Samsung Galaxy S: the legend lives, but only just

The Galaxy S I9000 was launched in the summer of 2010, so it’s 13 years old now. For me, it was the first smartphone apart from the iPhone that was actually so good that I dispensed with classic mobile phones. Taking photos, surfing the internet, playing games. A whole new world opened up for me. Now, using my old phone again, this world remains largely closed to me.

So easy to handle

The change from a phone with buttons and no camera to an Android smartphone with a four-inch Super AMOLED display – yes, Samsung already had that back then – with 800 × 480 pixels and a 5-megapixel camera was seismic. From today’s perspective, the display size should certainly be of interest, particularly for my colleague Martin.

Its small dimensions make the Galaxy S feel good in your hand. I can reach the entire display with one hand without having to strain my fingers. For a moment, I can understand why Martin is so keen on a small smartphone.

Back then, Samsung opted for good plastic. It hasn’t become sticky over the years or lost any of its stability in any other way.

Android’s current gesture controls have become second nature to me. I have to get used to the pressable home button and the back button next to it.

There’s no fingerprint sensor or face recognition. Luckily, I removed the screen lock after I put the Galaxy S aside back then. I can’t remember which unusual pattern I chose to unlock it.

The Galaxy S ran Android 2.2 straight out of the box. It has received updates up to Android 2.3.3, which is still on it today. I’ve occasionally toyed with the idea of trying a custom ROM, but I’ve never managed it. I put up with the Galaxy S for a little over two years. Then, in the summer of 2013, the Nexus 4 was too tempting.

Anyway, back to the Galaxy S. After I find a micro USB cable to charge it, it boots up with no issues. The battery, which I could replace without tools, still lasts a bit. Even more than 24 hours in standby – and with a tiny capacity of 1500 mAh by today’s standards. But I can’t really rely on the battery level displayed on the screen. At some point, it drops from almost completely full to a warning that it’s going to run out soon.

Too old for the internet of 2023

The Galaxy S runs and is usable. It doesn’t seem any slower to me than this year’s cheap and disastrous Nokia C12. But I’m more lenient with the 13-year-old smartphone.

However, the software and the basic technologies behind it prove to be a problem. The Galaxy S is too old and has missed out on some technological developments. It’s locked out. You can’t sign in with a Google account in Gmail or the Play Store. This also means no updates for apps and no new apps. Why? Since September 2021, Google has prevented logins on all devices with versions older than Android 2.3.7.

The YouTube app opens, for example. Then it lets me know that there’s a new version. However, without logging in with my Google account, I can’t access the Play Store to install the update.

Even the browser only leads me to Google. It’s probably the same problem as my colleague David had, who found an albeit unsatisfactory way to access the internet from his Powerbook G4. An internet connection alone doesn’t help with missing certificates and outdated browser technologies.

I did find a working internet service: Google Maps can also be used without signing in. The app is slow, but the maps are up-to-date. You can even see the S-Bahn station that opened at the end of May near our Hamburg office. The design looks outdated, but as a casual user of the map service, I don’t notice any limitations in its range of functions. I can even calculate routes, but I do have to enter the start and destination addresses manually. The Galaxy S’ GPS no longer shows your location. Because of this, you can’t navigate after you’ve calculated a route either.

Two games for fun

At least two games that are still installed are usable. I put out fires in Sprinkle and race around tracks in Reckless Racing. There are only later versions of both games in the Play Store.

They look very pixellated from today’s perspective. But when it comes to putting out fires, I still get ambitious. However, the game concept isn’t enough for real long-term motivation.

Call again

I should also be able to make calls with the Galaxy S without Google services. First, though, I have to beef up my current nano SIM to the first SIM format with two adapters. It takes me two attempts to push it in the right way around.

But nothing happens. The smartphone can’t find the SIM card. There’s no prompt to enter the SIM pin. If I look in the settings, the Galaxy S tells me that there’s no SIM available. When I take the SIM out again, I find that a contact has come off. It looks like I’ve broken something. The small broken piece of metal is still there and was definitely in place before.

Musical time travel

The second card in the phone still offers some entertainment. My partially forgotten MP3s are still stored on the microSD. And the phone’s music player still plays them.

They include many forgotten tracks that haven’t been in my heavy rotation on Spotify in recent years. Back then, I was definitely more into dancehall. I also downloaded «United State of Pop 2010» by DJ Earworm at the time – which is a five-and-a-half-minute musical summary of 2010.

But it doesn’t sound good from the single speaker on the back of the Galaxy S. The mono sound rattles. But I can connect headphones, both via a jack and wirelessly. I’m positively surprised that the Bluetooth 3.0 connection works on the first attempt.

A bad camera doesn’t stop good photographers

Five megapixels in the main camera, no night mode, no HDR and selfies with only 0.3 megapixels. The Galaxy S is a world away from today’s smartphone cameras – and that’s not just due to the wider viewing angle of the current models.

Transferring photos to my computer also proves to be a minor hurdle. Wireless connections are too slow for me or fail because registrations aren’t an option. Luckily, the Galaxy S saves photos on a microSD card and I can get my card reader out of the desk drawer in a flash.

Colour and exposure

With reasonable lighting, photos taken on the Galaxy S look good in terms of colour. However, the low resolution means a noticeably low level of detail.

But there’s not always perfect sunshine: the colourful subject looks washed out in the shade. At the Sternbrücke, the sky is overexposed while the road is underexposed.

Night

«Move along! There’s nothing to see here.» The camera on the Galaxy S doesn’t even manage to find a point to focus on in the dark. It doesn’t have a flash either. That only came later.

Selfie

640 × 480 pixels might still be enough for a mini profile picture, but I’d like to see better colour rendering.

Unfortunately, retro doesn’t always work

The Galaxy S shows me why easy-to-handle smartphones are still cool. However, it’s become largely unusable since Google locked out the old Android version. I can still take photos, listen to music, look around on Google Maps and play two games. However, to be honest, that wasn’t enough for me to replace my current smartphone – the Pixel 7 Pro – for a week.

I wouldn’t have been writing a report on retro tech so much as doing a digital detox. The lack of software support means that the Galaxy S isn’t really suitable for anything else.

But the Galaxy S reminds me of the advances in technology over the past decade. This is easily forgotten if you only compare devices that have a maximum age difference of one year.

Header image: Anna Sandner