Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G

History

Naming

The phone's model number assigned by Samsung is SGH-T699. Over the months leading up to the device's launch, various leaks emerged assigning different names to this model: first "Samsung Apex Q," then "Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q," and finally on August 15, 2012 the name that it would launch with was revealed: "Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G."

Hardware

Physical keyboard

Unlike many other Android handsets, the Galaxy S Relay 4G has a five-row physical keyboard.

Screen

The phone has a 4-inch (480 x 800 pixel) WVGA Super AMOLED touchscreen with a pixel density of 233 ppi. This screen is identical to the one used on the similar-looking Samsung Epic 4G.

The phone's touchscreen controller chip is an Atmel MaxTouch MXT224E.

Micro-USB

The phone includes a micro-USB port.

Due to limitations in the phone's included firmware, the phone does not support USB On-The-Go. Still, as with other modern Android phones, there are other ways to connect peripherals. For example: Bluetooth keyboards and many Bluetooth mice work with the phone, and a compatible monitor or TV can be connected using a compatible Mobile High-Definition Link cable. Alternatively, it may be possible for the phone's owner to "attach" a personal computer's keyboard, mouse, and monitor using an app such as TeamViewer QuickSupport.

Processor and memory

The Galaxy S Relay 4G features a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with an Adreno 225 GPU. Initially it was reported that the phone would have the older S3 chipset, and this was even printed on the box, but Samsung and T-Mobile have both confirmed that it will launch with the newer S4 chipset.

The phone contains 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal flash storage with approximately 5 GB available to the user, and supports up to a 32 GB MicroSD card.

The Micro SD card slot, after Jelly Bean update, will support a 64 GB Micro SD card.

Cameras

The rear-facing camera has 5.0-megapixel resolution and includes the following features: 4x Digital Optical Zoom, Auto Focus, Multiple Shot Modes, Timer, Smile Shot, and Camcorder with 720p HD Recording. The front-facing camera has 1.3-megapixel resolution.

Battery and power

The phone includes an 1800mAh battery, providing theoretical talk time up to 10 hours, and standby time up to 13 days. It uses a Qualcomm PM8921 power management chip to handle battery charging. The phone supports Qualcomm's "Quick Charge 1.0" technology, and can draw up to 2 amps from some (but not all) 2-amp chargers.

Networks

The device features quad-band (850/900/1800/1900) GSM connectivity for 2G networks. UMTS bands I (UMTS 2100), II (1900), IV (1700/2100/AWS), and V (850) are supported. HSPA+ Category 24 provides a maximum theoretical data speed of 42 Mbit/s.

The Snapdragon S4 chipset supports both GPS and GLONASS for location and navigation.

Software

The device ships with an assortment of included software.

Carrier IQ

Carrier IQ is one of the many pieces of software included with the Galaxy S Relay. The software was produced by a controversial company based in Mountain View, California. It is not completely clear what the software does.

References

References

1. Hildenbrand, Jerry. "Jelly Bean now available for the Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G". Android Central website.
2. "Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q's Real Name Is…". TMoNews.
3. Jax184. (25 March 2013). "Relay 4G Hardware Reference Guide". xda-developers Galaxy S Relay 4G general forum.
4. Jax184. (17 August 2012). "Galaxy S Relay 4G Development Thread". xda-developers Galaxy S Relay 4G development forum.
5. Nickinson, Phil. "Qualcomm details Quick Charge 1.0, available on more than 70 devices". Mobile Nations LLC.
6. (16 July 2015). "How can I charge my aging Samsung phone (with Quick Charge 1.0 technology) at full speed?". Stack Exchange Inc.
7. "Tech specs: Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G". T-Mobile.
8. "Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G Features". Samsung.
9. "T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G specs". T-Mobile.