Even though Samsung had made a slow debut in Google's Android powered range of cell phones, it seems that they are making up the slow start with smart high end gadgets. Adding to the Galaxy brigade, Samsung released its Android phone, Galaxy Lite i5700 aka Spica (Smart tip: Spica is a star part of Virgo constellation) after a gruesome delay. Samsung Galaxy Lite i5700 is the 2nd Android cell phone to hit the stores from Samsung after Samsung Galaxy i7500. Well the code numbers are sure to play tricks, but the phone surely doesn’t. The Spica comes with a tweaked up design, unlike its predecessor. The handset features a navigation button which is diamond shaped, whereas the original Galaxy uses the traditional Samsung shape as seen in Samsung D600.
The launch of the Android version of 2.1 for Spica has turned the handset really into a shining star. The original version of Spica loaded with Android 1.5 limits the user with only three home-screens and no extra functionality such as advanced voice controls and interactive wallpapers. However, these limitations are successfully overcome by the launch of Android 2.1 for Spica.
The handset supports Quad-band GPRS, GSM and EDGE technologies. Apart from this, 3G option is also available in this phone. The HSPDA connection provides a speed of 3.6 Mbps. Under the hood, an 800 MHz CPU drives the cell phone to provide an overall superior performance. However, compared to 1GHz Snapdragon processor nowadays available, the device could have made an improvement. A 3.2 inch capacitive touch-screen welcomes the user with HVGA resolution. Well, the camera and video quality of the cell phone is in par with industry standard cell phones. The auto focus option in the 3.2MP camera is surely a boon for photo shooters on the go. However, for processing a photo and saving them into the memory card does take ages.
Speaking about the bulk, the Galaxy Lite i5700 is slightly larger than its predecessor with a dimension of 115x57x13.2mm. It also happens to be slightly heavier than Samsung Galaxy i7500. The phone has got an 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and A2DP Stereo Bluetooth connection. The Spica also comes with an inbuilt GPS receiver. An accelerometer, which can sense, the rotation angle of the cell phone and manage the auto-rotate is also present. Added features of the handset include a compass, FM radio, equalizer preset and DivX compatibility. The DivX/XviD video player on the device is also impressive to use. A micro USB port is present on the cell phone for charging and transfer of data. Up to 32GB, the micro SD memory slot can be expanded. For head phone connectivity, a standard 3.5mm audio jack is present on this device.
The Samsung Galaxy Lite i5700 comes with an improved 1500mAh battery. Switching to 2G option, will see the phone last for days without recharging. The absence of multi touch, 3D view in the gallery and flash support for the web browser are among the main drawbacks of Spica.