The logic behind Samsung's Galaxy Player 5.0 seems fairly straightforward. You take Samsung's tailored version of the Android 2.3 smartphone operating system, put it on a pocket-size device with a 5-inch screen, and you should have an appealing alternative to Apple's popular iPod Touch.
Putting aside the fact that this device is arriving about four years too late to be a meaningful competitor to the iPod Touch, the first glaring flaw in Samsung's plan is the Galaxy Player 5.0's $269 price tag. Any device like this priced over $199 has to compete ... Expand full review
The logic behind Samsung's Galaxy Player 5.0 seems fairly straightforward. You take Samsung's tailored version of the Android 2.3 smartphone operating system, put it on a pocket-size device with a 5-inch screen, and you should have an appealing alternative to Apple's popular iPod Touch.
Putting aside the fact that this device is arriving about four years too late to be a meaningful competitor to the iPod Touch, the first glaring flaw in Samsung's plan is the Galaxy Player 5.0's $269 price tag. Any device like this priced over $199 has to compete not only with the iPod Touch, but with the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, and a slew of discounted 7-inch tablets.
Does Samsung offer some killer feature or an eye-catching design to help it stand out from the growing crowd of sub-$300 Android devices? Frankly, no. It's not a bad product, though, and if you still suspect it might be the perfect match for your particular needs, please read on.
Features
The Galaxy Player 5.0 may not be my cup of tea, but it does offer a few features that you won't find on most of its competition.
First off, let's take the iPod Touch out of the equation and assume that you've found your way to this review because of some deep-seeded aversion to Apple products that acts as a cornerstone of your identity. I get it. With the growing number of Android phone users out there, clearly you're not alone.
So let's look at the rest of the competition. Compared with a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, the Galaxy Player offers additional features such as front and rear cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, and support for Google's suite of official mobile apps, including Gmail, Google Talk, and the Android Market. If you're someone who's already invested heavily in Android Market apps, it makes sense that you'd want a compatible device that can run them. The Kindle and the Nook won't (easily) run apps downloaded from Android Market.
That said, the kind of user who's already heavily invested in Android Market is bound to be the kind of person who already has an Android phone with the same (or better) photo and navigation capabilities and a persistent connection to the Internet. I can think of no reason why you would throw $269 at a Galaxy Player 5.0 if you already had an Android smartphone. The extra screen real estate is negligible compared with the payoff of spending the same or less on a 7-inch tablet.
If you're thinking of picking one up to entertain a kid or placate a teenager who'd rather have a proper smartphone, the Galaxy Player will get the job done, but it may provide more than you bargained for.
As a parent myself, I get a little uneasy around the idea of apps potentially tracking the whereabouts of my kid using the built-in GPS. You can decline to use these features, but with no way to lock them out, there's no stopping your child from enabling location services when you're not around. I'm also concerned about my kid having an unfiltered connection to the Internet. I think we can all admit that the World Wide Web is the greatest repository of pornography mankind has ever invented. Call me naive, call me prudish, but I think Apple got it right with the set of parental controls and feature lockouts that have been included in iOS from its inception.
Design
OK, so the Samsung Galaxy Player probably isn't for Android smartphone fans, its price is too high for cheapskates, and it's arguably an inappropriate gift for kids--so who's left? Well, not design snobs.
Measuring nearly half an inch thick and backed with the kind of glossy white plastic used on the original Galaxy Tab 7, the Galaxy Player 5 lacks the kind of fit and finish found on Samsung's modern smartphones and tablets. It feels like a 2010 Samsung design that was slow to make it on to the market--an idea that makes sense considering the device was unveiled in January of 2011 during CES. For my money, the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet offers a superior design, not to mention a larger screen.
Audio performance
Well, what about audio purists? Given the Galaxy Player's emphasis on media playback, surely Samsung has put in extra effort to make it sound great, right? Nope.
I remember the era when Samsung's portable media players would routinely dominate CNET's roundups of best-sounding music players. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Player seems to be descended from the company's Android phone division and not its legacy of high-quality music players. The end result sounds fine by most standards, but careful listening will uncover little washes of background hiss when you engage or pause the music player, or type with the onscreen keyboard. The volume also doesn't get very loud, if you're looking to power a proper pair of over-ear headphones. These issues with volume level and hiss aren't a big deal for casual listening, especially if you're just using the included in-ear headphones. But if you're a stickler for audio quality who would usually turn up your nose at the cell phone music experience, the Galaxy Player 5.0 is beneath you.
Video performance
The Galaxy Player's big, bright screen offers excellent viewing angles and responds well to touch. But as big as the 5-inch screen may be, its resolution maxes out at 800x480 pixels. The pixel density is somewhat grainy compared with the more tightly packed 960x640-pixel resolution of an iPod Touch. On the plus side, the Galaxy Player handles a dizzying selection of video formats, including DIVX, XVID, MPEG4, and WMV. Streaming video from Netflix and YouTube works well, but still suffers from graininess.
In terms of video recording quality, the rear camera is capable of capturing footage at a standard-definition 720x480-pixel resolution. Still photo resolution goes up to 2,048x1,536, or 3.2 megapixels. In either case, the results won't blow you away. Not to beat a dead horse, but the 720p camcorder quality on the iPod Touch runs rings around the Galaxy Player.
Battery and system performance
Samsung rates the Galaxy Player 5.0 at 8 hours of video playback and 60 hours of audio playback. We'll update this review with battery test results from CNET Labs once testing is complete.
In terms of system performance, Samsung is using a single-core 1GHz processor to get the job done, which isn't quite up to the standards Samsung has set with its dual-core smartphones. It works, though, and feels very much like a shrunken version of 2010's Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.
Onboard storage is listed as 8GB, but the storage available to the user is closer to 5GB. Expect to invest in a microSD card if you want to load up a substantial music and video collection.
Final thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 is a tough sell. If you're looking for a fun, pocketable, kid-friendly media player with a glut of games and apps, the $199 iPod Touch is a slam dunk. If you have an axe to grind with Apple, 7-inch tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet offer more media bang for your buck.
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