Samsung: Korean for Fail

I've just looked up "Samsung" on Wikipedia. They confirmed that Samsung is in fact a company. I checked because I'd started to believe that it was a long running practical joke.

I've just given up attempting to upgrade my Samsung Galaxy S to Android 2.2 (Froyo). I was hoping that Froyo would resolve some of the deficiencies of the SGS such as:

• Periodic jam ups including a few when I was trying to answer a phone call.
• Failure to automatically switch between 3G and Wifi (the work-around is to switch it to airplane mode and back or if that fails, turn the phone off and on again, what fun).
• Popping up an alert (day or night) to tell you that it's finished charging. Please wake me at 3 in the morning to tell me you've finished charging, I'd hate to sleep through that event.
• Requiring debug mode to connect to a computer running any OS other than Windows.

But of course if you run OS X or Linux you're out of luck anyway because it only provides support software for Windows software for essential operations like upgrading the damned thing. Not that it matters because it has such a shonky support software that it's hit and miss whether it will even recognise that a phone is connected at all. I've just given up trying to get it to work for now having read that many users have bricked their phones just attempting to do the manufacturer sanctioned upgrade.

I read reviews before I bought this thing. They raved about it's screen. Yes, the screen is nice. They pointed out how fast the processor was and I got the one with the built-in 16GB SD card. Having read the reviews, my biggest concern was that it didn't have a flash for the camera.

I know better now. It's the little things that make this such a pain to use. Things that must not occur to a reviewer in the short period of time he or she is using it.

Before I had this I had an iPhone 3G. I liked it. The browser was a bit slow compared to modern phones, it didn't have a compass so it wasn't great for navigation but it worked. There was a load of good quality software. I mean sure not everything in the Apple App Store is a gem but have you seen the Android Market? I'll take the curated experience thanks.

When I went to Android because I thought I'd be keeping all of what I had with the Apple and gaining better Google interoperability. It just isn't so. Samsung has made a powerful case for Steve Job's conjecture that you can't guarantee a quality user experience unless you provide the full hardware and software stack.

Is this completely one sided? No. Android's killer feature (compared to the iDevices) is the "back" button. I think that it's more than having a physical button, it's how the OS works but having a consistent way to go back to the previous app is a big thing and I miss it when I borrow my wife's iPad.

The freedom to choose install alternate input methods is also good (but not essential). Apple seem to resist that level of customization. Their "you don't need it" policy at work. Maybe if I'd bought an HTC Desire I'd be feeling better about the whole Android thing but Samsung have left me more than willing to give up some freedom just to get something that works.

What I find amusing is that Samsung sent a free Galaxy S to a few prominent twitterers who complained about the reception problems with the iPhone 4. I can only imagine that it was to make them appreciate how lucky they really were.