Samsung has been taking over the mobile market by storm after moving on to manufacturing smartphones based on Google’s Open Source Android operating system. The company recently took over Apple as the world’s top smartphone manufacturer. Keeping up the momentum Samsung announced a couple of new phones last August which included the budget friendly Galaxy Y.
Samsung has a lot to live up to, after releasing the highly successful Galaxy S II customers have started to expect nothing but excellence from the electronics giant. The Galaxy Y aims to offer the latest smartphone capabilities at an affordable price making the phone perfect for students, but is it? How does it compare against other phones at same price point and does it live up to the Galaxy name? Find out in our review below.
The Box:
The factory unlocked Galaxy Y which we received comes in a small white box pictured above, yours may vary. As you open the box you’re greeted by the phone, as you go deeper you find the instruction manual, warranty card and rest of the accessories including the charger, USB cable, earphones and an included 2GB micro-SD card.
The battery included is a 1200mAh unit, which does make the phone last quite a while which we will discuss in fine detail later. The charger included has a fixed microUSB connector unlike the Galaxy S II which had a removable cable, luckily Samsung has included a separate USB cable which is quite redeeming.
Specifications:
The Galaxy Y features the following specifications:
* Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
* 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
* 3” 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
* ARMv6 830MHz processor, 290MB RAM
* Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
* 160MB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot, 2GB card included
* 2MP (1600×1200) fixed focus camera with in-built geotagging which records QVGA@15FPS
* GPS receiver with A-GPS
* Stereo FM radio with RDS
* 3.5mm audio jack
* Document viewer
* Accelerometer and proximity sensor
* Swype keyboard comes with the phone
* MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 2.1
* Social network integration
Hardware:
The Galaxy Y has a 3-inch display, lets get one thing straight this ain’t no Super AMOLED. The TFT LCD screen on the Galaxy Y has a super low resolution of 240*320 pixels which in this day and age should be extinct. The low resolution in-turn results in a lower quality display and poor colors. The screen proved to be pretty responsive though which kind of makes up for the poor display, it’s a budget phone after all. A proximity sensor is present right above the screen but unfortunately there is no light sensor so you will have to adjust the brightness manually.
The Galaxy Y has a design similar to the original Galaxy but smaller, the front features one main home button and two capacitive back and menu buttons. The front is a typical black face with silver accents. The back is something we don’t see everyday, a bright silver back cover with a very good texture that makes the phone very comfortable to hold.
Moving to the sides now, the left side of the phone sport’s the volume up and down button which are silver just like the back. Unfortunately there is no dedicated camera button like the Galaxy S II which is a shame. The right side of the phone has the the power button like many other Samsung phones. The top of the phone has the 3.5mm headphones jack and microUSB port placed inside a rubber enclosure.
The phone has a 2 megapixel camera which is way below the minimum in this day and age, but as we’ve come to know megapixels aren’t everything. The sensor on the Y is a mediocre at best; the colors a dull, pictures have very little details and the exposure is very erratic as sometimes you will get a very bright or very dark picture. The software bundled in the camera app is very good though, the UI is great and many of the picture options like Panorama mode and smile shot are great to use. Video quality on the phone is pretty much the same, great UI but very poor QVGA video capture at just 15fps shouldn’t be used for anything other than MMS’ing. The Galaxy Y isn’t meant to be a camera phone, not by a long shot so we can’t really blame the phone here.
The Galaxy Y comes with a 830MHz ARMv6 processor which performs pretty good, the phone performed very smoothly during my time with it. The one time I experienced sluggishness when I had more than 5 programs including the web browser and Skype open at the same time. RAM is on the limited side though at just around 290MB which doesn’t give huge room for overclocking but it’s substantial for the casual crowd.
Storage is pretty limited on the Galaxy Y with just 160MB of internal storage, while is almost nothing for apps. I would defiantly recommend getting APPS2SD or a similar app to increase storage for your apps. A 2GB microSD card comes packed with the phone which is pretty substantial.
Speakers on are very poor, you can’t even hear your ring tone if you’re in a crowded place like a park or a shopping mall. Quality is a bit better if there’s less background noise but it isn’t the best experience ever. If you want to listen to music or watch a movie on the phone a headset or earphones are definitely recommended.
Software:
The phone comes with the latest Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with Samsung’s own excellent TouchWiz UI which is my personal favorite Android skin. Navigating through the Menus is very snappy with almost no lag at all due to the light skin. TouchWiz features full Social Network integration so you’re always connected, perfect for them youngsters. Gingerbread’s most annoying feature, at least for me has always been the battery life. The Galaxy Y surprisingly holds itself pretty well with the phone lasting around 11 hours of heavy WiFi, Skype calls, Internet browsing and watching videos. On a normal days it would last a bit more than a day which is excellent.
Samsung has started packing three keyboards with all it’s phones, one is the stock Samsung keyboard, the Gingerbread keyboard and the ultimately awesome Skype keyboard. An FM radio app is included as well, the phone doesn’t have a radio chip though so you have to use your earphones.
The TouchWiz themed music player is pretty good for a phone this size, it’s perfectly optimized for the Galaxy Y’s smaller screen. The app includes both an equalizer and 5.1 channel surround sound option which makes the audio pretty good on headphones but on proper HiFi systems it’s nothing to write home about.
Pre-installed apps on the Galaxy Y include YouTube, Quick Office, Android Market, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Talk, Places, Navigation, Samsung Hubs and other Samsung Apps.
Conclusion:
Overall the Samsung Galaxy Y is a very nice package for the price, expect the phone to be very popular with the young ones out there. The specs might not blow you away but if you’re trying to get started in the world of smartphones and don’t want to take a huge risk then the Galaxy Y is for you.
TechDeville gives the Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 3.5/5 stars.
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