Google Android Phone Review: Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 (unlock, repair, Auckland, davidlim, 0212640000)

The Samsung Galaxy Y is a smartphone approved for all audiences. Perhaps in hindsight, our Galaxy Note review should've been rated PG. But well yeah, we're always wiser in hindsight. Anyway, you don’t just wake up one morning wanting a superphone like the Note. You need a place to start.
The Samsung Galaxy Y is one little step above dumbphones. It won’t be long before you know how big this step really was. Android is friendly, especially in a package like the Galaxy Y, and highly addictive. And there's plenty to explore.
The Samsung Galaxy Y is most likely someone's first smartphone. It comes on the cheap so you don't have to ask yourself if you really need all the extra features. Soon enough, you'll be wondering how you could live without them.

Samsung S5360 Galaxy Y official pictures
And no, the Galaxy Y isn't full of the latest tech. It keeps things neat and simple at a very reasonable price. There's a good package of preinstalled apps and a full connectivity set. The reasonably fast processor and the very recent Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread are a bit of surprise. This is a basic smartphone but one that looks up-to-date.

Key Features

• Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• 3” 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
• ARMv6 830MHz processor, 290MB user available RAM
• Android OS v2.3.5 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
• 160MB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot, 2GB card included
• 2MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Document viewer
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Swype text input
• MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• Social network integration

Main disadvantages

• Low screen resolution limits choice of apps
• No touchscreen haptics
• Fixed focus camera
• No secondary camera
• No camera flash, no dedicated camera key
• QVGA video recording @ 15fps
• No earphones in the bundle
• No Adobe Flash support

The Galaxy Y won't win any awards for innovation and performance but on the bright side, it does offer the full smartphone experience within budget. Aimed at the young and novice smartphone users, it focuses on the connectivity and good social skills. The screen resolution and sub-par imaging are the most prominent among the inevitable compromises.

The Galaxy Y live shots
With the holiday season fast approaching, a smartphone like this one might be right for teens who like to play Angry Birds and chat away on WhatsApp and Facebook. The Galaxy Y is released just in time to have an impact at the busiest shopping time of the year.

Retail package is decent

The retail package of the Galaxy Y is typical for the price range. Next to the USB cable and charger, you'll get a 2 GB MicroSD card with an SD adapter. What's missing is the headphones and it's not the first time Samsung have done this. They needed to cut costs obviously and maybe the idea was to let users buy their headset of choice. It seems to us though that the headphones are an essential accessory. Maybe Galaxy Y buyers could've done without a data cable or a memory card.

Retail box defined by price class

360-degree spin

The Samsung Galaxy Y is a small handset measuring 104 x 58 x 11.5 mm. At a mere 97.5 g, it's among the lightest droids too. The all-plastic body handles nicely and doesn't raise doubts over durability.

Design and build quality

The styling of the Samsung Galaxy Y is somewhat bland, perhaps a bit too conservative . The handset is entirely made of plastic, but to be fair, it feels good quality. The textured back is nice to the touch and good at hiding fingerprints, while the front is taken up entirely by the screen and black bezel around it. The phone's tapered edges give a more comfortable hand feel.

The HTC Wildfire S next to the Galaxy Y

Size is comparable to the HTC Wildfire S, which is among the main competitors. There's definitely no trouble carrying the Galaxy Y around.

The 3" capacitive touchscreen has QVGA (240 x 320) resolution and multi-touch support. The screen is pleasingly responsive but the image quality however is below par. It's not just the low resolution - the display has poor viewing angles, low brightness and contrast.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
LG Optimus Black P970	0.27	332	1228	0.65	749	1161
Nokia X7	0	365	∞	0	630	∞
Motorola Atrix 4G	0.48	314	652	0.60	598	991
Apple iPhone 4	0.14	189	1341	0.39	483	1242
HTC Sensation	0.21	173	809	0.61	438	720
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S	0	263	∞	0	395	∞
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc	0.03	34	1078	0.33	394	1207
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II	0	231	∞	0	362	∞
Nokia E6	0.52	757	1456	0.57	1004	1631
Nokia 701	0.64	619	964	1.12	1022	905
Samsung S5360 Galaxy Y	0.40	247	624	0.72	471	625

Above the display you'll find a proximity sensor. An ambient light sensor is missing so you’ll have to manually set the brightness to match changing lighting conditions. Even at maximum brightness, sunlight legibility isn't up to scratch. There's no front-mounted camera either.

The Samsung Galaxy Y

Below the display, there is a single hardware button: the central Home key with two capacitive controls either side: Menu and Back. It's the standard Samsung layout. The Home button is set within its own frame, slightly recessed. It has a nice feel to it thanks to the brushed-texture finish.

