Best Touch-n-Type ANDROID Phone
Recently I have purchased Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos (GYPD) and the main reason for choosing that phone was its dual SIM feature. Samsung has launched a new mobile in place of that, with better features but single SIM. I got a chance to use newly launched Samsung Galaxy Chat for few days and I am sharing my experience here.
Samsung Galaxy Chat is unique mobile for its feature and price range. There is no Android ICS enabled mobile with touch and type feature at this price.
This phone has 3-inch display with a resolution of 240x320 pixels, and comes with a physical QWERTY keypad . It is equipped with Android ICS (4.0) that is upgradable to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1); 850 MHz processor with 512MB of RAM . It is powered with 1200mAh battery and available in black and white colours.
It has 4 GB inbuilt memory space as mentioned on the specifications and can be expanded to 32 GB using a micro SD card. Half of the internal memory is occupied by operating system and other apps already installed.
The form factor is really amazing and it is pleasure holding it in hand. It is comparatively lightweight and fits properly in palm . I have not seen any other touch and type phone of this large touchscreen and beautiful QWERTY keypad. It has 3inch multi-touch capacitive touchscreen which is similar to Galaxy Y, Nokia Asha 311 and Sony Xperia Tipo. The resolution and pixel density of phone is very poor and it’s really a big task to read something on this phone. For other purposes one may not even notice its low resolution.
The phone design is very much similar to GYPD and has similar positioning of volume up/ down key on left side and power key on right side. There is 3.5mm audio connector jack at top and micro USB charging-cum-connecting post at the bottom. The four Android keys are just below the screen and are feather touch that is different than GYPD.
The keypad of this phone is similar to all the previous QWERTY phones of Samsung but the keys of this handset are comparatively small to maintain the form factor. It has a dedicated key for ‘Samsung Chat On messenger’ and for me it is a totally useless as I have never used that messenger. There is no trackpad provided in this phone so scrolling is to be done solely using touchscreen. There is provision for on-screen keyboard that can be used in horizontal and portrait mode.
There is 2MP camera and is great letdown of this phone . There is no LED and auto focus options provided. There should be minimum 3MP at this price range. One more ironic thing is that there is no front camera which is very much required for a smartphone.
The notification panel is equipped with many shortcuts against the five provided in GYPD. Even the brightness can be set from that notification panel.
For connectivity it has a 3G, Bluetooth 3.0, USB for mass storage and PC connection, GPS and Wi-Fi that can even be used as hotspot to use mobile internet over PC .
There is nothing worth mentioning for music player. It serves the basic purpose. Inbuilt video player can easily play MP4 videos. For other formats you may have to download third party app. The sound quality is loud and clear. Signal reception is good. I am facing a problem in my GYPD that the voice is not very clear while on call . I have faced the same problem in this set also. It is not alarming but a problem worth noticing.
The 1200mAh battery easily lasts for a day on normal usage and 6-7 hours on Wi-Fi. There is no complaint regarding its battery performance that is much better than other Android phones.
Positives
1. Very stylish looks and lightweight.
2. Android 4.0, upgradable to Android 4.1 .
3. Decent screen size of 3inch.
4. 4GB internal memory, almost 2GB free to use.
5. Quick responsive touchscreen.
6. 32GB external memory support.
7. Physical keys are small but comfortable to type.
Negatives
1. Poor camera, just 2 MP.
2. Less RAM, results in sluggish performance .
3. Low screen resolution.
4. Glossy back cover attracts fingerprints and smudges.
5. No dedicated camera button.
6. No secondary front camera.
7. Not compatible with many apps due to its low resolution screen.
Advices
1. Make it a habit to turn off 3G and GPS when not in use.
2. Keep closing unused applications through ‘Manage application’ in settings to save battery power.
3. It is better to use pattern lock for screen locking as the odd positioning of ‘power off/ unlock’ key may unlock the phone while in pocket.
4. It is advisable to uninstall preinstalled app s that are not useful, so as to optimise the available space.
5. Install a third party app for better browsing experience . Opera Mini is better as it will save data cost also.
Recommendations
1. Recommended for people who are fond of messaging and chatting.
2. Not recommended for heavy gamers, ok for those who casually play games.
3. It is good option for those who want touch and type mobile phones as there are no better option in any price range (except Blackberry).
It is an average handset with stylish looks and cute QWERTY keypad . The phone is available at very reasonable price of Rs.8000 (approx.) at online stores . It is a steal for these many features at this price. There is no other mobile of reputed brand having all these features in market nowadays. This mobile is solely for not-so-heavy users who are comfortable with physical keys. The best part is that this mobile is worth the price paid.
MY RATINGS FOR THIS PHONE: 3.5/5
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