mobile review

Samsung Galaxy Ace – Review

If you don’t have a iPhone, you can very well have Samsung Ace and save some bucks. Apple might be irritated with Samsung Ace coz it has striking resemblance to iPhone and also some of the widget placement is similar to the Apple’s baby. It’s just that Ace is little smaller and plasticiky though the screen size is exactly same as iPhone.  Now, let’s keep aside the iPhone and discuss about Samsung Galaxy Ace today.

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.

Galaxy Ace  is powered by 800 MHz processor which is better than Galaxy Fit and Pro but lesser than the S1 and much wanting when compared to the latest dual core S 2.  But for most smart phone users, this is pretty good while running facebook, twitter and IM all together along with the push mail service. If you are a serious gamer, you will find the performance bit lagging though Ace could handle most of the available game in the market decently well. With the Android market with tons of free apps and also Samsung apps to dig upon, you have lots to fiddle around with Ace  in hand. 5 home screens in the phone is a happy play ground to pack widgets and  Samsung has pre-loaded some of its own widgets to kick start the usage. Ace also comes with four pre-installed games and unfortunately you cannot uninstall,  in case you want to get rid of them.

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.

Mobile phone for Visually Impaired people

To make telephony easier for the visually challenged people, Intex Technologies has launched a Braille phone.  Called Intex Vision (In 2020 Vision), this dual Sim phone has a large Braille keypad for easy dialing. Also for those visually challenged people who do not understand Braille, the phones come with a voice Dial+ Speaking sound. What this second feature effectively does is like a Talking keypad, as the user dials the key, the key is voiced.

Phone highlights:

• Braille key pad with big fonts
• Voice Dial + speaking sound
• Display is Braille supported
• Hearing Aid earphone
• Wireless FM Radio + Audio player
• Dual Sim
• Expandable memory upto 2 GB
• Emergency SMS key

This candy bar shaped phone is very practical to use for the targeted group and thoughtfully made for their special needs. The nine numbers are single dial keys for easier dialing and also have the feature to voice the number pressed.  Also the display screen is Braille supported. By touching the screen, the user can read the SMS.

The phone comes with a inbuilt SOS key in the back panel.  During any emergency situation, the user can press the key, and an SMS automatically goes to 4 numbers that the user has preset.

The phone claims a talk time upto 3 hours and a standby time upto 460 hours.

The phone is priced at Rs.2, 600. For the members of the National Association for the Blind, the phone is available at a discounted price of Rs. 1,800.

Samsung Galaxy Pro – review

My wife loves to text, dig into social networking and check mails and laze in IM and she is fascinated by Android but touch screen is not her comfort pad. There are many like her who loves to explore the best of Android experience but enjoy the best of QWERTY and Touch screen together.  Samsung has extended its Galaxy series to cater to that segment with its new offering Galaxy Pro.

So like always let’s see the vital stats first.

The vital stats:

• Capacitive touch screen and QWERTY packed together.
• Candy bar shape
• 320 x 240 screen resolution
• Screen size : 2.8 inches
• Processor 800 MHz
• Memory: 160 MB internal memory + microSD card expandable up to 32 GB
• Android Froyo 2.2
• 3 MP auto focus camera
• 3G connectivity and includes wireless connectivity features in the form of Wi-Fi , microUSB v2.0, Bluetooth v2.1
• Multi format Music player with DNSe sound enhancement and 3.5 mm jack, Wi-Fi access, FM radio.
• 7 customizable home screens
• Swype text input method

What it looks like and feels like?

If you think the candy bar look with a QWERTY experience is more Blackberry curve type, the first look would disapprove. The Blackberry curve had a smooth curvy and more compact to palms feel while Pro is wider and might look bit awkward too for many. Infact my friend joked it reminded him of good old calculator shape. He might be far stretched but you cannot rub aside the thought. Nevertheless, the QWERTY pad is a delight to key and practical. The 2.8 inch capacitive touch screen occupies the rest of the space  and with its latest version of Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface it is smooth and quiet responsive like you find in the other Galaxy models like Fit, Ace etc.

• The volume control  is on the left panel
• The power button could be found in the right panel
• The 3.5 mm audio jack sits on top along with the Micro USB slot.

The back panel has a textured pattern that gives you a good hand grip. The body is mostly plastic with a dash of chrome finish, while the grey and black color gives a pleasant look.

Galaxy Pro is powered by 800 MHz processor which is identical to that powers the other popular model from Galaxy series, Ace.  For most smart phone users, this is pretty good while running facebook, twitter and IM all together along with the push mail service. If you are a serious gamer, you will find the performance bit lagging though Pro could handle most of the available game in the market decently well. With the Android market with tons of free apps and also Samsung apps to dig upon, you have lots to fiddle around with Pro in hand. 7 home screens in the phone is a happy play ground to pack widgets. Samsung has pre-loaded some of its own widgets to kick start the usage.

