Samsung S5620 Monte preview: First look

There are so many affordable touch phones on the market right now that it’s getting very hard to choose. We present to you the Samsung S5620, which brings high-end connectivity to the table in a modern, compact package.

Samsung S5620 official photo

The Samsung S5620 Monte packs the connectivity triumvirate – 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS. Those are paired with an excellent web browser, as good as any we’ve seen on a feature phone. Unfortunately, there’s no voice-guided navigation to put the GPS receiver to full use. Of course, things like SatNav software are regional with Samsung so you might get a different deal.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, check out the rundown of the Samsung S5620 features:

Samsung S5620 at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100; 3.6Mbps HSDPA
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions: 108.8 x 53.7 x 12.4 mm, 92 g
• Display: 3-inch WQVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen, 240 x 400 pixels
• Platform: Latest TouchWiz UI, Smart Unlock
• Memory: 227MB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 16GB)
• Camera: 3 megapixel fixed focus camera, Smile Shot; QVGA video recording at 15 fps; video call camera
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, GPS receiver with A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, DNSe, FM radio with RDS, social networking integration – Facebook, MySpace, Bebo
• Battery: 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery

Samsung S5560 in our office

The Samsung S5620 Monte is a couple of notches higher than the most popular entry-level touch phones of the day with its 3G and GPS. The extensive social networking integration makes this phone a great tool for today’s ultra-connected young crowd. The ActiveSync support that comes with a handy widget, the push notifications from Emoze and the document viewer will likely keep the S5620 in your hand during work hours too.

On the next page we take a sight-seeing tour around the exterior of the Samsung S5620 Monte.