Samsung Galaxy Ace – Review

As always a quick strip down on the phone first.

• Capacitive  full touch bar smart phone
•  3.5” screen
• TFT display with 320 x 480 screen resolution
• Processor 800 MHz
• Runs on Android 2.2 Froyo
• Weight 113 g
• 3G connectivity and includes wireless connectivity features in the form of Wi-Fi , microUSB v2.0, Bluetooth v2.1
• 5MP camera with LED flash
• Memory: 158 MB internal memory + microSD card expandable up to 32 GB
• 5 Home screens

Holding Galaxy Ace is a delight, it fits well in the hand. At 113 g, neither it’s too light nor too heavy for its size and thanks to the textured back side it cozies well in our palm.

The capacitive touchscreen is responsive thanks to the its overlay,  Samsung’s Touchwiz 3.0  UI that is now the standard with almost all Samsung models , though the latest Galaxy S 2 uses the latest version Touchwiz 4.0

And fiddling around the sides and front you will find the following:

• Top of the phone sports a 3.5 mm jack
• Micro USB charging socket also nests on the top and comes with a sliding cover for dust protection
• On the right side is the power button that also acts as the screen lock
• On the top left side is the volume rocker.
• A main button on the front that lands you in the homescreen
• Right side has the MicroSD card , by default the phone is bundled with a 2 GB card

Coming to the interface like the rest of the Galaxy series, you will find at the bottom of the screen nested neatly:

• Calling
• Contacts
• Messages
• Menu

Most of the screen navigation and widgets are similar to the rest of the Galaxy series and quiet easy to navigate. Especially you will find the quick access to the Wi-Fi , Blue tooth, GPS, Silent mode sitting conveniently on the top bar and just a drag down away. This widget placement is also found in the rest of the Galaxy series including Fit and Pro.

Ace comes along with the now standard Samsung smart phone fixture, Social Hub Premium. What it means for you is a seamless access to all your social networking messages in one single access be it from facebook, twitter or mails from multiple accounts also you can directly view all communications for a contact in the phonebook itself.

Browsing is not entirely a delight owing to its 320 x 480 screen resolution and screen size and you might have to pinch zoom to read text heavy sites but one positive note is thanks to the TouchWiz UI pinch zoom and auto rotation is pretty good.

The 5 MP camera with a flash LED and 2x digital zoom is pretty good and comes with variety of modes to choose from like party mode, landscape mode, indoor flash and no flash, outdoor etc and the modes are handy and effective too. I only wish Samsung had a camera button on the sides for quicker access rather than to search for the widget.

The battery is a standard Li-ion 1350mAh. Battery life is average depends on your mobile usage. Many android apps are power hungry and might drain the battery pretty soon.

GingerChai Verdict: Ace looks pretty good and very stylish. Infact, among the Galaxy series, design wise its my pick of the lot. With newer and higher processor speed been coming up, 800 MHz might seem like under-performer but for an average user, I feel it is more than enough. At around current selling price of 15K, it definitely a good phone to own.