Samsung Galaxy Spica
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 1, 1938 in Daegu, South Korea |
| Headquarters | Suwon , South Korea |
| Products | Smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics |
| Website | www |
The Samsung Galaxy Spica, also identified as Samsung Spica, Samsung GT-I5700, Samsung Galaxy Lite, and Samsung Galaxy Portal, is a smartphone developed by Samsung that debuted in 2009 running the open-source Android operating system. Positioned as a more affordable alternative to the original Samsung Galaxy, it features a lower camera resolution, reduced storage capacity, and slower data transfer rates compared to the i7500 model; however, its processor operates at a notably faster speed of 800 MHz. The device's successor is the Samsung Galaxy 3.
Features
As a 3G-capable device, the Galaxy Spica supports quad-band GSM along with dual-band HSDPA (900/2100) delivering speeds up to 3.6 Mbit/s. It is equipped with a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD, a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera, and includes a digital compass. The unit also incorporates a standard 3.5mm audio jack and comes with DNSe 2.0 audio enhancement technology.
On the software front, the Galaxy Spica integrates several Google mobile applications such as Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and Google Talk. Its built-in GPS functionality enables access to Google Maps features including My Location, Google Latitude, and Street View. Multimedia support encompasses playback of MP3, AAC (including iTunes Plus files), WMA, and H.264 video formats. Additionally, it is capable of rendering DivX and Xvid video files, marking it as the first Android handset to offer this capability.
Availability
The device was distributed across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This model represents Samsung's second Android smartphone aimed at the European market. Its launch occurred in December 2009 within Turkey, and it later became available in Canada through the Rogers Communications network.
Software
By February 2010, the Samsung Galaxy Spica had been upgraded to run Android 2.1 Eclair. Certain carriers, including Three and T-Mobile in the United Kingdom, began offering the phone with Android 2.1 pre-installed. Starting from May 2010, units sold in India and Indonesia also came equipped with this update.
Updating the Spica officially requires using Samsung's PC Studio software; unlike some other devices, it does not support updates via OTA. Devices tied to specific carriers cannot be updated through this method and must instead be serviced by authorized Samsung partners.
Nonetheless, unofficial update options exist through third-party tools, allowing installation of various firmware versions ranging from Android 1.5 Cupcake to early builds of Android 2.2 Froyo, as well as versions of Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.