Samsung seem determined to keep churning out handset after handset, virtually flooding the market with all types of device, running on all types of platform, across as wide a range as possible. One of the more recently announced devices is the Samsung i5500 Galaxy 5, which will also be known in the European market as the Samsung i5500 Europa.
The Europa is aimed at the younger user, with Samsung claiming it has something to appeal to teens, students and young professionals alike. One of the central selling points of the Galaxy 5 is the inclusion of Samsung's Social Hub, which offers a single contact list that aggregates all the contacts from various mediums into one, easily accessible place. Via the Social Hub, you can easily message or email a contact, get their latest updates and tweets, and see their status all from one screen, simplifying the way you communicate with family and friends.
The i5500 Europa runs on the Android platform, with the handset released on version 2.1; an update to 2.2 should be available in the near future. The i5500 is a smart looking device, with a smooth, curved design. The main display on the device is a QVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen, supporting up to 256,000 colours and measuring in at a comfortable 2.8 inches. This is slightly lower than many recent devices, but does help keep down the overall size of the phone, with the Galaxy 5 measuring in at 108 x 56 x 12mm and weighing in at a lightweight 102g.
The display uses an accelerometer for rotating the screen automatically from landscape to portrait and vice versa, depending on how the phone is held, whilst there is also a proximity sensor which disables the touchscreen when making a call. The main user interface on the handset is the colourful TouchWiz UI, v3.0, which makes use of bright, large icons, making menu navigation and application selection simple and easy to use.
One of our favourite applications of recent times is Swype, an intuitive method of entering text on a touchscreen phone, and the good news is the i5500 comes complete with Swype pre-installed. Swype is developed by the same people who originally brought the T9 text entry system to millions of phones worldwide, and is a significant improvement over the traditional tap method ordinarily used with onscreen QWERTY keyboards. When using Swype, all you do is place your finger over the first letter of the word you wish to enter, then simply trace your finger across the screen, stopping on each letter of the word. A trace line is left behind as your finger moves across the screen, and once you reach the end of the word, simply lift your finger from the screen, and move to the first letter of the next word. Spaces are entered automatically, and if the word you are trying to enter isn't in the dictionary, just tap it out in the traditional manner and it will be available the next time you need it. Swype takes very little time to get used to, with its intuitive user experience, and offers one of the fastest ways to tap out text messages on a touch enabled device.
The Galaxy 5 Europa offers a good range of multimedia features, including a 2.0 Megapixel camera, with geotagging feature, as well as a fully featured media player for music and video playback. There is ample memory available, with 170 MB of internal memory which can be expanded up to 16 GB with Micro SD memory cards. The Europa also includes a stereo FM radio, with RDS, and the inclusion of a GPS receiver as well as aGPS functionality means the handset can also be used with various location based services.
Information and content features prominently on the phone, along with Samsung's Social Hub, the Galaxy 5 offers native support for email, instant messaging, SMS, MMS and push email, as well as including a native RSS reader so you can stay up to date with the latest from your favourite websites. Additionally there is a wide variety of applications available on the Android Market, enabling you to add and install apps to increase the usability and functionality of the device.
High speed data is important to the vision of a constantly connected phone, and the Europa covers all the bases, with HSDPA Mobile Broadband on board, as well as GPRS, EDGE and WiFi 802.11 b/g with added support for DNLA, which helps you integrate the handset into your own existing WLAN. The inclusion of Samsung AllShare also allows you to control certified Samsung devices straight from the phone, allowing you to access content such as media, music, photos, etc, all accessed without the need for wires, straight from the phone. If you have a compatible TV, you could even use the device is a TV remote control.
Given the low level range placement of the Samsung i5500 Europa Galaxy 5, it actually boasts a strong line up of top end features, and it seems the device has enough to hold its own in the cut throat smartphone market. The i5500 Europa is releasing across multiple markets, including Europe, during July.
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12:16 pm
fantastic phone..got it this week on pay as you go..love it....
9:15 pm
Is the telephone locked if it's bought on pay as you go to one company??
10:48 am
If you buy it on a particular network then yes it will be locked to that network. You could either then get it unlocked manually to allow you to use it on any network of your choice by popping in your new sim card. It usually costs a few pounds to get a phone unlocked. You can buy them unlocked/sim free in the first place for a slightly higher price than buying the phone with a particular network.
9:06 pm
Firstly this phone is very good quality, with great built in apps and easy to download free apps, the internet is nice and easy, youtube is good aswell. The music is loud enough and the phone is a good layout. However the camera is ok but it isnt at very good standard how i expected it to be, The battery is very negative and only lasts up to a day. Secondly it took me ages to figure out how to send a song by bluetooth. The battery gets hot every now and then and runs out quickly, On the other hand, there are a lot of helpful apps like nav, attractions, e.t.c. Overall, this phone is very good all execept the battery and the camera.
5:43 pm
Good phone but battery lets it down badly, very badly, which is a shame, given the reputation of Samsung.