Samsung has unveiled a 4″ and 5″ version of Galaxy S media players that can be best described as an iPod touch competitor running Android. Apple leveraged the iPhone’s success very well, right from 2007 with the iPod touch. Running the popular iPhone OS (now known as iOS), the iPod touch was a run away hit and is eating up a lot of portable gaming and media players market. An iPod touch does away with expensive GPS, 3G and a few more battery hogging parts, but brings in the iOS love, browser, App Store, battery life and a super light form factor. The iPod touch thus comes through as a mini tablet + media player. What Samsung is doing here is releasing the popular Galaxy S form factor in a 4″ and 5″ version and doing what Apple did. This is indeed very smart.
Samsung runs Android 2.2 aka Froyo on these devices and promises a gingerbread upgrade in future. The 5″ form factor could well have been promoted as a tablet, but Samsung chooses to label it a media player. These Galaxy S players get the Android Market love and access to over 150,000 apps. They run a 1Ghz processor and have 8 / 16GB internal storage along with MicroSD cad slot. Thats a bundle
The difference here is that Samsung still runs GPS on this (and given its 2011, thats needed). But how much does the Galaxy Player score against the iPod touch? Just as must as a Galaxy Phone does against the iPhone 4!