Samsung have really become a dominating force in the smartphone market and I blame this almost solely on the Android series, known as Galaxy. Sure, we have the Windows 7 Phone series and Bada handsets, but Android has really taken Samsung to the next level.
One of the later instalments to the Galaxy series is a slightly more modest handset known as the Samsung Galaxy Pro, which compromises cost without having devastating effects on performance. This phone, with the large QWERTY keypad, physical buttons and the unusual-to-android landscape display shows how versatile the Android platform really is. A perfect competitor for RIMs Blackberry Curve 8520 and 9300 handsets, this device tries to prove the Galaxy Series does have what it takes to work in the business world. Let’s take a closer look.
First impressions:
Upon opening the box I was first hit by the slightly unusual shape, the Galaxy Pro seems to be a much wider device than average to cater for the landscape display and very wide keyboard. I was unsure what to think about the extremely flat screen which appeared to be recessed into the handset, though this isn’t the case, the screen is flush where the keypad is raised from the surface. Needless to say, the form factor is very practical, and after a few minutes of observation I found the looks had grown on me very quickly.
Up and running:
Turning on the device I was immediately disappointed by the quality of the display, the resolution is very low (320x240 Pixels) and colour is weak, this TFT display appears to have been taken from a much more primitive handset. The interface of the phone is extremely lightweight which aids a rather quick boot-up, and running the onboard apps was a smooth experience at first but now a few apps have been installed from the android market the overall speed of the phone has dropped. The appearance of the interface, from the apps tray to the pre-installed widgets and general settings, is all very nice – no messing around here.
The Keypad at first is rather slippy, the keys are individually raised, but are very 'inline'. The keys are soft and are not offset, though after a while, sending texts and short emails becomes natural.
The Keypad at first is rather slippy, the keys are individually raised, but are very 'inline'. The keys are soft and are not offset, though after a while, sending texts and short emails becomes natural.
App Me:
Let’s face it, this is a Blackberry rival, so let’s look at the pre-installed business-type apps. My very favourite business app here is the ThinkFree office suite, which right out of the box allows you to not only read Microsoft Office compatible documentation, but to edit and create documents right from the device, and in conjunction with the pre-installed email app, you can easily edit and forward your CV or other docs on the go, which was once a pipedream, even on the most advanced smartphones of the recent past.
This phone does not offer a video player pre-installed, for some reason, but free video players such as Rock Player can be downloaded free from the Android market. This phone is very light on pre-installed apps, I can only imagine for the sake of keeping the CPU clear for core applications to run smooth right out of the box – though unless you plan on installing tens of apps at a time and running high-performance games, your average Blackberry-fiend shouldn’t have a problem with lag.
Media:
As I mentioned above, you will need to download a video player, but YouTube, Rock Player etc... all run without a problem. Despite the display, videos look rather nice on the device, colours are watchable and sound is easily loud enough. The music app is very basic but is still one of the best music apps on this price-range phone. Battery is average if I’m honest, but due to the small display, video playback won’t kill it in ½ an hour.
Make it snappy!:
I am not greatly impressed with the camera, the picture quality is what you would expect from a 3.2MP sensor, maybe a little better, but I couldn’t get along with the shutter delay – every second picture was of my feet due to such a delay. Video capture is a relatively smooth experience as it doesn’t suffer the shutter delay problem, but I can’t see myself using footage I have caught on the Galaxy Pro even for YouTube uploads.
Overall:
After a few days I have found the battery lasting slightly longer, the camera shutter delay is persistent yet I am more patient with it, and I am used to the keyboard. I have also found the keyboard is great for gaming, which is good for the commute to work.
The phone is a nice change to what we’d call the ‘norm’ in the android world, but is far from a high-end device. I would recommend this to a slightly older user who doesn’t like touch-screen devices for texting.
Visual Performance **
Battery Life ****
Camera Performance ***
Processor Performance ***
Build Quality ***
ShredderBenjamin
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