PC World
09/02/12
Provided you don't expect it to effectively compete with more expensive phones, the Samsung Galaxy Y is great value for money. A tiny screen and average battery life do dampen its appeal, but the Galaxy Y remains a good budget smartphone.
The Galaxy Y is powered by the 2.3 "Gingerbread" version of Google's Android operating system and Samsung has included its TouchWIZ UI over the top. The latter does add a few nifty features: toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, silent mode and auto screen rotation are easily accessible through the notifications window, while there's also a handy memo app and Samsung's Music Hub service. The latter is a subscription based music service that costs $9.99 per month, $54.99 for six months or $99.99 for 12 months in Australia.
The Galaxy Y also comes pre-loaded with the Navigon GPS application. This provides full turn-by-turn navigation using the Galaxy Y's built-in GPS receiver. The tiny screen does make for a slightly frustrating experience, but the Galaxy Y's speaker is loud enough to provide clear and audible voice guidance when using the app.
Samsung has included Swype technology, an optional, on-screen keyboard that allows you to slide your fingers over the letters you want to type in a single motion. It's a nice feature considering the Galaxy Y's low price tag and makes plenty of sense given the small 3in screen. Good Food Guide 2012, a file manager, the QuickOffice suite, and a voice recorder are other apps that come standard on the Galaxy Y and all are welcome additions.
Performance is about what we would expect from a phone that costs $129. We experienced occasional lag when opening and closing apps, but the general user experience was smooth and snappy. The Galaxy Y doesn't have enough grunt to support Flash Web browsing, but pinch to zoom is present, meaning you can use gestures on the touch screen to zoom in and out of apps like Google Maps and the Web browser.
Battery life is about average for an Android phone: the Galaxy Y will last a full day with sporadic use, but will drain quickly if you use it constantly. Given its small, low resolution screen, we expected battery life to perform better than it did.
The Samsung Galaxy Y is Blue Tick rated by Telstra, promising to provide superior mobile network coverage in regional and rural areas of Australia.
The Samsung Galaxy Y is available now on Telstra's pre-paid Cap Encore offer. A $30 recharge gives you $250 worth of total credit for talk and text along with 400MB data to use within 30 days.
1
wish i knew where to go to find information about loading pictures to my pc like my telecom R101 phone
2
Having had my HTC desire run over by a car, I decided bigger was not better and got the sumsung galaxy Y instead. I find the battery life more than ok as I am happy to charge once a day, and it lasts fine even with regular gmail and Facebook access during the day. The screen is too small to hold the keyboard and what ever you are typing into.. So I switch to my iPad for long emails, but it's ok just for txt or quick one liners..
Not like a full fledged top of the range phone, but great for what it is.
3
I understood the adverts for the phone showed 600 hours standbye battery life, I get 50 if I am lucky. What a disappointment as I am a very low user and thought I was buying a phone which I could charge once per week. I consider the phone a disaster for that reason, otherwise it is OK.Another thing, my VW car dealer spent 1.5 hours loading the phonebook into bluetooth in the car--tough ask and there is no easy way to resolve this.
Charlie
Advertise with us Editorial Contacts
With over 25 years of brand awareness and credibility, PCWorld Australia consistently delivers editorial excellence through award-winning content and trusted product reviews.
Kaleb
1
Can u buy cases,covers for this exact type of phone we can't find the covers on eBay or anywhere if can u please reply to me and tell me were to get cases for this exact type of phone thanks.
Kaleb
2
So please tell me were to get these cases for the Samsung galaxy y.
Ally
3
Yes you can. You can buy pouches.
priya
4
i need a new body(orignal body) of my samsung y bcoz mah mobile fell down on the road & the color of my mobile is glied ...from where i get it.new bodt plz tell me.
Nonny
5
My phone keeps saying the sim card is full and to delete messages. I have deleted all the messages I can see - how can I access the sim card details to be able to delete the messages.
Diena
6
On my home screen I have 2 icons for FM Radio, 2 icons for the camera and 2 icons for gmail. How can I delete these icons as they have filled up the screen page.