Samsung Galaxy W

Not to be confused with Samsung Galaxy Win.

Samsung Galaxy W (i8150), also known as Samsung Wonder, is an Android smartphone that is a smaller-sized variant of Samsung Galaxy S II.^[1][2]

Samsung Galaxy W

Samsung Galaxy W I8150 displaying the 'homescreen' of TouchWiz 4.0
Manufacturer	Samsung Electronics
Type	Touchscreen smartphone
Series	I Series
First released	2011; 14 years ago (2011)
Successor	Samsung Galaxy S III Mini
Related	Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy R
Compatible networks	GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; 3GUMTS/HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
Dimensions	115.5 mm (4.55 in) H 59.8 mm (2.35 in) W 11.5 mm (0.45 in) D
Weight	110 g (3.9 oz)
Operating system	Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI 4.0
CPU	1.4 GHz single-core Qualcomm Scorpion MSM8255T Snapdragon SoC processor
GPU	Adreno 205 GPU
Memory	512 MB RAM
Storage	4 GB flash memory
Removable storage	microSD (up to 32 GB)
Battery	Li-ion 1500 mA·h
Rear camera	5 Mpx with auto focus, 720p 30 fps HD video recording and stills Single LED flash
Front camera	VGA for video chatting, video recording, and stills
Display	800×480 px, 9.34 cm (3.68 in) at 252 ppi WVGA TFT LCD
Connectivity	3.5 mm TRRS; Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n); Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth 3.0; Micro-USB 2.0; DLNA, GPS;
Data inputs	Multi-touch touch screen, headset controls, GP2A proximity, 3-axis gyroscope, AK8975 magnetometer and AK8975 orientation sensor, BMA222 accelerometer, aGPS, gravity sensor, rotation vector sensor and stereo FM-radio
Model	GT-I8150
Other	Exchange ActiveSync, integrated messaging Social Hub, Readers Hub, Music Hub, and Game Hub

Galaxy W is a less-powerful downgrade compared to Galaxy S II, with specifications comparable to the larger Galaxy R. The device has a 3.68 in (9.34 cm) WVGA capacitive TFT LCD touchscreen with a 480x800 px resolution. The phone also features a 5-megapixel still-image camera that is capable of 720p video capture.

The main differences between Galaxy W and other variants are its single-core CPU (1.4 GHz manufactured by Qualcomm), higher screen pixel density compared to Galaxy S II and Galaxy R, and a slightly different physical design.

Prior to the release of Galaxy S II, there were speculative reports of Samsung's plans for a smaller stripped-down variant, which is a similar case-example to HTC HD Mini existing as a smaller version of HTC HD2.

This phone is to not be confused with Samsung's latest revival of the Samsung Galaxy W Series

Launch

First announced in August 2011, the Galaxy W made its market debut in October 2011.^[1][3]

Hardware

Processor

The device uses a single-core 1.4 GHz Scorpion Qualcomm powered Snapdragon chip along with Adreno 205 for its GPU graphics.^[1]

Memory

The handset has a system memory of 1.07 Gigabytes,1.7 GB of USB Storage and a dedicated 351 Megabytes of RAM.

Display

The phone uses a 93.89-millimetre (3.696 in) WVGA TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen which has a Pixel density (PPI) of '252'. It has a higher pixel density than its high-end counterpart, the S2 which has a pixel density of 217 ppi.

Camera

On the back of the device is a 5-megapixel camera with single LED flash that can record videos in up to a maximum 720p high-definition (HD). There is also a fixed-focus front-facing VGA camera for video calling, taking photos, as well as general video recording.

Connectivity

Galaxy W features industry-standard connectivity, including Bluetooth 3.0, Assisted GPS (AGPS), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, as well as micro-USB connectivity for files transfer and PC charging.^[1] Also featured is a stereo FM radio^[4] with RDS along with a 3.5mm audio headphone socket located at the top of the device.^[5]

Software

Android operating system

The Galaxy W ships with Android 2.3.6 installed.

User interface

The Galaxy W employs the latest proprietary Samsung TouchWiz 4.0 user interface.

Bundled applications

The Galaxy W, like the Galaxy S II, features the inclusion of Samsung's 'Hub' applications for various multimedia use.^[6] Included are:

Social Hub

Integrates popular social networking services like Facebook and Twitter into one place rather than in separate applications.

Readers Hub

Provides the ability to access, read and download online newspapers, e-books and magazines from a worldwide selection.

Music Hub

An application store for downloading and purchasing music on the device. Samsung has teamed up with 7digital to offer this service.^[7]

Game Hub

An application store for downloading and purchasing games. Samsung has teamed up with partners including Gameloft to offer this service.^[7]

Other applications

More applications include Samsung Kies, Kies Air, as well as Google Maps with Latitude, Places, Navigation.^[8]

Media support

The Galaxy W supports various audio formats including MP3, OGG, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WMA, WAV, MID, AC3, IMY, FLAC, XMF audio formats and video formats support for MPEG4, H.264, H.263, WMV, DivX, Xvid, VC-1. Recording & Playback of videos in up to 720p high-definition (HD).

Other variants

The T-Mobile USA variant of Galaxy W is Samsung Exhibit II 4G (SGH-T679).^[9][10] It has a few hardware differences, including a 3 MP rear camera, and a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 CPU. Samsung Exhibit II 4G was rebranded as Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G by a software update on May 30, 2012.^[11]

In 2014, T-Mobile sells an Exhibit version (SGH-599) through Walmart.

Another variant in some markets is Samsung Galaxy S2 Mini (not to be confused with Samsung Galaxy Mini 2).

Reception

Dan Sung, reviewing the Galaxy W device for Pocket-lint.com, had further noted the amount of downgraded features.^[12] CNET UK briefly summarized the phone as "chunky" — in its small size dimensions, as well as "decent" for a lower-priced alternative to Galaxy S II.^[13]