Samsung Propel Smartphone
Being priced at $50, the Samsung Propel is definitely not projecting itself as being part of the high end mobile phone population. But even in lower ranges of the smartphone segment, it still does not have all that one could wish for, or more importantly, all that one would expect.
The Propel is of average size and fits comfortably enough in your pocket with the sliding keyboard closed. The keyboard itself opens easily enough and has a separate key for each letter. Most keys are also function keys and there are also special shortcut keys for accessing certain features. It is not the biggest or the best keypad available among smart phones, but is easy enough to use. If only there was a little more space between the top row and the sliding portion of the phone. It’s too easy to have your fingers glance off the body and hit the wrong keys.
While there is nothing innovative about the design, the phone is well proportioned and looks good in your hand.
The display is like the keyboard – okay, but not among the best. Size wise it is okay but resolution does, in some applications, leave something to be desired. For some strange reason, watching videos is not bad and neither is looking at pictures. But the web browser clarity leaves a lot to be desired.
For some bizarre reason Samsung has opted to provide covers for the charging / headphone socket as well as the micro SD card slot. While there could be some logic to placing a cover on the SD slot, it makes no sense for any other use. In fact, it makes charging the phone a two handed job – one hand to keep the cover open and the other to insert the lead.
Another odd thing is that it needs a proprietary headset which has to be bought extra. Alternatively you could use the speaker to listen to your music or invest in an expensive Bluetooth headset.
Function wise, the Propel offers what you would expect from a phone of this type and cost – camera, music, web browsing, email, GPS etc. But it is not a Blackberry or an iPhone and expecting one at this price is being irrational. It does exactly what it is suppose to do – offer reasonable features and performance and a reasonable price.
There are to major plus points of the phone which need to be highlighted. Because it is a phone with data capabilities (and not the other way around as with many smartphones) power consumption is low and battery life is good. Under normal use conditions you will have to charge it about twice a week.
The second advantage of this phone is that it has a 3G antenna. The browsing experience is average but the advantage is in the phone operation. The phone is being offered by AT&T and as they progressively introduce 3G services across the country, there are places where the Edge signal is often not available. The 3G antenna means that this phone should work just about anywhere.
Rating:
Value for money – 3/5
Functionality – 2/5
Performance – 3/5
Overall – 2/5