Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 review: Utility droid

Basic retail package

The tiny retail box of the Galaxy Pro B7510 has room for a microUSB cable and a charger, an SD-to-microSD adapter with 2GB worth of a complimentary card and some leaflets.

The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 retail package

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 360-degree spin

At 108.6 x 66.7 x 10.7 mm, the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 is reasonably compact considering its four-row QWERTY keyboard and the 2.8” landscape display. There are smaller messengers out there of course but few of them have touchscreen. The Galaxy Pro falls short of the superb comfort of some BlackBerry or Nokia Eseries messengers but is not without its own advantages: perfect keyboard and perfectly manageable weight of 103 g.

Design and construction

Android has never been the platform of choice for dedicated business phones and messengers. It’s been living in the shadow of the Nokia Eseries and BlackBerry – even Windows Mobile. Occasional messengers by Acer are no more than exceptions that prove the rule. And Motorola – well – let’s say they’ve been more creative than businesslike.

The Galaxy Pro is Samsung’s first droid messenger but the company’s background and experience were used well. It’s a well-designed and firmly built phone that handles well. The keyboard is a pleasure to use with those big and perfectly shaped buttons. This is not a phone to make a huge difference and unsettle the leaders in the messenger class, but it’s sure to please the right users.

Samsung Galaxy Pro next to Nokia E71

With sober styling and quality finish, the Galaxy Pro looks above its expected price tag. The features are middling but emphasis was obviously put on the design and handling.

The front panel of the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 is pretty standard for the form-factor. The keyboard and the screen above are framed in glossy grey plastic while the back has a textured grey finish successfully imitating metal. The phone is completely made of plastic but that’s by no means a drawback. On the contrary, the low weight certainly helps the handling of a handset that’s wider than usual.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 does not impress with its display

The 2.8” TFT display on the Samsung Galaxy Pro has QVGA resolution, which is nothing to be impressed with. Even Nokia have already put a VGA screen on their E6 messenger. The Galaxy Pro uses a capacitive touchscreen which has great response but does not support multi-touch. Viewing angles are limited and sunlight legibility - mediocre.

Right above the display are the earpiece and the proximity sensor (to the right). There is neither an ambient light sensor, nor a video-call camera.

The earpiece and proximity sensor above the display

Below the screen, we find the four typical Android controls: Menu, Home, Back and Search. They are all set within a thin strip of black glossy plastic. The Home and Menu keys share a single rocker-styled button – well spaced though and perfectly comfortable to use. The Menu key on the left and Search on the right are separate knobs, both very prominent and solid to press.

The buttons under the screen are very comfortable

The four-row QWERTY keyboard is the key feature of the Galaxy Pro. And it’s not a Nokia or BlackBerry rip-off. Samsung has been building on its own messenger designs and the actual handset is wide enough to allow big and well-spaced keys. Overall, the prominent, nicely sculpted and firmly fitting buttons on the Galaxy Pro make up a silky and responsive keyboard, which is a pure joy to use.

The QWERTY keyboard is a pleasure to use

The left side of the Galaxy Pro B7510 hosts the solitary volume rocker while the right one accommodates the Sleep/Power key.

The volume rocker on the left • Power/Lock key on the right

At the top of the phone are the lanyard eyelet, the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB connectivity port covered with a sliding lid. The mouthpiece is at the bottom.

The 3.5mm audio jack, the microUSB port and the lanyard eyelet on top • the mouthpiece is at the bottom

OK, now, Galaxy Pro, turn around! As we said earlier, the back of the smartphone is all plastic but will successfully pass as metal – as long as you don’t touch it. It has similar texture as the Galaxy S II battery cover, but this one here looks a lot better.

The back is where we find the 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera and the loudspeaker grill. There is no LED flash.

The 3.2 megapixel camera has no flash, nor self-portrait mirror

Underneath the battery cover we find the hot-swappable microSD card slot, the SIM bed and the 1350mAh battery. The battery life was short of impressive – the phone barely made it through two full days of average use – some calls and emails, a bit of browsing and 30 min. of music playback.

A typical view under the battery cover

Before we go on with the user interface, we have to say Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 managed to impress us with its commendable build quality and materials. The QWERTY keyboard is undoubtedly the key feature and they did well to make it superbly comfortable. The phone feels strong and durable while at the same time is reasonably compact and nice to handle. The QVGA screen is a bit of a letdown but hopefully they won’t be charging a fortune.

The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 held in hand