Samsung galaxy Y is one of entry-level phones designed specifically for the emerging Smartphone market in developing nations.
The handset comes with an affordable price tag and passes as an inexpensive Android handset designed as part of another strategy by Samsung to capture the youth segment of the market.
Just as usual, here is an in-depth and independent review of the Samsung galaxy young handset.
Samsung Galaxy Y (Front)
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Samsung Galaxy Y (Back)
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Display
The phone comes with a 3-inch TFT capacitive 240 x 320-pixel display. The phone display has a 133-ppi pixel density resolution and supports multi gesture control. The phone lacks a corning gorilla glass layer on its surface, which is typical of Samsung entry-level android handsets.
However, on the upside, the display has the TouchWiz UI and Touch sensitive controls for the menu and back keys.In comparison to the Galaxy pocket, the galaxy young display appears a bit fuzzy especially when reading text and the display isn’t that of a marvel to stare at.
Generally, the guys in Seoul could have done much better on the display.
Body and Design
The phone comes in a 104 x 58 x 11.5 mm chassis and weighs in at an approximately 97.5g. The chrome like strip around the gadget makes the phone a looker.
This coupled with the six changeable covers bundled with the phone, gives the phone a premium feel, something that is hard to find on a phone at this price level.
The snakeskin like feel cover finish plus the round edges of the phone gives you a good grip for one-handed operations on the phone. From the design perspective, the Samsung Galaxy definitely takes the trophy home.
Technical Specifications
The phone is powered by an 832 MHz ARMv6 processor and has 290MB of RAM for multitasking. On 3G connectivity, the phone supports up to 7.2 Mbps on a HSDPA network. This is unlike the galaxy Pocket that can handle speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps on the HSDPA network.
The phone has a WI-Fi 802.11 b/g/n chip for wireless connectivity and Bluetooth version 3.0 for wireless file transfer and GPS for navigation. In addition to this, it has a hotspot functionality for tethering with other WI-fi enabled devices.
The phone comes with a paltry 180mb internal memory and this comes a bit of a disappointment considering that the Galaxy pocket has a generous 3GB internal memory on board.
Fortunately, the phone comes with a memory card slot that can support up to 32GB of micro SD memory.
On the OS, the phone comes shipped with Android Version 2.3.5 which is however not upgradable to the version 4.0
Multimedia
The phone comes with a 2MP camera located at the top right corner of the rear side of the Galaxy Young. The snapper is capable of capturing images at a 1600×1200 pixel resolution.
It also has the cool Geotagging feature i.e can store in the photo Meta data the location from which the image was captured. It however lacks a secondary camera hence no Skype video calls on the phone.
The camera can take videos on a 15 fps frame rate. The video is captured in MP4 format.
On the music player, the Samsung Galaxy features the stock Samsung mobile music player and comes loaded with several codecs to handle the different audio formats.
Battery Life
The galaxy young comes with a Standard Li-Ion 1200 mAh battery. With an 850h standby rating, the battery is capable of taking you through the day without the need of staying close to a mains outlet.
Battery life on the device can be pushed to the extreme by lowering the screen brightness to about a half and switching off the WI-Fi and GPS when not in use.
Using the 2G network for connectivity is another excellent way to make the battery last longer. Battery saving apps such as Juice Defender can also result in further energy savings on the device.
Tech Trends Diary Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Young gives you the feeling of owning a premium android device while still spending within your budget limits. However, on comparison with the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Pocket, minor differences between the two phones emerge.
This is the reason behind the ‘Samsung Galaxy why’ jokes over the net considering that the only advantage the phone possess over the Galaxy pocket is the larger display (0.5 cm larger).
If you are on a low budget but prefer the phone with a premium look the Samsung Galaxy Young is probably the best choice for you.
If you are a first time user testing the water of the Android sea and require just the basic out of a Smartphone, your money should be on the Galaxy pocket.
Tech Trends Diary Rating
Samsung Galaxy Young: [usr 7.9]
Competitors
Alternatives to this phone include the Samsung Galaxy Pocket and the the LG Optimus Net
Price in Kenya
In Kenya, The Samsung Galaxy Y has a suggested retail price of Ksh 13,500 price tag.
It will be awesome if you rate this gadget.
Check out the Samsung Galaxy Young 2
Kevin is a tech enthusiast and the lead writer at MobiTrends.co.ke. He has been writing about smartphones and tech related topics since October 2012. About Us | Contact Us
