Good range of Android features for the price
Camera's very basic
Samsung's Galaxy smartphone range has some of the most advanced, most innovative and most expensive devices in the game, like the S4, the Note 2 and the Galaxy Camera. But it also has plenty to offer more modestly-proportioned wallets. The Galaxy Fame and the Galaxy Young are the latest, lowest devices in the range, but which one you choose isn't just a matter of price.
The Galaxy Young is on sale now for around £120.
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[b]Design[/b]
The slim plastic casing is similar to other models in the range, including [link url="https://www.wired.co.uk/reviews/mobile-phones/2013-04/samsung-galaxy-s4-review"]the high-end S4[/link]. There's a metal strip around the sides and the rear is very thin plastic. That might help keep the weight down but when you press on it you can see an indentation on the screen, which doesn't inspire confidence.
On the sides are a metal power/sleep button and volume rocker, with microUSB port and 3.5mm headphone jack on bottom and top respectively. The Galaxy Young is the smaller of the two but it doesn't feature a straight downgrade of specs.
It looks slick, if unremarkable and beneath the screen there's the familiar Galaxy hard home button, flanked by a back button and a menu button. This last breaks with the Android convention of having a multi-tasking button up front.
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The 3.3-inch screen offers 262,000 colours and a resolution of 320x480 pixels -- not great, even for this price range. It's not particularly bright (though that could be a blessing for the battery) and contrast isn't as deep as we'd have hoped. But while these details may impair your viewing of movies, it's the lack of sensitivity that really lets it down -- we often had to make several presses to make our presence felt.
[b]Performance[/b]
The single-core 1GHz processor isn't bad for this price range and Samsung has been able to help it out with a full 1GB RAM (the Fame struggles along with 512MB, despite being the more expensive device). As a result it nips along at a reasonable pace, handling app openings and browsing at a steady (if modest, compared to pricier models) pace. Scrolling through web pages is noticeably quicker than on the Fame, though.
It's running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, so not the very latest 4.2 version but then, plenty of more expensive phones aren't either. It also has a stripped down version of Samsung's TouchWiz user interface, in part because the busier aspects of the UI would just be too fiddly on the smaller screen. So there's no shortcuts tab at the side or picture-in-picture capability. There are a few of Samsung's apps though, including ChatON for syncing your info across different devices and the S Planner calendar -- bloatware to some, but they won't get in the way if you prefer to download alternatives from Google Play.
[Quote"]The single-core 1GHz processor isn't bad for this price range and Samsung has been able to help it out with a full 1GB RAM[/pullquote]
It has GPS as you'd expect, but it also has NFC for mobile payments and there's an FM radio on board too. No headphones in the box though, you'll need to supply your own.
Camera quality
The Galaxy Young's lower price is most clearly reflected in the camera. It has a three-megapixel version as opposed to the Fame's five-megapixel snapper and is fixed-focus with no flash -- very basic, in other words. Picture quality isn't great, lacking in detail, though the colour balance isn't bad. Also, there's no front-facing camera. None at all. So video calling is out.
For saving your pics and vids there's 4GB of memory on board and you can add a further 64GB via microSD card. The Fame can only handle cards up to 32GB, which might be an issue for some.
Battery life was average, offering about a day-and-a-half of steady use, as did the Fame.
Conclusion
The Galaxy Young is a decent little smartphone but Samsung hasn't made it easy to choose between it and it's slightly more expensive cousin, the Galaxy Fame. The Fame has a better camera and a bigger screen, but the Young's screen is a little sharper, it performs better in some instances and it can hold more memory.
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Software: Google Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Processor: Single core 1GHz Cortex-A5
Memory: <strong>slot</strong>: Yes
Display: 3.3in HVGA TFT LCD, 262,000 colours, 320x480 pixels
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
Ports: microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera: 3 megapixel, fixed focus
Video playback: MP4, 3GP, H.264, H.263
Audio playback: AAC, AAC+, AMR-N/WB, eAAC, I-Melody, MIDI, MP3, SP-Midi, OGG, FLAC, WMA, XMF
Radio: Yes
Battery: 1,300mAh
Size: 109x59x12mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
