Samsung Galaxy W I8150 preview: First look

Samsung Galaxy W I8150 360-degree spin

At 115.5 x 59.8 x 11.5 mm the Galaxy W is still reasonably compact and pocket-friendly. The phone weighs a good 110 grams.

Design and construction

Some might be tired already of the countless Galaxy S facelifts. We guess the Samsung Galaxy W I8150 is a distant relative too but the styling is different - in a good way. At 3.7-inches the screen is big but easy to manage and the textured rear makes it look solid - bordering on rough.

Samsung i8150 Galaxy W • Galaxy W next to an iPhone 4

The Galaxy W's 3.7” screen is an LCD unit (S-LCD according to some sources, but no word from Samsung yet). It won’t get you the deepest of blacks, but it’s a decent screen with nice viewing angles.

The downside is the reflective and not particularly bright display is difficult to use outdoors on a bright sunny day. And the fingerprint prone surface doesn’t help either.

Moving on, a video-call camera is right next to the earpiece above the display. There are also a couple of hidden sensors there: one for proximity and another one for ambient lighting.

The video-call camera on top

Underneath the screen, we find two capacitive keys surrounding the edged, metallic Home key . The haptic enabled Menu and Back keys have extra functionality upon a long-press (task switcher, virtual keyboard, voice search).

The three controls below the screen

There is a thin volume rocker on the left side, while the Power/Lock key is the only control on the right.

The volume rocker is on the left • the Power/Lock combo - on the right

At the top we find the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port under a plastic flap.

As usual, at the bottom of the phone, you will see the mouthpiece.

Galaxy W's top and bottom sides host the usual

The Samsung Galaxy W’s rear features the 5 megapixel camera lens, complete with a LED flash and the small loudspeaker grill at the bottom.

The lens and LED are placed within a strip of faux-metal, which is a nice accent. The rest of the surface is the finely textured battery cover, also made of plastic.

The 5 megapixel camera lens at the back

The microSD card slot is under the battery cover, but it’s still hot-swappable. The SIM compartment is right next to it.

The microSD slot is hot-swappable

There’s a 1500 mAh battery inside the Samsung Galaxy W I8150, but there is no official quote on the battery life yet. We bet the performance would be on par with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Ace or the HTC Desire S.

Generally, we have no complaints about the all-plastic Samsung Galaxy W. It is a well-built phone, with a solid masculine look. It’s easy to handle and the differently patterned surfaces are nice accents on what’s an overall clean design.

Samsung Galaxy W I8150 held in hand