mails to the phone.
I would however recommend, to conserve the battery life, that you disable the automatic syncing and do a manual sync as and when required as having the automatic sync enabled does run the battery down quicker.
Downloading and streaming podcasts
I’m a keen listener of podcasts and was pleased to see Google have released a free app called Listen which makes it possible to download and listen to podcasts on your phone either using 3G or Wi-Fi, the podcasts download quickly on the 3 network and the sound quality, even over 3G, is excellent. The app is nice looking and easy to use. A paid alternative podcast app is DoggCatcher ($6.99, it’s shown on the Android Market in $) which I shall probably use when getting my Galaxy Portal as it looks to have more features than Listen, however Google Listen is a perfectly usable app if you don’t wish to pay for a podcast app.
Alternative web browsers
Lastly, if you’re not entirely happy with the pre-installed web browser, a number of alternatives are available, the best two, in my opinion are Opera Mini 5 and Skyfire, after lengthy trials of both, I’ve settled upon Skyfire as my browser of choice. It’s very smart and simple to use and a neat touch is the option to display websites either a full desktop, Android or iPhone versions if different versions of that website are available.
Well, that’s mainly what I’ve been using this brilliant Android phone for during my trial, still got another week of it to enjoy yet! Grateful thanks as always go to ThreeMobileBuzz for the loan of the phone, can’t wait to get one of my own in two weeks time!
