Samsung announced a new range of android 2.2 powered handsets in January this year, and all those phones have now hit the stores. Today we did a hands on review of the Galaxy Ace phone, and were pleasantly surprised. Lets do a quick look at the tech specs and later a short description of the user experience.
- 800MHz processor ARM 11 processor
- 158 MB internal memory ( 2 GB card included expandable upto 32GB
- 3.5 “ TFT capacitive multi-touch screen
- 5MP rear facing camera ( no front facing camera)
- Comes pre-loaded with 2.2.1 Froyo, no word on 2.3 Gingerbread.
- Plays most video formats including streaming formats and integrated music player.
- Accelerometer, A-GPS for gaming and navigation.
- WiFi b/g/n, GPRS, EDGE, 3G
- 1350mAH Li-Ion battery ( Talk time upto 11h on 2G / 6h 30 min on 3G)
- Approx. Price Rs15,500/
Review:Samsung Galaxy Ace
One of the first things you will notice about this phone is the comfortable form factor. The phone fits easily into your hands, and feels great to hold. The build quality is good and it feels sturdy. The super clear glass on the front also makes the screen look clean and overall looks viz the phone is quite nice although it pales in comparison to the superAMOLED screen available in the Galaxy S.
The phone is powered by 2.2 Froyo and that shows in the performance. The phone ( it was not loaded with applications at the time) responds well and is fast. The 800 MHz processor combined with Froyo delivers an awesome performance. I was actually quite surprised that the phone worked without any glitches for the 30 mins that i used it.
The Internet browsing experience is what stood out for me. The phone handled websites running flash well, even with multiple tabs open, pretty impressive.
Video playback on the phone was nice and smooth without any lag. The speakers on the phone are average quality.
The one thing that disappointed me, considering this device cost close to Rs16K, is the lack of a front facing camera. Video calling on this phone would have definitely made it a complete package.
Almost everyone complains about the battery on their smartphones. The battery on this one was what surprised me. Even after 30 mins of heavy usage ( Media, Internet, Games etc) the phone did not drain a huge amount of battery.
The camera too was good during daytime with stills as well as video recording. Even though the phone has a 5MP camera, there is no HD video recording.
Overall a great phone that just missed out of getting called to the big league of android phones.
