Samsung Exhibit II 4G review: Second time around

Bare bones retail package

The retail package of the Samsung Exhibit II 4G is as budget oriented as the phone itself. Despite the large size of the box, all you are going to find inside is a charger and a USB cable to go with the phone. Yup, no headphones here, not even a microSD card. And yes, the phone is that cheap.

Samsung Exhibit II 4G retail package

Design and build quality

The Samsung Exhibit II 4G is certainly not a celebration of industrial design. With its dark color scheme, the device looks downright dull. The lack of any signs or logos at its front gives the impression that you are looking at a cheap Chinese knockoff. It is regrettable that the pleasant design of the Galaxy W was not implemented here.

The back of the device is actually much better looking than its front. The dark blue battery cover has a nice looking texture to it and the tiny metal bezel around the camera unit gives you some sort of upmarket feel if you look at it for a while.

With measures of 115 x 60 x 11mm and 116 grams of weight the Samsung Exhibit II 4G is an extremely pocket friendly device. Despite its all plastic construction, it is well put together – it looks like it can take quite a lot of use and abuse.

Samsung Exhibit II 4G sized up against Galaxy S II Skyrocket

The 3.7” LCD screen does an adequate job. Sure, it isn’t a Super AMOLED but, at this price range, it will be difficult to find one anyway. We found the screen to have good viewing angles and better sunlight legibility than some a lot more upscale competitors.

The LCD display is nice • next to the Galaxy S II’s Super AMOLED Plus screen

Below the screen of the device you will find the typical for all Samsung Android smartphones in the U.S., four touch sensitive buttons. Above the screen is the earpiece, the front-facing camera unit, ambient light and proximity sensors.

It is business as usual below and above the screen of the Exhibit II 4G

On the left side of the device, you will find the lonely volume rocker. The power/lock key is on the right. Again, there is no dedicated camera button present but, since we’re talking 3.2MP unit, the lack is much easier to get over.

The volume rocker on the left • the power/lock key on the right

The unprotected 3.5 mm audio jack is on top of the Exhibit II 4G. Right next to it is the microUSB port, which is used for charging as well. This one has a neat sliding cover.

The 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB port are on top

At the bottom of the device, you will find the mouthpiece and the tiny latch to open the back cover.

Samsung Exhibit II 4G’s bottom

Compared to the rest of the phone, its back looks busy. There, you will find the 3.2MP snapper with its LED flash and the loudspeaker grille. A duo of Samsung and T-Mobile logos complete the picture.

All the logos are on the back of the phone

Below the battery cover is a typical sight. There is a SIM card slot, and a hot-swappable microSD slot at the top right corner.

The view under the battery cover

The 1500 mAh battery of the Exhibit II 4G made it easily through a full day of use and abuse. The latter included about an hour of phone calls, music play, video game play, email and web browsing. We found nothing to complain here.

Overall, the Samsung Exhibit II 4G handles very nicely. The textured plastic on the back prevents accidental drops and feels sturdy – unlike the one used on its predecessor.

Samsung Exhibit II 4G handles well

We only wished that the phone was more pleasant to look at. Even for a low cost device, the Exhibit II is way too far from being good looking.