Samsung Galaxy 3 i5800 Review: Specifications, Design and User Interface

Samsung Galaxy 3 i5800 Review: Specifications, Design and User Interface
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Samsung-Galaxy-3-i5800

Samsung has seen phenomenal success with its range of Android powered smartphones. Initially, it offered one of the best budget Android options in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Spica i5700. After that, it launched the Samsung Galaxy S which is one of the best Android smartphones which competes directly with the Apple iPhone 4. It is available in more countries than the iPhone 4, and has seen exceptional sales. It is priced right and is easily one of the best Android options available today. On September 2nd, Samsung is also unveiling the Samsung Galaxy Tab which will be the best Android alternative to the Apple iPad. Samsung is leveraging the power of Android in the best possible way to take on Apple’s dominance in the consumer mobile market.

Even then, Samsung is fully aware that it also has to compete with Nokia in the budget smartphone market. It just launched the Samsung Galaxy 4 i5800, the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Spica i5700, which is one of the cheapest Android smartphones available. It has nice hardware specs and offers a great alternative for budget conscious users.

Samsung Galaxy 3 Specifications

  • Dimensions: 113.5 x 55 x 12.9 mm
  • Weight: 109 gms
  • Display: 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display, 240 x 400 pixels
  • OS: Android 2.1 Eclair with TouchWiz 3.0
  • Processor: 667 MHz
  • RAM: 256 MB RAM
  • ROM: 512 MB ROM
  • Memory Card: Up to 32 GB microSD
  • Camera: 3.15 MP camera, 2048 x 1536 pixels, AF
  • Radio: FM Radio with RDS
  • Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
  • GPS: GPS transceiver with A-GPS
  • Battery: Li-ion battery, 1500 mAh

Design (3 out of 5)

The Samsung Galaxy 3 i5800 has a nice compact build with dimensions of 113.5 x 55 x 12.9 mm and a weight of 109 gms. It is easily pocketable and has good build quality. On the front face, there is the display and three keys - Home, Menu and Back. On the left, there is the volume rocker while on the top, there is the 3.5 mm audio jack and the microUSB port. There is the 3.15 MP camera and the battery compartment on the back. The phone looks stylish and is quite sturdy.

It has a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display which is much better than the resistive touchscreens normally found in phones in this price range. It has a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels, which is a bit low compared to the high end Android phones. It is still higher than the 240 x 320 resolution found in other budget Android phones like the Wildfire though. The display quality is quite good with nice brightness and contrast.

User Interface (4 out of 5)

The Samsung Galaxy 3 runs Android 2.1 Eclair with the TouchWiz 3.0 UI found in the Galaxy S. It offers homescreens, widgets, shortcuts, custom notifications and is mostly the same as the Galaxy S. The user interface is very responsive and intuitive. The Galaxy 3 will probably get an upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo soon. It has access to Android Market too, so you should have more than 80,000 apps and games at your disposal. Some apps may not work well though, thanks to the low display resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy 3 has some great hardware specifications. It has a 667 MHz processor and 256 MB RAM. It also supports up to 32 GB microSD cards.

Multimedia (4 out of 5)

The Samsung Galaxy 3 may not be as capable as the Galaxy S, but it can definitely hold its own when it comes to multimedia. It has a 3.15 MP camera with an image capture resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The camera comes with autofocus but lacks flash. It also supports features like geotagging, face detection etc. The capture quality is pretty average, but you can’t ask for much more from a phone priced this low.

It also has a nice 3D gallery app which lets you browse through all the images stored on your device. It has nice animations and transitions and a great interface. It has a nice video player which supports both XviD and DivX playback. It also has the TouchWiz based music player which is visually appealing and offers a lot of customizable features. The audio quality is really good and it also has an FM radio.

Samsung-Galaxy-3

Connectivity (5 out of 5)

The Samsung Galaxy 3 gives you all the connectivity options you would need in a smartphone - GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and what not. It also has microUSB 2.0 connectivity and comes with a GPS transceiver with A-GPS. It comes with the default Android web browser which is one of the best mobile browsers. It is powered by a 1500 mAh Li-ion battery which lasts for about 2 days with moderate usage.

The Verdict (4 out of 5)

The Samsung Galaxy 3 i5800 is one of the best budget Android smartphones. Except for the low display resolution, it is the perfect Android phone. In this price range, there is no other phone which offers the same range of features. I would definitely recommend it. You could also check out the HTC Wildfire in the same price range, but except for the 5 MP camera, it isn’t better than the Galaxy 3 in any way.