Samsung Galaxy Mini Review

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The Samsung Galaxy Mini is a recently launched Android phone which is a bit on the small side. While being a budget phone means that plenty of features are left out or they’re not as good as they could be, the S5570 offers a good experience, especially if you’re a beginner with Android, that wants to test the waters before getting a more expensive model.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: OS & Processor

Galaxy Mini’s OS is Android 2.2 Froyo and the processor installed on it is a 600MHz model, which isn’t much when you compare it with the 1GHz that most phones come with these days, but it does its job well enough for daily use.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: Design & Build

Holding the Mini in your hand feels good. The phone is thin, the materials used are good, it weighs 105 grams and its size is 110x60x12 mm, making it small and light enough to keep in your pocket and use with just one hand if needed.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: Display

The screen size is a 3.14 inch, which is decent and sufficient for everyday use. The QVGA resolution is the weak point of the phone with just 240×320, which isn’t great for an Android phone and it’s the area where the cost cutting strategy did the most damage. While this resolution isn’t really enough to play a decent game of Angry Birds, it does take the price down and allows for the rest of the phone to come with plenty of nice features, considering the low price.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: UI

The UI on it is the TouchWiz 3.0, which allows for the user interface to be optimized for the small size. Thanks to the 600MHz processor and 384 MB of RAM the phone responds well enough.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: Connectivity

This is the area that makes this phone worth it and it’s where Samsung didn’t skimp as much. The Mini comes with all the basic connectivity solutions you might need: 3G HSDPA, EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, which allows streaming high quality audio via Bluetooth, from one device to another, an example being streaming music from the phone to a wireless headset) and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: GPS & Battery

Another nice feature is the GPS with support for A-GPS and for Google Maps. The battery which comes with it is a Li-Ion model at 1200 mAh, good enough to provide around 2-3 days of moderate use.


Samsung Galaxy Mini: Camera & Video

The camera is a basic one, with 3.15MP and a resolution of 2048 x 1536. It lacks both autofocus and flash and the quality of the photos isn’t great. As for video, it can record at 15 fps and QVGA resolution (320×240), which is pretty weak.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: Multimedia

The Galaxy Mini comes with a standard media player and the phone can play MP3/eAAC+/WAV music files and H.263/H.264/MP4 video files (though watching movies on the small display isn’t the best experience, but it will do in a pinch). The music player also has an FM radio with RDS, which I didn’t test.

Samsung Galaxy Mini: Memory

The Samsung Galaxy Mini’s internal memory stands at 160MB, which is sufficient to store as many phone book entries as you want. The microSD card slot allows you to add up to 32GB of memory to the phone and it’s being sold with a 2GB card included.

Conclusion:

The Samsung Galaxy Mini's nippy performance and Swype software make it an ideal phone for younger users, and those who want to experience Android but don't want to spend all their cash on a high-end phone. But the low-resolution screen, average battery life and lack of gaming clout mean you should also consider rival devices, such as the Galaxy Ace.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 Specs & Price >