Samsung Galaxy Pro review

The Samsung Galaxy Pro is here to make Google converts of all your BlackBerry messaging fiends: it comes armed with Android and a marvellous portrait keyboard, plus all of those lovely, lovely apps. But is it worth trading in a decent screen for a QWERTY pad? Let’s have a look-see.

Verdict
If you really need an Android messaging phone, this will keep your thumbs happy – but it might be worth holding out for theHTC ChaCha.

We love
Superb keyboard with ace Android integration

We hate
Very low resolution screen, Samsung adds little to Android itself

Specs
Screen: 2.8in, 240×320
Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi, USB
Camera: 3MP
Storage: 512MB internal, up to 32GB via microSD
Battery: 1350mAh
Size/Weight: 198.6×66.7×10.65mm/103g

Design and build quality

If you’ve ever handled one of Nokia, INQ or Sony Ericsson’s portrait QWERTY phones, you’ll know what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy Pro: it’s relatively slim, with a small landscape orientation (touchscreen) display and a four line keyboard.

The materials used to finish the Galaxy Pro are far from premium (the smudge free back can only be described as corrugated plastic), but it is as strong as a smartphone ox, with ports places sensibly on the top, volume on the left hand side and a power/lock button on the right. It’s durable rather than attractive, which is what you’d expect given where it sits in Samsung’s handset line up – far below the sensational Samsung Galaxy S 2.

That keyboard though is the one reason to consider this handset – but it’s quite the compelling one. The keys click down satisfyingly, there are Shift and Alt buttons squeezed in the corner for easy reach and Samsung has even found space for cursor keys, which makes text selection a doddle.

If we have a complaint, it’s that the rows of letters aren’t arranged symmetrically as on a BlackBerry, so the typing experience isn’t quite as seamless. But it’s hard to complain: this is undoubtedly the Android phone with the fastest possible WPM count yet, far outstripping the likes of the HTC Desire Z and Motorola Milestone 2, with their elongated landscape keypads.

Screen

Things start to unravel with the screen however: while the 2.8-inch size is perfectly sized with the keyboard outsourced to the button below, it’s wishy washy at best, with poor blacks and shallow horizontal viewing angles.

It also doesn’t support multitouch pinch to zoom gestures on apps and web pages. It’s curious, because should you choose to turn the on-screen keyboard on in the settings (you can, but there’s little point to it), you can see the screen is perfectly responsive for touch typing.

That low resolution has another serious side effect: not every Android app supports 320×240, so you simply won’t find them in the Android Market. Most major services still do (Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Dropbox etc) so it’s not a deal breaker, but messaging obsessives be aware: this and the lack of multitouch removes the option to play a lot of Android games. This phone’s keyboard comes with unseen costs.

Key features

While the Samsung Galaxy Pro won’t tempt suited BlackBerry die hards, it’s certain to appeal to RIM’s legions of tween fans with fewer digits in their bank balance. The fantastic keyboard is combined with Samsung’s integrated phonebook, which intelligently integrates your Facebook contacts with your phone numbers, so you can see people’s latest activity before you even call them – a thoughtful touch. That seamless social networking experience ends there however – it might be worth holding out for the HTC ChaCha, which promises tight Facebook integration, including a dedicated button and Facebook Chat widget.

Usability

For the most part, Samsung has made Android 2.2 (not the newer 2.3) on the Galaxy Pro a tad more confusing than it needs to be. Many core Samsung services open in portrait mode unless you lock the display’s orientation, and its Social Hub for checking out your friends’ Facebook and Twitter updates simply opens both services in the web browser – you’re far better off downloading the native Facebook and Twitter apps for up to the minute alerts, but sadly, not everyone who buys this phone will realise this.

We should spare praise however for the Samsung Galaxy Pro’s keyboard homescreen integration. Start typing and you can immediately rifle through contacts and call them with a prod, or simply make a Google search by hitting enter. It’s another little feature that will make BlackBerry addicts used to quick universal search consider crossing the floor.

Connectivity

As you’ll find with any phone running Android 2.2 and up, you’ve got the trinity of 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS to keep you located and in the know on the net, plus the free mobile AP feature for turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot wherever you are. That’s your lot though: if you want to hook a phone up to your TV, you’ll need to shop up market and take a gander at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Samsung Galaxy S 2 or iPhone 4.

Video and camera

It’s best we don’t linger on the camera. While it’s the same camera app as that on the Samsung Galaxy Ace, it’s noticeably slower to shoot, sometimes taking up to a few seconds to pop a shot after hitting the shutter button. There’s no flash, and even in broad daylight the stills grabbed by the three megapixel sensor are mediocre at best. And the QVGA video shooting? It’s suitable only for sending your mates MMS messages of happyslaps, or something hopefully slightly less illegal.

Media playback

As with the Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung hasn’t deigned to bless the Galaxy Pro with its impressive Android codec support as seen on the Galaxy S series of phones. You’ll be able to open H.264 MP4 files if you’re lucky, MP3 tunes, and that’s it. As expected of a low end Android phone, Flash is a no go, but we were also sorry to see that Samsung has also removed its excellent DLNA streaming app, allShare, along with it. There are other options on the Android Market, sure, but your mileage will most definitely vary on this handset.

Apps

Any Android phone review has to be prefaced by the boiler plate statement that the Android Market is a treasure trove of software, and even the lack of support for some apps at 320×240 resolution still leaves you with thousands to get stuck into. And it’s only going to get better over time, as Google’s fantastic OS continues to expand exponentially.

In this case though, there’s little else to remark on: Samsung hasn’t included any other apps of interest, other than its own Apps download store, which during our testing simply crashed every single time.

Call quality/battery life

Call quality might not be high on the list of priorities if you’re after a phone for sending group texts, IM messages and Facebook bleats, so it’s probably just as well that chats sounded rather noise filled, with cracks and pops we’re not accustomed to with full reception.

Battery life on the other hand is solid: the same 1350 mAh battery as that on the Galaxy Ace helps the Samsung Galaxy Pro last a full day and a half of heavy use, or two if you’re able to control your tweeting urges.