Pro 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.

The 3MP camera is nothing great to boast about.  It can click ordinary pictures with ordinary results but if you are just concerned about clicking random pictures and not very quality conscious, you could live with this.

Pro scores well with its QWERTY key pad, the keys are big and easy to type. Rightly spaced, you don’t fumble between characters.  But you might have to compromise a bit with the 2.8 screen size and envy those big screen monsters flooding the market.  But then remember the phone is targeted at a small segment of users who would prefer the best of touch and QWERTY. So browsing experience might not be the best in the small screen and the 320 x 240 screen resolution does not help either.

Ginger Chai verdict: Galaxy Pro retails at sub 10 K and at this price it provides the best of Touch screen and QWERTY key pad. Ofcourse you can find better models at this price range but considering the target group it is aimed at and the lack of much competition in this candy bar QWERTY key pad with touch screen model, Samsung Pro is definitely a model worth a buy for those buyers.

Samsung Galaxy Fit – review

So you want a smart phone that sits pretty in your pocket, it should have a nice touchscreen and most importantly it needs to be Android based? Samsung brings to you Galaxy Fit that might just be the right fit phone for you and your purse if you are looking for a budget smartphone.

Galaxy Fit is part of the Samsung’s new Galaxy siblings along with Galaxy Pop and Ace.  If Ace is the little cousin of the popular and impressive Galaxy S, we can say Fit and Pop are the younger siblings of Ace. Today let’s talk about Fit and give space for Ace and Pop another day.

The Vital Stats:

• Full touch smart phone with capacitive   3.31 TFT inch screen
• 320 * 240 pixels
• 600 MHz processor
• Android 2.2 Froyo OS
• Android browser
• 5 MP camera with 3x digital zoom with 2592 x 1944 resolution, geo tagging, and auto focus
• 160 MB internal memory with microSD slot that can be expanded upto 32 GB.  (the box comes with a 2 GB memory card)
• 3G connectivity and includes wireless connectivity features in the form of Wi-Fi , microUSB v2.0, Bluetooth v2.1
• Swype text input method
• The display has Accelerometer sensor for auto – rotate
• multi format Music player with DNSe sound enhancement and 3.5 mm jack, Wi-Fi access, FM radio.

Galaxy Fit with the above mentioned features is neatly packaged phone aimed at the entry level smart phone buyers who want a decent performance and features without hitting their purse hard.  The round edged phone with a 3.31 inch screen sits pretty well in one’s pocket and is quiet an eye candy too. Though personally, I liked Galaxy Ace when it comes to the design factor but Fit will definitely appeal to many with its shining white and black colored panels.

With Apps becoming more power hungry  and 1 Ghz processors finding place in upcoming models, the 600 MHz may be a bit let down but still with most regular usages, the the user interface felt smooth and responsive.

Though the 3.31 inch screen is pretty impressive, the 320 * 240 pixels resolution dents the euphoria. For an average user it can be lived with the easy to zoom in option with the pinch of the fingers.

The 5 MP camera may not be very impressive and it neither has an LED flash.

With the Android market with tons of free apps and also Samsung apps to dig upon,  you will never get bored with Fit in hand. 3 home screens in the phone is a happy note to fiddle around and pack widgets. Samsung has pre-loaded some of its own widgets to kick start the usage.

It comes pre-loaded with Samsung Social hub. The hub helps to initiate SNS, IM and email all from your Samsung Smartphone’s phonebook with just a single touch. The phonebook seamlessly integrates all of your SNS, IM, email, and calendar accounts. So for both business users and social networking users, you get a steady stream of communication inintegrated from your e-mail, text messages, calendars, and social networking feeds. A smartphone must be smart enough for your office needs.  Apart from the emailing functions, Fit is bundled with quickoffice. You can open your excel, word documents though you cannot edit them. You can also open all your e-books you have stored in pdf formats.

GingerChai verdict: In spite of the drawbacks or letdown we had mentioned, the good looking Fit does manage to impress us with its customized  Android 2.2 OS and goodies like  Swype text input method, accelerometer, good touchscreen with Samsung’s Touchwiz 3.0 interface, 3G , GPS navigation and business and social networking features etc. At the current selling price of Rs.10,700 it is definitely worth a buy. If you can stretch the budget by couple of few thousands, look forward to our review of Galaxy Ace.

Fit is indeed a Mr.Fit for those who want a decent smart phone for a decent price.