I haven’t done any product reviews but there are a lot of inquiries about this promising mobile phone so here’s the hands on review of the Samsung Galaxy Y Young GT- S5360 or Galaxy Young. Just weeks after the release in the Philippines last October 15, I ditched my old Samsung Punch and got this Android smart phone. I will list it in order base on my preferences.

Design
This is a matter of preference on the form factor, the candy bar like design can suit both gender. Unlike some designs that are too rounded, I find it more suited for the ladies. The silver black casing adds elegance and the textures hides the quality of plastic material. It also protects the back from scratches.

Display and Performance
The small screen size of 3.0” 256K capacitive TFT Display at 240 x 320 pixels, the quality is just like an upgrade to my Samsung Punch while other galaxy models like Galaxy Ace and Galaxy Mini has brighter, clear and crispier graphic displays. The 832 MHz processor is good enough to power this phone, sliding apps with ease though sometimes takes time to load if lot of applications are open.

Applications
The Android Marketplace has 300,000 apps to choose from both with free and paid apps. The fastest and easiest way to download applications is by using the handset connected to the internet though Wi-Fi. In case you’re charging the phone you can download using a desktop computer or laptop and the applications will be downloaded later. A Gmail account is needed to access the Android market.

Battery
One thing I don’t like smartphones is the battery life, this is an exception if you use a lot of applications and still running in the background. It only last for me for a day, with some internet browsing and games. I’m a Sun Cellular user so I make a lot of long phone calls. Installing an application named Juice Defender will somehow help increase the battery life. Kill unwanted running applications in the background with its built in task manager.

Audio
I found the audio a bit unpowered unlike other phones that has a crisp sound even during loud speaker mode. Listening to music using earphones is the next best thing with its 5.1 surround sound support. Glad that it has a 3.5mm audio jack and not the USB type.

Camera
Equipped with 2 megapixels and 15fps video recording, it has a decent quality photos and videos good for posting in social networks but not for print. Low light performance did not meet any of my expectations. Some samples are taken during sunny days except the candles and the Chowking food chain .

Ergonomics

This is a small phone so if you have big hands, you have to get used to it. The virtual keyboard is also really small; I found it hard to type even with the SWYPE feature. But the small size perfectly fits on my pocket.

Price
I’ve been looking for a cheap android phone for a long time here in the Philippines then this came and the first thing that catches my attention was the price. It’s an entry level phone, reasonably priced at P5990 but there’s a forecast that the prices will go up since this is only an introductory price. The current market price is not bad at all for an android smart phone with a descent specs. As the nickname says, it’s intended for the young people who want a galaxy series phone that can fit their budget. I can’t find any demo unit at the time of writing.

The screen protector is hard to find at this time, what I did is cut off the sides of the screen protector intended for the iPhone just to fit. But I did regret it later when the sides started to peel off.  I’ve been waiting for the call of the store for the free art wraps, still no SMS receive yet.

Having all those features and of course the price, its worth to have this as your first Android phone.

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