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The Samsung Galaxy Pro is an Android phone with a BlackBerry-style Qwerty keyboard, in addition to a touchscreen. It’s pretty affordable too, so it will entice folks who hanker after physical buttons.The Galaxy Pro is accessible free of charge on a £15-per-month contract, while it is going to set you back around £130 on a prepaid deal. SIM-free prices start at across the £200 mark.
Should I PURCHASE the Samsung Galaxy Pro?
Manufacturers of Android smart phones know that not everyone wants a touchscreen-only device. There are still millions of people that value good old-fashioned buttons. To that end, we’ve see a couple of BlackBerry-style Android handsets, including the lacklustre Acer beTouch E210 and the excellent, but expensive, HTC ChaCha. But the Galaxy Pro’s biggest rival remains to be to be found among RIM’s range of BlackBerry devices. Given the Pro’s low prepaid price, its closest challenger is the BlackBerry Curve 8520, which some stores are selling for around £120 on pay as you go.There’s no doubt that, despite the dearth of 3G and RIM’s often outdated approach to doing things, the Curve represents an improved choice in the event you really demand physical buttons. It is a phone that’s built across the keyboard, while the professional appears like an Android device that has had a keyboard forced upon it, with occasionally unpleasant results.Still, in case you are partial to buttons but need to try a brand new operating system, the professional may prove an inexpensive approach to making the transition from keyboard to touchscreen with as little trauma as possible.
Software
Like its siblings, the Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Fit, the Galaxy Pro runs Android 2.2 Froyo. This is not essentially the most up-to-date version of Google’s mobile OS — that distinction is reserved for Android 2.3 Gingerbread, that’s loaded onto the flagship Galaxy S2 — but it’s hardly light years behind, either.You can still access the Android Market, connect seamlessly with Google applications corresponding to Gmail and Maps, multitask with several apps open at once, and do all types of alternative neat tricks. This iteration of Android also offers the power to store app data in your microSD card, freeing up space for storing at the phone.Samsung loves to install its TouchWiz user interface at the phones it sells, however the Galaxy Pro rocks a reasonably stripped-down version. You will not find any of the original widgets and custom menus that make the Galaxy S2 so appealing. What you have got here’s a nearly vanilla version of Froyo, with only very minor concessions to the TouchWiz aesthetic.There’s the standard Samsung app store, which essentially offers much of the similar content that’s available within the Android Market, and a pre-installed file manager that helps you retain your phone’s SD card so as. There’s also Samsung’s Social Hub app for keeping up-to-date together with your Facebook and Twitter feeds. Still, you’re at an advantage with the official apps for those services.Out of the box, the Galaxy Pro sports three separate home screens, but you’ll be able to add four more for those who wish, bringing the full as much as seven. These can also be jam-packed with shortcuts, live widgets and other time-saving devices, equivalent to toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other system settings.
You may have as much as seven home screens (left), and Samsung’s file manager could also be included (right).
Android’s famous drag-down notification bar is included too, and Samsung has added a bank of buttons that permits for fast access to certain important elements of your phone’s functionality.
Interface
Possibly essentially the most notable aspect of all the phone is the four-tier Qwerty keyboard that takes up over a 3rd of the Galaxy Pro’s front. Thirty-nine individual buttons has been packed into this tactile treasure trove, and, while we are not convinced that it’ll give Swype-loving touchscreen typists any sleepless nights on the subject of text input speed, it’s one in every of probably the most comfortable keyboards we have seen recently.
The Galaxy Pro’s 39-button Qwerty keyboard is actually its most appealing feature.
Each button has a sloping shape, and, although there’s scant space between them, you’re unlikely to press two simultaneously once your fingers become acclimatised. There is a pleasing degree of travel to every button too. The one negative we will be able to offer up is that the spacebar is a bit of small.Although deactivated by default, you’ll be able to enable the on-screen virtual keyboard in the event you wish. It’s ultimately a pointless gesture, though, because the keyboard takes up almost all of the screen. That is possibly why Samsung has chosen to omit the trace-to-type Swype keyboard, which have been an ever-present feature on some of the company’s Android devices.