The backlighting of the capacitive Menu and Back keys comes on only upon a press. When not used, they're invisible, creating the illusion that there's a single button on the phone. There's no haptic feedback for either the screen or the capacitive keys.

The proximity sensor • Menu, Home and Back buttons

On the right of the phone there's only the power/lock button. It’s thin but sufficiently raised with good press.

Power/lock button

The left side of the phone features the volume rocker and a lanyard eyelet.

The volume rocker

The top of the Galaxy Y is where the connectivity ports are: a MicroUSB port, hidden under a plastic lid and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The MicroUSB port and 3.5 mm headphone jack

The microphone pinhole is located at the bottom of the phone, which is where you'll also find the thin slit to put a fingernail in and pull the battery cover open.

The microphone is at the bottom

The 2MP camera lens is at the back along with the loudspeaker. There's virtually no scratch or fingerprint protection for the camera lens, while the loudspeaker has a small nub that keeps it from getting completely muffled.

The battery cover of the Galaxy Y has a textured non-slip finish. It doesn’t quite affect the actual grip but makes the device a little more appealing. The matt finish is fingerprint-proof but the thin grooves might gather dust over time.

Camera lens and loudspeaker grill

The 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery is quoted at 850h/540h stand-by (2G/3G respectively) and 17h/6h of talk time. Our unit did quite well actually - one benefit of the small, low-res screen is that it isn't a battery hog. Even at the busiest of testing, the Galaxy Y easily stuck out 2 days on continuous 3G and Wi-Fi connection.

The SIM card finds its place under the battery, where it's held by a standard metal hinge. The microSD card can be hot-swapped but you need to remove the back panel to access the slot..

Removing the back panel

Neat and simple, with a bit of style sense, the Samsung Galaxy Y is affordable without looking cheap. It's plastic without feeling feeble. The back panel is nice to the touch, although it could be the wrong color to some. The phone has a good hand fit and is generally very friendly and welcoming. The low screen resolution is the major letdown. No, we're not saying that because we've seen and tested some HD screens lately. The thing is users upgrading from a feature phone will see no upgrade whatsoever in a QVGA screen.

The Galaxy Y live shots

But then, even if it doesn’t look its best in QVGA, Android is the bigger part of the deal.

This post is sponsored by:Dr Mobiles Limited
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Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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Nature is Beautiful - Flying Fishes (animal, sea, ocean, amazing, rare, Auckland, davidlim)

This post is sponsored by:Dr Mobiles Limited
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Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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Symbian Belle arriving on older Symbian devices in early-2012

Owners of the Nokia N8, E7, X7, C6-01, C7, Oro, E6, and 500 will have to wait a bit longer for the Symbian Belle update because as it turns out, you won't be getting it any time this year.


According to All About Symbian, Nokia said that these devices will be treated to Symbian Belle sometime in early-2012. Earlier it was expected that the update will be released before the end of this year but that clearly does not seem to be the case anymore.
Nokia did not specify what 'early-2012' means but it is generally assumed that it will be around February 2012, thanks to some of Nokia's Facebook pages. Although this may not apply to all devices in every region.
This post is sponsored by:Dr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622
Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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Google Android Phone Review: Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 - The Power Inc! (davidlim, Auckland, repair, unlock, smartphones)

Tablets are cool. But they have a purpose too. Larger screens, higher resolution and more mileage out of the battery make them better suited for certain tasks. That’s why people are not only fascinated by them but do end up actually needing one. What’s not so cool is the need to carry two devices all the time, especially when one of them won’t fit into any reasonable pocket.

Samsung Galaxy Note official photos

That's where the Samsung Galaxy Note comes in. It aims to squeeze the high-res screen and battery longevity of a tablet into a package that is still pocketable. And it does - but success is by no means guaranteed. There's nothing between the Galaxy Note and 7" tablets. And while it sounds good to have all that room to themselves, Samsung need to fill it with meaning. The right kind of users will be easily convinced of the advantages of an enlarged Galaxy S II. Not so sure about a compressed tablet.

But there's no reason to go into this with a skeptical attitude. Just look at that specs sheet!

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 5.3" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (800 x 1280 pixels)
• Android OS v2.3.5 with TouchWiz 4 launcher
• 1.4 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset, 1GB of RAM
• Pre-bundled with the S Pen active stylus
• 8 MP wide-angle autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
• Video recording of up to 1080p@30fps
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support; Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slot
• Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p through optional adapter) support
• Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• FM radio with RDS
• Great audio quality
• 9.7 mm slim and weighs a reasonable 178g
• 2MP secondary video-call camera
• Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration for the web browser permit 1080p flash video playback
• NFC support (optional)
• Document editor
• File manager comes preinstalled
• Extremely rich audio and video format support
• 2500 mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• Won’t fit comfortably in every pocket
• Much harder for one-handed use than a regular smartphone
• All-plastic body
• No dedicated camera key
• HD screen uses PenTile matrix lowering perceived resolution
• Non-hot-swappable microSD card
• Sub-par loudspeaker volume

There aren’t many smartphones around that can instill an inferiority complex in the Galaxy S II, but the Galaxy Note does a pretty good job of it. The Exynost chipset's got a faster CPU, the AMOLED screen has a million pixels and, most importantly, there’s more of it. And even the notoriously power-hungry Android will have a hard time pushing through the 2500 mAh battery in a day, which is what many modern-day smartphones will do more often than not.

