The new Samsung Galaxy R is a large 4.2-inch Super-LCD display Smartphone loaded with the latest Android OS v2.3 (GingerBread). The camera is 5MP with auto-focus and LED flash and supports HD video recording. The other features are high speed 3G HSDPA connectivity, Wireless LAN, and GPS navigation. It also sports various sensors like Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate of user interface, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, and Gyroscope sensor. The Samsung I9103 Galaxy R rode in on the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform and became the first affordable dual-core smartphone from the South Korean company. With a bright SC-LCD screen and brushed metal back, the Galaxy R is just different enough from the Galaxy S lineup to stand on its own. Samsung has so many variations of their models that sometimes it's hard to say when one model stops and another begins. Take the Samsung I9103 Galaxy R, positioned somewhere between the Galaxy S II flagship droid and the mid-range Galaxy W. Not that we're complaining - having more options available is always a good thing and all dual-core droids from Samsung were only top of the line so far (S II and its variations, the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy Note phoneblet). This is where the I9103 Galaxy R steps in in - it offers tangibly better specs than the Galaxy W, while staying a step below the top dogs in specs and price. Here's a summary of what you get with the Galaxy R and some downsides. Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support 4.2"" 16M-color SC-LCD capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution; Scratch-resistant glass Android OS v2.3.3 with TouchWiz 4 launcher 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, ULP GeForce GPU, NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset, 1GB of RAM 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, face and smile detection 720p HD video recording at 30fps GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass 8GB internal storage, microSD slot 1.3MP secondary video-call camera Document editor File manager comes preinstalled Main disadvantages SC-LCD has poor black levels Tegra 2 falls slightly behind Exynos in CPU and GPU performance No dedicated camera key Non-hot-swappable microSD card Depending on how you look at it, going from the Galaxy W to the Galaxy R means getting a better CPU and GPU, a bigger screen and extra built-in storage, or trading in several of the highlights of the Galaxy S II in exchange for a smaller total at the cash register. Anyway, if you pull the Galaxy R away from the S II's shadow, you'll notice it stands pretty well on its own. Tegra 2 is at the heart of several popular dual-core droids and quite a few tablets too. And a 4.2"" WVGA screen doesn’t sound too bad, even if it is an SC-LCD (we'll how it does in our tests though). The camera could have been better - 5MP and 720p is nothing to brag about. We have seen some excellent 720p shooters lately though, so we'll postpone our final judgment on the camera for the camera section of this review."
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