Design
The challenge of fitting in a tight Qwerty keyboard has forced Samsung’s designers to make the Galaxy Pro a seriously wide handset. At slightly below 67mm wide and 108mm tall, it feels rather dumpy, although it’s still eminently pocket-friendly. While not pleasing to the eye, these dimensions do no less than make the handset easy to carry. There is no danger of the Galaxy Pro slipping out of your grip as a result of its size.
It’s not as thin as its sibling, the Galaxy S2, however the Galaxy Pro remains to be pretty slim.
Despite the abundance of shiny chrome, the Galaxy Pro is made entirely of plastic. This keeps the burden all the way down to 103g, however it also makes the telephone feel slightly cheap while you pick it up for the primary time. Having said that, it isn’t as though the opposite members of the Galaxy family are hewn from expensive materials either.The battery cover has a ridged texture that makes the Galaxy Pro easy to hold, and there is even the slightest hint of the Galaxy S2′s lip right on the bottom. In addition to bonding the telephone with its more highly-esteemed relation, this makes it even easier to grip to your palm.
The trademark lip seen at the Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 is in evidence here, too.
Sandwiched between the screen and the Qwerty keyboard are the standard Android command buttons — menu, home, back and search. The last choice is also omitted on Samsung phones, so it’s surprising to peer it here. Another surprise is that these are physical controls as opposed to touch-sensitive.
Touchscreen
The Galaxy Pro’s dinky and dismal 2.8-inch touchscreen is arguably its biggest weakness. It looks washed-out and dim, and its 320×240-pixel resolution is nearly laughable in comparison to the screens on other devices on this class.
The 2.8-inch screen is woefully inadequate for viewing detailed images, and the shortage of pinch-to-zoom support is a killer.
As it’s possible you’ll expect, browsing detailed Web sites is a nightmare with any such low-resolution display. Text is heavily pixellated and pictures are hard to discern. To make matters significantly worse, there is no support for multi-touch pinch-to-zoom gestures, so that you must use virtual buttons in an effort to zoom in and out.
The loss of pinch-to-zoom support also implies that games like Angry Birds are very difficult to play.
The absence of the sort of key feature is puzzling for the reason that the Galaxy Pro’s touchscreen is of the capacitive type, so there is not any technical it is because multi-touch should not be included. It is a sorry omission.
Gaming
The loss of multi-touch support also has severe ramifications for the Galaxy Pro’s suitability as a gaming device. Many mobile gamers have an effortless test on the subject of selecting their next mobile device — can it play Angry Birds?While the Galaxy Pro is definitely able to hosting Rovio’s million-selling smash hit (and its landscape display is definitely well-suited to the game), no multi-touch signifies that you cannot zoom out to get a greater view of the action. This renders the sport almost unplayable, as you’re essentially shooting blind and cannot accurately plan the autumn of your shots.It gets worse as you try to play other popular titles. Grand Prix Story defaults to a portrait view, forcing you to carry the telephone sideways, and up to date hit They should be Fed refuses to permit you past the title screen when played at the Galaxy Pro, for a reason we cannot fathom.There are positives to think about here, but the. Galaxy Pro’s landscape screen and physical keyboard make it a worthy candidate for retro gaming. Android emulators reminiscent of Snes9x EX and MD.emu are easier to make use of at the side of this phone’s buttons than they’re on touchscreen-only devices.
Camera and picture capture
At first glance, the Galaxy Pro seems to lack photographic clout. The phone’s camera can only muster a humble 3 megapixels, and it lacks an LED flash for low-light shooting.
It’s a shame that the camera lacks a flash, as it is a pretty decent shooter for the price.
But it does pack in an autofocus and a macro mode. The latter is surprisingly adept at capturing detail at close quarters, even though it is very annoying that you need to manually trigger the macro mode by delving deep into the camera app’s settings.
The 3-megapixel camera offers a stunning amount of functionality (left). You’ll be able to enable the on-screen keyboard if you want (right).