Samsung Galaxy Note at ours

And there’s the S Pen, which promises to add a whole new dimension to the smartphone experience. Good old-fashioned notepads haven't been having a blast lately, but the Note threatens to put another nail in their coffin.

Quite a beast we have on our hands here and it won’t be easy taming it. We'd better get to it then and keep the Galaxy Note busy.
Taking a peek inside the box

Samsung has managed to fit the Galaxy Note in a surprisingly compact box - just a few millimeters larger than the device itself. The bundle includes a charger, a one-piece headset, a microUSB cable and a quick start guide. That’s all the basics covered, considering that the device offers ample storage out of the box.

The Samsung Galaxy Note retail package

The bad news is that the MHL adapter required for HD TV-out and the USB adapter enabling the USB host functionality aren’t included. It’s a real pity – both work pretty well but many users will probably not bother purchasing them and won’t get a chance to try them.

Samsung Galaxy Note 360-degree spin

At 146.9 x 83 x 9.7 mm the Samsung Galaxy Note is not your ordinary smartphone. Samsung have done well to keep the waistline so slim. Big devices are extremely sensitive to that kind of thing. The Galaxy Note is huge but not the solid muscular type. The slim body and massive screen have a sense of fragility about them, lacking physical strength. At 178 g it’s lighter than you’d expect - the Note is just 10 grams heavier than an Optimus 3D.

Design and build quality

Samsung went for simplicity with the Galaxy Note's design and that seems like a pretty good idea. There's nothing even remotely subtle about a 5.3” device and going all fancy on the finishing would have probably pushed things a bit too far.
You get the patterned back that we’ve come to know and like from the Galaxy S II only this time it’s in dark blue (so dark, it’s as good as black). It has little to do with providing extra grip. A device this size is much harder than usual to handle and the texture of the battery cover can do little to fix that. And knowing how much it costs, you really wouldn’t want to drop it.
The Note has a metal frame running all around the sides and a front panel with a single control – the hardware home key. Of course, that’s the only thing to notice with the screen turned off. Once you power it on, it will easily get all the attention.

5.3” HD Super AMOLED

The Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 features a 5.3” Super AMOLED screen of WXGA resolution. That’s right – we are talking 1280 x 800 pixels of unmatched contrast on the largest AMOLED screen on the market (a title the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is soon to claim for itself). Super AMOLEDs were impressive enough on a smaller scale, but this one is spectacular.
Having mentioned the specs, we hardly need to go on and on about the image quality. With a pixel density of about 285ppi and infinite contrast, the huge AMOLED is a joy to behold.
Brightness levels are adequate (though they aren’t a Super AMOLED forte to begin with) and we have the typically flawless outdoor performance. Everything remains perfectly legible on the Note's display, no matter how bright the sun is. Viewing angles are also top notch - it almost feels the icons are painted on the top of the glass.
Like the other recent AMOLEDs by Samsung, the Note display has a setting for the color saturation. You can choose between the super punchy but not quite real colors and a more natural look.
The only downside of the 5.3” screen is that, unlike its Super AMOLED Plus siblings, it uses a PenTile matrix, instead of a conventional RGB one. It means that each pixel is composed of two, rather than three subpixels, which lowers the effective resolution whenever subpixel rendering is used.
However, with the Galaxy Note having so many pixels the infamous dotiness is much harder to spot. Basically, you'll need to look from a much shorter distance than what feels comfortable for working with the smartphone. Bottom line is that with that kind of pixel density, PenTile makes much less difference.

The PenTile screen of the Galaxy Note compared to the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4 screens using an RGB matrix
Finally, here comes our traditional display brightness test, which confirms that the Galaxy Note Super AMOLED is only slightly brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S II. It’s the infinity scores in the third and sixth columns that matter the most, though.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy Note	0.00	287	∞	0.00	429	∞
LG Optimus 2X	0.23	228	982	0.35	347	1001
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc	0.03	34	1078	0.33	394	1207
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II	0.00	231	∞	0.00	362	∞
Apple iPhone 4S	0.14	205	1463	0.52	654	1261
HTC Sensation	0.21	173	809	0.61	438	720
Nokia 701	0.64	619	964	1.12	1022	905

This post is sponsored by:Dr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622
Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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