Samsung Galaxy W

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

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.

Launch
First announced in August 2011, the Galaxy W made its market debut in October 2011.

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

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 mm 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. Also featured is a stereo FM radio with RDS along with a 3.5mm audio headphone socket located at the top of the device.

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. 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.
 * Game Hub: An application store for downloading and purchasing games. Samsung has teamed up with partners including Gameloft to offer this service.
 * Other applications: More applications include Samsung Kies, Kies Air, as well as Google Maps with Latitude, Places, Navigation.

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). 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.

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. CNET UK briefly summarized the phone as "chunky" &mdash; in its small size dimensions, as well as "decent" for a lower-priced alternative to Galaxy S II.