Anyway, I just picked up this SMP 5.0 and am really happy with it.  Obviously lots to learn since this is my first Android device, but it’s responsive, holdable and eminently likable.  Flawless playing of netflix and youtube. Sound quality is very good through good earbuds.   I’m not sure that it’s quite as good as my old Sansa Fuze player but I think I’ll be OK- and it does play FLAC files.  Battery seems to be very robust.  the 2500 maH battery was one of the primary determinants for me in the decision to get the 5.0 over the 4.0.  I just wish it were user-replaceable. 

We are talking about the built in head phone amplifier, and the Samsung Galaxy Player doesn’t deliver in any fronts. It’s worst than Samsung Smartphone amps.

Next you can easily test the sound quality in the store. In fact, testing the device in a store is great when you want to test the volume on the device. Once again, the Samsung Player fails at that since the volume is so damn low and sound is tinny.

But the 2 main (and surprisingly overlooked) features of the Galaxy Player 5 are it’s wi-fi ability and the fact that it’s imminently holdable, besides its beautiful display. Now, anything with wi-fi and no phone is almost never taken out of the house, regardless of how portable or pocketable it may be, so it doesn’t really make sense to criticize its pocketability (which is sort of a misnomer, since I own a Touch and a Player 5 and never put either in my pockets). On the other hand, cell phones, due to their nature and intended purpose, are often carried and used outside the house. Any comparison between devices in these 2 major categories is an apple and oranges comparison, no matter how similar the devices seem to be superficially, and don’t belong in serious product reviews. It makes sense to compare the Apple Touch to the Galaxy Player 4 or 5 because they’re all “palm top tablets that rely on wi-fi”. This is a distinct category (as defined by a devices primary usability characteristics) and items in this category should not be compared to items outside this category. This is because people usually only have 1 item from a category. There should be an intelligent rationale to compare 2 items, not just because 2 otherwise distinct items may both have a 4-inch display. To the extent that all items in a category are contemporaneous, one wouldn’t bother to own more than 1 item in a category. For example, I might have a cell phone with a 4-inch display AND the Samsung Player 5, which comprises 2 distinct categories, but I wouldn’t have both the Apple Touch and the 4 or 5-inch Galaxy Player. In the same way I wouldn’t buy 2 wrist watches that were almost identical, I wouldn’t need to own more than 1 item in the “palm top tablets that rely on wi-fi” category, there’s just too much redundancy. When you make comparisons, you’re saying “buy this one”. Let’s say I like big displays. I’m not going to buy a cell phone with a 4-inch display over the Apple Touch which has a 3.5” display, as if the $60 plus monthly fees don’t exist, so stop making this or similar comparisons. I wish reviews would be more intelligent in their comparisons, rather than willy-nilly making comparisons with any other hot gadget, it would make it a lot easier on consumers who really don’t know what to make of all the choices.

Reviewers also get carried away with all the “pixels per inch” metrics, because they have really nothing to do with the actual user experience, at least not nowadays. Pixel power is already sufficient to render all displays currently in production as “beautiful”. Such things as “amoled” and “retina display” are overkill that only inflate prices and create a false sense of progress or improvement. In fact, it seems more like a HOAX as to whether such things constitute an actual improvement. You reviewers should be warning the consumer to beware of any claims by the manufacturer that such things truly represent an improvement! If not you, then who will call their bluff? You reviewers have to be more skeptical of all the hype. Likewise with whether a tablet or phone has 2 or 4 cores. 4 cores in a phone is a waste of resources – and the reception isn’t better.

Regarding cameras on PMP’s, tablets, or cell phones: where these devices have 2 cameras, one should be at least 8 megapixels. Anything less is superfluous because everybody has equal access to better cameras already. Redundant cameras just inflate the prices of these things and it’s a waste of natural resources to make superfluous lenses and associated circuitry. By the same token, tablet reviews shouldn’t devolve into an essay about the camera, as if there’s any question that a camera less than 8MP isn’t a gimmick. No tablet or cell phone will ever take good pictures (nor should they), one need not ask this question anew with every new tablet or cell phone as if this might be a deal breaker. It’s sufficient to say a device has a front and a back camera, and how many megapixels each has, then stop. You really don’t need to elaborate. To perform such investigations is a ridiculous waste of time.

I don’t recommend this player to anyone. Take that money and invest in a Cowon J3, iAudio10 or a D3 if you really need Android.

All that being said, I’m interested in an audiophiles opinion on sound quality.  Is the sound playing mp3 or FLAC, through good earbuds, going to rival my Sansa Fuze, or a Cowan?
Thanks for the review.  Looking forward to hearing more.

I’m not in the market for a phone.

I’m sorry but this was a terrible review and it felt like you really didn’t test it for more than a minute or two (if you even had it in your hands).

People who are interested in the 5″ Player don’t care if you think it’s too large – this is a matter of personal preference. What they do care about are the technicals… Battery life; will it run ICS; how does the display look like for everyday use; what additional ports does it have (not what it doesn’t have) and finally… don’t suggest buying a smartphone when users looking at this device are not interested in a phone.

I agree that the Note has much better specs and if they produced a Note without the phone circuitry, then it would be worth waiting for. As it stands, the Galaxy Player looks like an outstanding buy for a handheld mini-computer with the one major drawback being the ability to shoot action shots (because of the lag). It’s really the only game in town when it comes to a PDA-type solution for Android.

Dimensions in inches: 5.56 x 3.08 x 0.47