Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 Preview: First Look

Introduction

Mini phones are a hot commodity. They are desirable and fill a market gap of small, easy-to-carry devices, which can lift mountains despite their size. Now Samsung wants to have a go at that market with the Galaxy Mini S5570.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 official photos

The Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 is expected to be pretty affordable for what it has to offer and that’s always a good thing. Powering the device is an ARMv6 600Mhz, which doesn’t sound like much, but with Froyo 2.2 on top, it’s sufficient for everyday usage.

Here’s a list of what the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 will offer you.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 – at a glance:

• General HSDPA 7.2Mbps, 900/2100 Mhz, EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz
• Form factor: Touchscreen phone
• Dimensions: 110.4 x 60.8 x 12.1 mm, 105 g
• Display: 3.2” capacitive touchscreen; QVGA (240x320) pixel resolution
• CPU: ARMv6 600Mhz processor
• OS: Android 2.2.1 (Froyo)
• Memory: 160MB storage, 384MB RAM, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 3 megapixel fixed focus camera
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: FM radio, built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, Swype predictive input method, Social Hub

As you can see the major compromise in the specs sheet is the screen resolution. Android looks bad on QVGA screens. Samsung have done some sub pixel modifications to the fonts and icons to make them look good and more legible on the Galaxy Mini but we feel that will remain our primary grudge with the handset.

On the positive side, that compromise might as well mean that the Galaxy Mini will be among the most affordable Android smartphones on the market.

Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 live shots

The Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 feels nice in hand. It has a thin profile and the materials used are nice to touch.

We have the pleasure of getting a pre-release test unit and since it’s an early prototype, it’s not quite ready for prime time so we’ll be doing only a quick preview of the device instead of a full-fledged review.

Preview or not, you’ll find a due hardware and software inspection on the pages to follow.

Motorola MILESTONE 2 review: Landmark droid

Introduction

The MILESTONE 2 has a single mission – to reclaim the top spot in Android messengers for Motorola. It has the pedigree and the personality, and with the right upgrades, it seems a lock to become the next all-in-one messenger of choice.

Who can blame Motorola? They liked it at the top of the Android food chain and want to relive the good times. Less in a mood to experiment, they know exactly where they’re going and the MILESTONE 2 might well be the phone to get them there.

Motorola MILESTONE 2 official photos

The MILESTONE 2 has the right measure of metal on the outside and beefed up internals – both hardware and software. There are a few omissions too but not too close to being deal breakers. Here they all are, in a summarized form.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G with HSDPA and HSUPA support
• 3.7" 16M-color capacitive touchscreen with WVGA (480x 854 pixels) resolution
• Scratch-resistant Gorilla glass
• One of the slimmest QWERTY side sliders
• TI OMAP3630 1GHz CPU, PowerVR SGX530 graphics accelerator; 512MB of RAM
• Android OS v2.2; MOTOBLUR UI 1.5 with SNS integration
• Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• 5 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash; face detection, geo-tagging
• 720p HD video recording @ 30fps
• Wi-Fi b/g/n; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality; DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS; Digital compass
• 8GB storage; microSD slot with 8GB card preinstalled
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor, in-pocket detection with auto lock
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v2.1
• Smart and voice dialing
• Office document editor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
• DivX/XviD video support

Main disadvantages

• The internal 8GB of storage is for apps only
• Side sliding mechanism is not spring-assisted
• DivX and XviD playback has its issues
• Non hot-swappable microSD card slot
• No FM radio

There’s little missing on the Motorola MILESTONE 2 spec sheet. In actual fact, many of the phone features seem to have a special added quality – Gorilla Glass for the display, 720p video for the 5MP camera, Wi-Fi hotspot for the fast 3G, DLNA for the Wi-Fi connectivity, Flash for the web browser and so on.

Still, the main focus of the MILESTONE 2 is text-based communication – from the humble SMS, through email, to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace messaging there’s little that this messenger droid won’t do.

The Universal inbox is the tool to handle all this. It doesn’t really matter where each message is coming from – they all end up in the same place with a handy reply button to send back a reply on the corresponding network.

Motorola MILESTONE 2 live shots

We’ll rummage through the box for starters and look at the Motorola MILESTONE 2 from all sides with a due inspection of the screen and keyboard. We’ll look at the rest of the hardware and the software too, but first things first.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL review: Through different eyes

ntroduction

Success breeds imitation and we have the next Galaxy S remake to bear witness. But make no mistake about it – the Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL is not just another clone. This time changes aren’t just skin deep.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL official photos

We are talking a new screen, a new CPU and a different battery here. Although it’s actually hard to notice a difference on the outside, save for a slightly thicker body. Basically most of the internals have been replaced, which may have or may have not resulted in a significant change in the user experience.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4" 16M-color Super Clear LCD capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
• Slim 10.9mm profile
• 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP 3630 chipset; 478MB of RAM available to the user
• 5 MP autofocus camera with face, smile and blink detection
• 720p HD video recording at 30fps
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Secondary video-call camera
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI customization
• FM radio with RDS
• Adobe Flash 10.1 support for the web browser
• Document editor
• File manager comes preinstalled
• Samsung Apps brings a few nice apps for free
• Battery has increased capacity (1650 mAh) over the original Galaxy S (1500 mAh)

Main disadvantages

• Super Clear LCD is somewhat inferior to SuperAMOLED
• Camera lacks flash
• No dedicated camera key
• The all-plastic body is a real fingerprint magnet
• Feeble loudspeaker
• Increased thickness (10.6mm), height (123.7mm) and weight (131 g) compared to the original Galaxy S (9.9mm, 122.4mm and 119 g)
• Less capable GPU compared to the original Galaxy S

The Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL is a victim of timing. It couldn’t have been less fortunate to follow in the footsteps of the original Galaxy S – knowing it will never be able to catch up. At least Samsung should know perfectly well what to expect.

This is not the first flagship they’re forced by circumstances to replace. Much like the S8530 Wave II, the I9003 is more of a substitute, rather than an upgrade. You can think of the I9003 SL as a way to make sure there will be enough AMOLED panels for the Galaxy S2 without the need to discontinue the original Galaxy S altogether.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL at ours

The AMOLED shortage is to be felt for at least another while and Samsung are trying hard to work their way around it. We’ll have to see how this next attempt plays out. The I9003 has many people to convince that it’s a good enough replacement. Users have every right to be skeptical. It will take a good deal of persuasion to keep them from spending their cash elsewhere.

So let’s see if there’s life after SuperAMOLED for the Galaxy SL.