Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 Review

Introduction:

As we’ve plainly pointed out in our review of the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6, it would astound us to know that someone would even fathom choosing it over an entry-level Android powered smartphone from any of the prepaid carriers out there. Frankly, you’re throwing away $149.99 down the toilet with the purchase, but if you can somehow inch out and invest another $50 to the tally, there might be enough validity in buying the beefier Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 as an alternative media player solution.

Design:

Wow! We have to admit that the change is dramatic between the Galaxy Player 3.6 and 4.2, as the latter simply looks and feels like the superior device. Although it’s still flaunting that typical Samsung-made design, it employs enough lovable qualities to appease us – like a solid build construction, lightweight feel, and streamlined body.



You can compare the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.


Taking a peek around its sides, we’re presented with a host of things like its 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, volume control, power button, and a spot for a lanyard. Similar to the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S, the Galaxy Player 4.2 sports a dedicated home button with the capacitive back and menu buttons surrounding it. Moreover, it features a front-facing VGA camera and two speakers that hug closely to the top and bottom edges.

Around the rear, its 2-megapixel fixed focus camera is squarely in the middle towards the upper back portion of the device, while removing the plastic rear cover provides us access to its 1,500 mAh battery and microSD card slot.


Display:

Seriously, we were repulsed by the poor display thrown onto the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6, but this time around, we’re happy to report that things are more suitable with the Galaxy Player 4.2. Specifically, it’s packing a well-sized 4.2” WVGA (480 x 800) LCD display that’s light years more agreeable to the eyes. Although it’s still not as attractive versus other displays, it’s nevertheless effective with most things.

Interface:

At its core, there’s nothing particularly new with the experience as the Galaxy Player 4.2 runs the all-too predictable last-generation TouchWiz UI on top of Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. Indeed, it offers all of the vast personalization of Android that we’re familiar with, but when compared to others, it’s unfortunately limited to a few widgets out of the box.



Processor:

Call it a test of patience, but we’re again frustrated by the molasses slow performance of the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2. Under the hood, it’s powered by the same 1GHz single-core processor in use with the Galaxy Player 3.6. Keeping the interface clean from any widgets, it exhibits a reasonable amount of responsiveness, but it’s all lost in a heartbeat the moment a single one is used. As if we needed more of a reassurance to its poor performance, the benchmark results are actually similar to its pint-sized sibling.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2	1972	2697	13,7
Samsung Galaxy S III	5335	12016	58,6
HTC One X	4848	11024	47,4
Samsung Galaxy S II	3113	6076	51

Multimedia:

Perplexing in many ways imaginable, this so-called beefier version is lacking the “disc view” option with its music player, which is available on the Galaxy Player 3.6. Outfitted with a left and right speaker, its quality is adequate enough to accept wholesomely without coming off too strained at the loudest volume setting.


Lacking the pizzazz that accompanies some of its respectable smartphone siblings, we’re more than satisfied with the Galaxy Player 4.2’s performance in playing our test video that’s encoded in MPEG-4 1280 x 720 resolution.

There’s no love with this one when it comes to taking photos. Not only does it employ the same 2-megapixel fixed focus camera as before, but the results are once again unchanged, which is pretty sad come to think about it. With still shots and its VGA video recording, it lacks any fine details to make it crisp looking, but rather, it simply appears too muddy for our tastes.



Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 Sample Video:



Internet:

Holy choppiness Batman! The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 loves to test our patience in more ways than none, since it’s blatantly jerky with its navigational control. Yeah, we’re able to get that desktop-like experience thanks to Adobe Flash support, but when it’s this choppy with its operation, it doesn’t necessarily provide the most optimal experience.

Performance:

Considering that Wi-Fi is its main source of data connectivity, we’re not all that surprised that it’s able to get us 2 ½ days of normal usage out of a full charge from its 1,500 mAh battery, which is actually the same one in use by the Galaxy Player 3.6.

Conclusion:

We’ve said it before people and we’ll continue to say it again – well, that’s unless a future variant is outfitted with better hardware. On the outside, it’s fairly evident that the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 is a beefy looking dedicated media device, but inside, it doesn’t proudly see any love whatsoever as it sports the same set of hardware that’s used on the Galaxy Player 3.6. Taking into account that this is $50 more, we definitely appreciate the larger display and better build quality of the Galaxy Player 4.2. In the end, though, it’s still lacking the value that’s found with some of the sub-$200 priced prepaid Android smartphones out there – so yeah, you’d better invest in one instead.

Software version of the reviewed unit:
Android Version: 2.3.6
Kernel Version: 2.6.35.7-CL1076053
Build Number: GINGERBREAD.UELD3

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 Review: