Entry-level phones sure aren't what they used to be. Not only have they gotten richer on features, but manufacturers are now easily loading smart operating systems onto them, thus allow users with tighter budgets to get a taste of almost all the goodies modern smartphones have to offer. But not every budget choice turns out really cheap. Some of you have probably yielded to the temptation of getting a feature-rich, yet very affordable smartphone at some point, and have been disappointed by the poor user experience it delivered. Well, that's because there always seems to be some hidden cost you have to pay when siding with an inexpensive offering. Is there such cost with the Samsung GALAXY mini – one of the latest easy-on-the-budget Android handsets by the manufacturer? Let's find out!
Design:
Being an entry-level handset, the Samsung GALAXY mini will never take you by surprise when it comes to its appearance and construction. The handset easily feels like a toy, due to its light weight and all-plastic build, but thankfully this is not to the extent of it feeling cheap. The plastic utilized by Samsung feels alright to the touch, especially when coupled with the dotted pattern on the back side of the Galaxy mini.
You can compare the Samsung GALAXY mini with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
The Samsung GALAXY mini is a relatively compact smartphone, equipped with a 3.1” capacitive touchscreen. This is one element of the Galaxy mini that we're very happy about – it seems like resistive panels are finally done away with for good (except for some Nokia offerings apparently). Touch registration with this capacitive screen is perfect, however it is here that we see where the biggest compromise with the handset has been made – the resolution. The Samsung GALAXY mini's 3.1” screen has a res of 240x320 pixels, which provides for some terrible looking text, while its viewing angles are also quite poor.
Below the notorious display we discover the usual three keys for Samsung's Androids, namely menu, home and back. The left side houses the volume rocker, while on the right are situated the power/lock key and microSD card slot. On the top are the 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB port, protected by a plastic flap. Although this is a prototype unit we've tested, we've got to say that we find all of its keys to function very decently.
On the Galaxy mini's back side you'll only find a 3MP camera and the loudspeaker, as well as the above-mentioned dotted pattern. All in all – we're pretty much content with the Samsung GALAXY mini's build quality and design, but are somewhat taken back by its low-resolution screen, which could have otherwise been a good asset, considering its capacitive tech.
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