Samsung has a low cost Android phone out in the Indian market and this one sure is a big challenge for players like Micromax who have their low cost Android offerings attracting a lot of buyers. The Samsung Galaxy Y (Young) S5360 costs just Rs 6900 in Mumbai and the specifications are impressive for this price point. We go hands on the Galaxy Y and here is a quick look at the small wonder.
Samsung packs in a 832 MHz processor and the RAM appears to be over 300MB. The screen is 3.0″ and Capacitive! However the resolution suffers at 240×320 pixels. The Galaxy Y also features AGPS, WiFi, a 2MP camera and HSDPA 7.2Mbps connectivity. Goes without saying, the device works smoothly and Samsung has demonstrated how to pull off a low cost Android device without giving a bad user experience.
The built of the device is mainly plastic but the silver back cover gives a metallic look. The top of the device sports a 3.5mm audio jack and the micro USB port behind a plastic covering. The power button is on the right and volume toggle on the left, no dedicated camera button as expected and just below the screen you have a two touch buttons (menu, back) and a squarish center key.
The microSD card slot is behind the battery cover and the same is hot swappable. While the body is majorly plastic, there is a chrome border around the front of the device. The phone reminds us of the Star series from Samsung that carried the full touch-screens before the Android lot came in. For Galaxy Y there are no jazzy looks to attract you, but gets the real wonder under the hood.
The S5360 weighs just 97.5 gms and the battery is rated at 1200 mAh. We tried some basic games on this device like Angry birds and Paper Toss. They worked well even when multitasking between the both of them, the game hung just once, but we weren’t able to reproduce the issue for another 30 mins.
In fact the lag we saw in HTC Wildfire S wasn’t visible on the Galaxy Y, that’s a surprise given that the Galaxy Y costs almost half the price at which Wildfire S launched. Given the good processor and over 300 MB of RAM, the benchmark scores look impressive as well. Galaxy Y manages a Quadrant score of 951, which is surprisingly better than the Samsung Galaxy S and the Nexus One.
Though the SunSpider Benchmark test results for the browser were far from impressive with a score of 12225.9ms.
The 2.0 MP camera on the Galaxy Y is decent enough considering the price factor. Though one must admit that it wont exactly be a photographers delight with the images not being clear enough to our liking. We also found the images to be lacking in detail and the colour reproduction here looks a little dull as well.
Camera Sample from the Galaxy Y
Camera Samples from the Galaxy Y
Video Sample:
The video recording on the Galaxy Y is also average and the output is blurry as well.
The Galaxy Y given its price point has managed to impress us, but it comes with its own limitations. The onscreen QWERTY is difficult to use given the small key sizes and typing can be a challenge, so if you are a chat freak, you may want to get a feel before jumping on this. The screen, though 3-inches, doesn’t appear very big given the low resolution. The display brightness/sharpness isn’t the best in class nor does the 2MP camera deliver great shots. However we can’t label any of these as a deal-breaker. The device packs in enough utility and power to serve most entry level needs.
Over the years Samsung has managed to understand the low end market well, right from the Corby / Star series to the Champ and now with the Galaxy Y. We believe this is one of the best value for money Android phone to pick under Rs 10,000.
