Samsung Galaxy 5 i5503: Cheap Android Phone with Android OS 2.1 Eclair
I was very happy to learn that Samsung Philippines has introduced their cheapest Android phone to our country, the Galaxy 5 i5503. This new Galaxy 5 i5503 Android phone is a Samsung Corby look-alike and ships with Android OS 2.1 (Eclair)and features a real capacitive touchscreen display. Samsung’s official branch here announced that this phone’s suggested retail price is 10,980 pesos which is a lot higher than the Samsung Galaxy 5 i5503’s selling price of $199 in India. The price disparity upsets me, $199 is only equivalent to around 9,200 pesos with our current peso-dollar rate!
Despite my misgivings about the higher-than-expected price tag, I would like to praise the Galaxy 5 i5503 like the Samsung Galaxy S i9000. It’s a real smartphone running a full-featured Android OS 2.1 behind Samsung’s Touchwiz 3.0 User Interface. The Korean manufacturer is really serious about beating Nokia whose latest C-line of budget smartphones are still stuck in the Symbian OS. The future of mobile computing is in the hands of Google’s Android and Samsung is smart enough to join the bandwagon. To think that they are also shipping this one with Android OS 2.1, it beats buying the pricey. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 that’s still stuck on Android 1.6 OS.
Samsung has released its cheapest Android phone yet in the Galaxy 5 i5503
Selling cheap Android phone models is helping Samsung overtake Nokia as the world’s biggest cellphone maker. The release of the Galaxy 5 i5503 proves it is possible to make a high-quality Android phone without burning the wallets of buyers. Just like the previous Samsung Spica i5700, this small-ish smartphone gets all the necessary features you would need in an Android handset. The capacitive touchscreen is rather small at 2.8-inches but the display’s sensitivity is a pleasure to use. Other cheap Android phones like those coming from HTC and LG are still using resistive screens to save cost. Samsung’s decision to incorporate a capacitive display wins my heart and other people will soon choose the Samsung Galaxy 5 i5530 over competitors and so we’re giving it a good review right from the start.
Aside from having a real good touch screen display and compact design, the Galaxy 5 i5503 also boasts the following features and technical specs:
- 600 MHz processor
- 2.8” QVGA TFT capacitive @ 240×320 pixels
- up to 16GB via microSD (1GB included)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- DLNA connectivity
- 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
- Bluetooth 2.1
- 2MP FF w/o LED Flash
- 170MB internal memory
- A-GPS
- 1200maH Li-On battery
The 600 Mhz processor should make it fast enough for gaming. There are now lots of free games available at the Android Market but do take note that the i5503 has a rather small screen. Samsung had to cut production cost on this phone to make it budget-friendly and thus the small display and a rather weak 2megapixel camera sensor. They did not even include an LED flash to save money. The phone’s body is also made of plastic but it still feels solid enough. The inclusion of DLNA connectivity on this phone is rather suprising. You can use this phone to stream your music to other DLNA-compliant TV or audio system at home! Buy this phone if you are in the market for a cheap second Android phone. It’s perfect for gifting to your kids or old aunts and grandparents. This phone is pre-installed with Swype Text-Input Software app for easy typing of email, SMS, IM, and tweets!
Comments
18 Comments/Reviews on “Samsung Galaxy 5 i5503: Cheap Android Phone with Android OS 2.1 Eclair”
Leave a Reply / Review of “Samsung Galaxy 5 i5503: Cheap Android Phone with Android OS 2.1 Eclair”
Admin's Notice to Readers: Please note that we do not allow comments that contain profanity, harsh personal attacks against the writer/s, contact numbers (cell phone, landline) or any form of advertisements. We will definitely remove them. Keep your comments courteous and intelligent even if they do not agree with some contents/claims we publish in this site. Thank you!
Hi , I am using Galaxy 5 (I5503) its very good mobile. Very low price & many good application. I like very much android os.
Same time I want to share what i have faced problem, some time its switched off & on automatically.
