A Review Of The Samsung Galaxy R

The Samsung Galaxy R is one of the newer additions to the popular Samsung Galaxy range of smartphones. It is essentially a mid range Android powered smartphone, with a decent spec list and offers a more affordable alternative to its Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note counterparts.

This article will provide an overview of its key features, which you can then use to determine of this is the right smartphone to suit your needs.

The handset itself is nothing out of the ordinary in terms of its size or design. It is similar in shape to the iPhone 4, and measures 125x 66x 9.5mm, so it is about the average size for a smartphone, but thinner than most, and quite light at 135 grams. It has a glossy black finish with three shortcut keys beneath the screen, which dominates the front of the device. It has the usual 3.5mm headset jack, volume rocker, front facing camera, speaker and Samsung branding on the outside, but aside from these lacks any remarkable features. Overall, the appearance is good; well designed and functional with a somewhat minimalistic style.

The front is dominated by the 4.2 inch SC-LCD capacitive touchscreen. This has a resolution of 480x 800, so it is capable of displaying imagery in good levels of detail and clarity, and coupled with its 16 million displayable colours, ensures that tasks such as multimedia use and web browsing are pleasing to the user. The screen allows functions such as pinch to zoom to be carried out, thanks to its multi touch input support. Accelerometer, proximity and gyro sensors are all included as standard.

A handy 8 GB of internal storage is provided as standard, so the Samsung Galaxy R can be used as an effective music player, as users can store hundreds of tracks on the handset. This storage capacity can be used for many different files such as music, video, apps downloaded from Android Market, photos or documents. Should further storage be required, it is simply a case of installing a memory card in the microSD slot which means users can increase storage by a further 32 GB.

As an internet browsing device, the Samsung Galaxy R is a decent device. Utilising an HSDPA connection when in areas with 3G connectivity, users can enjoy a relatively fast internet connection, along with the alternative to browse the net using a Wi-Fi connection, should one have appropriate access to a local wireless network.

The Samsung Galaxy R packs an impressive 5 megapixel camera, which comes with all the usual features; autofocus, LED flash, face & smile detection and geo-tagging are all included as standard. Should you wish to shoot video using this camera, you can do so in 720p quality (high definition), adding to the appeal of the device as a camera phone.

With a dual-core processor (1GHz), the latest version of the Android OS (Gingerbread) and of course access to Android Market, where thousands of apps can be browsed and downloaded, the Samsung Galaxy R ticks all the boxes. Its design is pleasing, and it matches many more expensive, high end smartphones in many respects.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the Galaxy S2 or iPhone 4S but don’t want to sacrifice too many features, the Samsung Galaxy R is highly recommended.