Samsung Galaxy Pro review

Samsung has capitalised on the success of its Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 by releasing a slew of phones bearing the Galaxy moniker, but the Pro is the first to include a full QWERTY keyboard. Aimed at business users, it also includes an Office file editor and Social Hub Premium, a social networking tool that aggregates your inboxes, contacts and calendars.

If you were expecting the Pro to exhibit the same build quality and features as the excellent Galaxy S2, you’ll be disappointed. Its 2.8in screen has a lowly 320×240 resolution, it’s powered by an 800MHz single-core processor, and its main camera has a 3.2-megapixel sensor, so this is no S2-with-a-keyboard.

The screen lacks the high resolutions of other small displays we’ve seen. It may be bright and colourful, but everything suffers from pixellation, with rough edges on icons and small text barely legible. The capacitive touchscreen is smooth and responsive, however.

Another important component of any business phone is the QWERTY keyboard. Once again the Pro disappoints. Compared to the best examples, the Pro’s is flimsy and confused. Its dark grey keys are slightly reflective, making the white lettering illegible at some angles, and the layout isn’t as intuitive as its competitors’. In addition, the keys’ surface is slippery and they aren’t raised enough or moulded to compensate. There was a worrying bubble in the centre of our phone’s keyboard where the keys didn’t seem to be firmly anchored in place.