Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 review: Everyone's invited

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy Y is a smartphone approved for all audiences. Perhaps in hindsight, our Galaxy Note review should've been rated PG. But well yeah, we're always wiser in hindsight. Anyway, you don’t just wake up one morning wanting a superphone like the Note. You need a place to start.

The Samsung Galaxy Y is one little step above dumbphones. It won’t be long before you know how big this step really was. Android is friendly, especially in a package like the Galaxy Y, and highly addictive. And there's plenty to explore.

The Samsung Galaxy Y is most likely someone's first smartphone. It comes on the cheap so you don't have to ask yourself if you really need all the extra features. Soon enough, you'll be wondering how you could live without them.

Samsung S5360 Galaxy Y official pictures

And no, the Galaxy Y isn't full of the latest tech. It keeps things neat and simple at a very reasonable price. There's a good package of preinstalled apps and a full connectivity set. The reasonably fast processor and the very recent Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread are a bit of surprise. This is a basic smartphone but one that looks up-to-date.

Key Features

• Quad-Band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• 3” 256K-color QVGA TFT touchscreen
• ARMv6 830MHz processor, 290MB user available RAM
• Android OS v2.3.5 (Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UI
• 160MB of internal storage, hot-swappable MicroSD slot, 2GB card included
• 2MP fixed-focus camera with geotagging
• GPS receiver with A-GPS
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Document viewer
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Swype text input
• MicroUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• Social network integration

Main disadvantages

• Low screen resolution limits choice of apps
• No touchscreen haptics
• Fixed focus camera
• No secondary camera
• No camera flash, no dedicated camera key
• QVGA video recording @ 15fps
• No earphones in the bundle
• No Adobe Flash support

The Galaxy Y won't win any awards for innovation and performance but on the bright side, it does offer the full smartphone experience within budget. Aimed at the young and novice smartphone users, it focuses on the connectivity and good social skills. The screen resolution and sub-par imaging are the most prominent among the inevitable compromises.

The Galaxy Y live shots

With the holiday season fast approaching, a smartphone like this one might be right for teens who like to play Angry Birds and chat away on WhatsApp and Facebook. The Galaxy Y is released just in time to have an impact at the busiest shopping time of the year.