The camera app is considered one of Samsung’s unique creations and is derived filled with scene settings and other modes. For example, you’ll be able to shoot a continuing stream of pictures or stitch several together to create a breathtaking shot.
Photos are slightly washed-out, but still decent for a phone of this price (click image to enlarge).
When recording a movie, you’re restricted to VGA quality, so the clips themselves won’t look all that brilliant should you view them on a pc or television.
Macro shots are particularly impressive, way to the autofocus camera (click image to enlarge).
Samsung has decided against including AllShare, its custom DLNA application, so streaming live images to other DLNA-compatible devices is solely possible should you download a replacement app from the Android Market.
Internal hardware
With many entry-level Android phones sporting processors of 600MHz or less, it’s pleasantly surprising to peer the Galaxy Pro pack an 800MHz variant. Unfortunately, the CPU seems to make an actual meal of any task you put it. Scrolling through menus is sluggish, or even core apps just like the gallery viewer run at a depressingly slow pace.
The Galaxy Pro’s Quadrant benchmark scores are predictably unimpressive.
Compared to the likes of the HTC Sensation and LG Optimus 2X, the Galaxy Pro is quite weedy. If you are at the hunt for a phone which has the technological clout to dazzle your iPhone 4-owning mates, you’d best look elsewhere.
Internet and applications
Although it features an 800MHz processor, the Galaxy Pro still falls shy of the technical power required to support Adobe Flash. This implies no support for Flash content within the phone’s Web browser, and it also prevents the device from hosting the intense Kongregate application, in addition to another app within the Android Market that requires Flash to function.The physical keyboard and touchscreen do turn out to be useful at some points — filling in Web forms is a breeze with all those lovely buttons — but ultimately the Galaxy Pro’s small screen and shortage of pinch-to-zoom support conspire to make the telephone an actual pain to surf the internet with.That awkward screen also means the Galaxy Pro doesn’t always play nicely with certain apps available within the Android Market. Many applications are designed to operate on a portrait screen as opposed to a landscape one, and these require you to carry the telephone sideways, which just feels odd.
Connectivity and expandability
Like almost any other Android phone out there, the Galaxy Pro has Wi-Fi, GPRS, 3G and Bluetooth connectivity as standard.The phone comes with 512MB of internal storage space, and there is a microSD card slot. A 2GB card is included within the box, but you can also need to replace that with a rather larger variant if you wish to use the telephone as a camera and music player.
The 3.5mm audio jack on the top of the telephone permits you to use your individual headphones.
There’s a typical 3.5mm headphone socket at the top of the device, next to the micro-USB charging and information socket. This socket is protected by a sliding plastic door, which we heartily endorse and hope can be an ordinary feature on future handsets.
The USB slot is roofed by a sliding door, which protects it when it is not in use.
Battery life
It’s par for the course for Android phones to average a couple of day’s worth of moderate usage before requiring a visit to the wall charger. The Galaxy Pro’s 1,350mAh battery manages to maintain the telephone ticking over a 24-hour period too.Heavy use will see battery performance head south, however the loss of Flash support and the phone’s unsuitability as a gaming device mean it’s unlikely you’ll use it for a lot greater than texting, phone calls and sending emails anyway.
Conclusion
While the Samsung Galaxy Pro’s keyboard is a joy to use, the remainder of the telephone appears like an exercise in compromise. The low-resolution screen makes small text almost unreadable, and the handset’s performance is anything but sprightly.Arguably, probably the most successful Android Qwerty phone is the Facebook-focused HTC ChaCha. The ChaCha offers better software, looks and build quality than the Galaxy Pro. It is usually more expensive, however the extra cash is worthwhile if you are absolutely hell-bent on having the BlackBerry feel along with your Android phone.If you’re shopping on the cheap and still crave those lovely buttons, then the Galaxy Pro is certainly one of your best options, but we’d recommend you seriously consider jumping fully into the world of the touchscreen. Even physical buttons aren’t enough to justify the concessions you’re forced to make with a phone just like the Galaxy Pro.Edited by Charles KloetÂ
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