Samsung galaxy mini is a 3.14 inch screen, android 2.2.1 smartphone. Its the small sister of the Samsung Galaxy S, you will love it for the budget. Samsung Kenya has subsidized it from the previous Kes 15000 to 12999 to make it the android smartphone upgrade of choice to many. The features are not compromised from the usual smartphone. The 12999 offer comes with some monthly free bundles for 3 months.
With Galaxy mini you get 3G with HSDPA of up-to 7.2 Mbps, Samsung touchwiz V3.0 and a 3.0 megapixel fixed focus camera. No flash though. Galaxy mini ships with swype as one of the features of the phone, no need to download as you edit the swype settings together with type settings.
Having been the first droid I have owned and used for a long time, it was an eye opener, the apps! Have to get used to the swipe to answer calls. The phone feels light on the hand, easy to use with on-screen qwerty. It has a taskmanager when you press and hold on to the menu, allows you to access previously opened applications. The phone has three buttons on the front, the options, the menu and the return button.
You get to change wi-fi, bluetooth, GPS, silent/ringtone and autorefresh settings from the notifications that slides from the top of the screen. Just a tap away. Am resisting the urge to review android UI while at it but i will resist the temptation.
MicroSD slot is on the outside, which is a plus and the phone comes with a 2 GB sd card, limit is 32 GB. Has an internal memory of 160 MB and 384MB RAM.
On the same side as the microSD we have the power button which is almost flush, i believe its to avoid switching it off while in the pocket. Other side has the volume buttons which also function as the zoom for the camera. At the top we have the 3.5mm jack and the usb port which also functions as the charger port. In other Samsung Galaxy Mini reviews Test Freaks gives it an 8 out of 10. The browser is okay, but you can always get firefox for android or the cute dolphin browser that looks like my beloved chrome from the android store, or the old opera mobile, this is universal 🙂 . You have a choice of samsung apps and android apps to download from, well i would advice you do with android apps, there is a huge list.
Music output from the 3.5 mm is great, you can always get an upgrade to the earphones. Quick office is also preloaded, and there is a voice search feature. Battery life is good, can last you a day on good use, camera, social media, music and calls inclusive.
Aint good enough to talk about the camera without showing atleast a shot from the phone, right?
Give a rating to that pic please. Fruity?
You cant go without some cons too:
Galaxy mini misses the much needed autofocus, secondary camera, flash and also the screen resolution is abit low with 127 ppi pixel density. And the cover for the battery feels abit cheap, one feels like you are forcing it open.
For 13k I would also give it an 8, what would you?
[UPDATE] To activate the Free 200MB Data Bundles for 3 months on Galaxy Mini send the imei no. of your phone to 440. Thats if you bought it from Safaricom Stores at the new price of Kshs 12999.