@Ramesh,
i too face the same problem.
@kajal,
i too face the same problem.
Hi,
I’m using samsung galaxy i5503. android os 2.1 rocks, but battery efficiency is low.
Sometimes mobile switches ON /OFF Automatically. Pls find the solution, and give me the feedback.
Can i use samsung i5503 galaxy 5 as modem??? i mean can i connect to internet with my laptop?
wanna ask coz planning to get galaxy 5.. if the android games working in this unit is sufficiently abundant? like if i go to freeandroidware/games wil most of these games work? where do you find games for galaxy 5 that are android…. whats about applications, do all android apps works with galaxy 5… thx … please email me… thx to all will help…. please email me at fcheng2001(at)yahoo.com
i got problem in my galaxy i5503 it is locked and too many pattern attempts appers in the screen i cannot access in the system please help me to unlock
i too got a problem it switches off on its own & it does switch on automatically every time the applications should be allowed to be stored in the sd card.
For last two months I have been facing lot of problems with my new Samsung GT-i5503, I Have asked many times local BSNL officials, Local Samsung service center, Rediffmail support, and Chennai Samsung customer support, but no use, here I am giving details.
1) I could not set up my Rediffmail address, no option in phone to set “Incoming server”& “Outgoing server” port Numbers”.
2) Kies showing as mobile connected, but showing only contacts file, not showing any files of music, photos and videos, could not add file or folder to device, so how to transfer these file between mobile to PC?
3)I have Installed “Dotnet software” but could not connect internet with my laptop through my mobile, what kind setting required?
I am frustrated with this mobile, very cheap mobiles also giving better performance than this Mobile.
Hi.. I bought samsung galaxy 5 gt i5503 in january of this year.. The day when i bought it switches off automatically switches on itself from tat day onwards still today i face that problem why it will be happening so like tat can any one suggest me pls n wat steps to be taken to solve tat problem pls mail me to. hemanth14311(at)gmail.com. thank u pls mail me
@NAGARAJU,
use kies software to connect i5503. phone option to connect net and sd card option to exchange data.
@hema,
you have to download task killer app from android market and allow settings to auto kill frequency set up as per your use. this problem is bcoz of many apps. running behind even we exist, its like same as pc/laptop
Hi this is again previous one.now my problem is when am trying to open some sites in browser suddenly mobile strukked no one key function then i dont know what to do simply i remove battery and again it will work.. Some times when opening some sites automatically mobile switches off and on again automatically why it will be happening so that when am doing browsing pls tell me what should i do. . Mail me to. hemanth14311(at)gmail.com.. Thank u.
i had one but it never did that. but then again i only had it one day before he sea claimed it with a freak wave
@frank, yes ANDROID GAMES WORK PERFECTLY IN MY SAMSUNG GALAXY 5 AND IT SUPPORTS ALL THE ANDROID APPLICATIONS .AND WITH 7.2 MBPS SPEED I CAN SAVE ENOUGH TIME . THE DOWNLOADING SPEED REACHES AROUND 3 MBPS/SEC,. IF U ASK ME I RECOMMENDED YOU TO BUY THIS PHONE.
Hi am using this samsung galaxy 5 i5503 but my problem is it struks and switches off when i am browsing what ever that site is simply it struks and switches off what can i do can any one solve my problem
-Samsung galaxy 5 can’t play all games that you want… Some of the games may require higher resolution screen or more advance processors which are found in the newer models…
-Another thing is that when you install games and apps, it goes to the phone memory instead of automatically installing it into the SD card, that makes me uninstall a specific app when i’m done using it after playing the game or when i’m done using the app.
-There is no updates yet for 2.2 froyo here in the Philippines. But once the update is released, you should rather read some comments first before getting the latest update, because there are lot of bad comments upgrading some samsung models to 2.2.
-But the good thing is, Samsung galaxy 5 is very responsive when navigating through pages compared to Nokia, which is the most used phone here in the Philippines. There is also preinstalled youtube app, marketplace and email app.