On paper one of the best spec sheets
in the group, but you do have to pay a premium to get your hands on it...
Micro SD card slot
While the other devices in the group all
feature a micro SD card slot as standard, the Samsung does benefit from the
card slot being mounted to the side of the casing. This provides fast
swap-out-and-play functionality
720p video recording
The 5-MP camera may lack the detail of the
Sony in terms of camera shots, but it does provide the added benefit of a720p
HD video recording option. Sadly the front facing camera can only handle VGA
for video calls
Dual core processing
While the processor is only running with an
800Mhz rating, the Samsung does benefit from a dual-core variant and this
allowed for ultra-smooth scrolling, ample streaming performance and a dream for
playing some of the latest games
Jelly Bean
While the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
disappointingly comes with Gingerbread, sources have revealed that Samsung is
likely to skip the ICS update and jump straight to Jelly Bean which is
impressive for a low end smartphone to have this feature
The most expensive device in our test is
the follow up to the mega selling original Ace, and leans closer to the
mid-range than its rivals.
As a phone, the Galaxy Ace 2 fits
comfortably in the palm of the hand and feels well built, with a nice hardened
plastic black finish with enough weight behind it to outclass the cheaper Sony
device.
It also benefits from a physical Android
Home button beneath the larger 3.8-inch screen which has more reassuring
feedback than its touch sensitive rivals. We also liked that the micro SD card
slot was placed conveniently to the side of the phone.
Powering up the Samsung does reveal a less
impressive Gingerbread OS, however, with reports that Samsung is looking to
skip an ICS upgrade and jump straight to Jelly Bean. This certainly compensates
for the initial disappointment.
Mind you, as it stands, the old operating
system is masked anyway with the TouchWiz user interface, which is the same one
found on some of the high-end Samsung phones (eg the Samsung Galaxy SII before
the Ice Cream Sandwich update).
While not to everyone’s taste, the Ul is
certainly better than the Motorola’s offering and it packs in a lot of useful
apps such as a full document editing suite and some quality media apps (both
the music and video player are enhanced by 5.1 surround support).
The larger screen also benefits from a
beefier resolution which makes the on-screen icons crisper and the phone easier
to type on (due to more screen real estate). Browsing and playing games was a
dream thanks to its dual core CPU and 768MB of RAM.
Its five megapixel camera was a mixed bag
of results. While you had 720p HD video recording, and there was a number of
stand-out photos taken with the camera, the shot times were slow and several
shots lacked the sharpness or detail of the Sony.
However, battery life topped the bill In
terms of video playback life which is impressive given its larger screen and
processor. Well recommended.
Head to head
Design
A hardened black plastic finish certainly
feels sturdy in the palm of the hand and the weight makes it feel better built
than the Sony. It lacks the cosmetic touches though, but it has a handy micro
SD card slot placed for easy access.
Availability
The Galaxy Ace 2 was not available on all
major networks. But via 02 we found the cheapest price alongside its
competitive $16 a month top up deals. With a choice of 75 mins, 500 texts and
100MB data, or 300 texts and 500MB of data.
Features
Apart from the Gingerbread OS (Jelly Bean
upgrade promised) and less impressive camera than we had hoped for, the phone’s
feature set is a positive - a nice range of pre-installed apps, alongside ample
performance and bigger screen.
Battery life
Despite the larger screen It outperformed
the Sony by two per cent in our video test. In general heavy use the screen
also managed to hold up and you should get a solid day’s use out of this
smartphone.
Verdict
The price is justified by great performance
and battery life. If the OS upgrade takes place, this phone is future proof too
Information
Price: $288
More information: www.samsung.com
Technical specs
·
Operating system: Android 2.3.6
·
Processor: NovaThor U8500, dual core 800 MHz CPU,
Mali-400MP GPU
·
Memory: 768MB RAM, 4GB storage(micro SD card
expansion up to 32GB)
·
Dimensions: 1183 x 62.2 x 10.5 mm
·
Weight: 122g
·
Display: 3.8” PLS WI capacitive touchscreen,
480 x 800 pixels
·
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.U b/gin, Bluetooth
3.0, GPS, HSDPA 14.4Mbps, HSUPA
·
Camera: 5-MP rear (LED flash), VGA front
camera, 720p @3Ofps video
|
