Review: Samsung Galaxy Pocket

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket is an entry-level smartphone with a simple look and feel. At a low price of R999, the phone offers users some great smartphone functionality while also providing access to the host of apps available from the Android store.

Of course, this low price is not without its drawbacks, including a modest 832MHz processor and an extremely low-spec camera. However, by far the biggest drawback when it comes to the Galaxy Pocket is its screen size.

While top-end smartphones seem to be getting bigger with each new release, entry-level smartphones aren't following this trend. The result is a lot of cheap smartphones with teeny tiny touch-screens, and the Galaxy Pocket fits into this category. The small display makes it near impossible to type fast and accurately. For me, this is a major drawback, because typing tweets and SMSes is primarily what I use my phone for.

The aptly named Galaxy Pocket is a tiny phone that will likely fit into the smallest of pockets.

The phone has hard plastic finishes, with a steel frame around the front cover that draws attention away from an otherwise cheap looking design. The phone is also rather thick, but rounded corners stop it from looking too much like a brick.

Three buttons are located below the touch-screen, giving users easy access to the customisable interface, home screens, as well as an option to return to a previous menu when navigating. There is also a shortcut to the camera to the left of the phone.

The Galaxy Pocket runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The OS is very intuitive, and users can customise menus and shortcuts according to their own preferences.

Apps are clearly displayed, and users can easily scroll through the various apps by swiping the touch-screen display. Users can also organise the apps according to their own preferences, to make for easier navigation.

Making and receiving calls is easy, and I experienced no issues with call quality or volume, provided there is decent reception.

The phone is compatible with Edge and GPRS as well as WiFi and Bluetooth. However, it won't run NFC-enabled apps, and of course, users who are accustomed to 3G may find the browser a tad slow, even when the phone is picking up good signal.

In terms of battery life, I found the Galaxy Pocket lasted a good day-and-a-half to two days under heavy usage, SMSing, tweeting, and making and receiving calls.

As already mentioned, the display on the Samsung Galaxy Pocket is tiny, measuring a mere 2.8 inches. This makes it awkward to type messages. Couple this with auto-correct, and users are bound to get frustrated.

The small screen is also not great for watching videos, or even viewing photos. The 240 x 320-pixel display does not allow for sharp images, and even the apps look a little fuzzy.

Having said that, the display is bright, and users will have no difficulty reading messages, even if typing them is somewhat tricky.

The camera on the Galaxy Pocket is nothing to write home about. At 2MP, users definitely won't be printing out any photos taken with the phone.

In fact, with such a small a sensor, I'm not sure I would even use the camera to take pictures to send to friends for advice when picking out clothing (yes, stylistically deprived people like me do that).

That said, the camera does have some features worth mentioning, including the ability to take wide photos, capturing viewing angles of 180 degrees using the panoramic setting.

The phone has a built-in FM radio and an MP3 player. I was also surprised to find a voice recorder on the Galaxy Pocket. This is a great feature for anyone carrying out interviews or attending important meetings.

The phone comes preloaded with a good supply of apps as well as embedded shortcuts to the Samsung Apps store and the Play store.

At R999, the Samsung Galaxy pocket is probably the cheapest phone I have reviewed. I would argue that the phone is well worth its price.

Despite its rather disappointing camera and unimpressive display, the phone is a good buy for users looking for smartphone functionality, like the ability to send and receive mails from a phone and to make use of social media apps and navigations.