Samsung Galaxy Fame Preview

Introduction:

The Samsung Galaxy Fame is an Android smartphone that has “entry-level” written all over it. As a member of the said device class, it offers hardware specs that can't get much more modest than that: a 3.5-inch 320 by 480 pixel display, 1GHz single-core processor, 5MP camera, and 4GB of storage. But the smartphone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has access to the huge apps collection offered by Google's ecosystem, so despite its low-end nature, there's quite a lot one can do with it.

So as a whole, is the Samsung Galaxy Fame any good? Well, we'd also like to know the answer to that question, which is why today we're going to preview a prototype unit. Since the device that we have here isn't running finalized software, we can't yet draw any final conclusions about it, but it should give us a good idea as to what to expect from the Galaxy Fame once it is released.

Design:

Cute as a cuddly critter – that's how we'd briefly describe the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Thanks to its pebble-like shape, the smartphone is a delight to handle and operate, especially since its curvy body makes it fit perfectly in the hand. Plastic is what the device is made out of, but it lacks the cheap feel that entry-level phones are usually associated with. Quite the opposite, the Galaxy Fame feels pretty solid in the user's palm due to its sturdy construction. Our only complaint is that its glossy front and back sides retain a little bit of finger smudge, but that's just a minor issue that most users won't be bothered by.



You can compare the Samsung Galaxy Fame with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The Samsung Galaxy Fame is equipped with an excellent set of physical buttons – a volume rocker on the left, power key on its right side, and a home button underneath its screen. All of them are easy to reach and provide very good tactile feedback. The two capacitive buttons that complement the home key are also well within reach.


Display:

The Samsung Galaxy Fame might be pretty, but its LCD screen surely isn't. That's due to its low resolution of only 320 by 480 pixels spread across 3.5-inches in diagonal. Needless to say, pixelation around the curves of graphic elements is easily noticeable. The display's viewing angles and color representation are also somewhat disappointing. On the bright side of things, the screen's outdoor visibility is acceptable. For it to be usable, however, you need to boost its brightness to the maximum. That is done manually via the brightness slider conveniently placed in the drop-down notification bar.



Interface:

Although it is just an entry-level smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with a relatively recent version of Android – 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Two thumbs up for that! Layered on top of it we have Samsung's great custom interface with its numerous visual and functional tweaks. These include motion gestures, such as shaking the phone in order to refresh whatever information is displayed on all active widgets and flipping the device face-down to mute an incoming call. We can't imagine ourselves using the former often, but we find the latter useful.

Speaking of widgets, there's a lot of them pre-loaded, including Samsung's weather and clock combo, a very handy widget for taking down quick notes, and an alarm clock widget. It is also nice to see that a broad range of toggle switches for various features are placed in the notification bar for convenience. In addition, by holding down the home button, one can access all sorts of up-to-date information provided by Google Now and the built-in task manager.


The on-screen keyboard on the Samsung Galaxy Fame feels tiny, which comes as no surprise since the display is pretty narrow. Getting used to typing on it takes time, but at least the built-in spell checker will take care of the typos that you'll surely make. Alternatively, you can use the swiping input method, which can be very effective once you get comfortable with it.



Processor and Memory:

With its 1GHz single-core processor and 512MB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy Fame definitely won't set any new benchmark records. However, the modest chip should provide adequate processing power considering the smartphone's class. Of course, since we're testing a prototype unit running software that has not been finalized, we can't draw any conclusions about the device's performance. But we're getting a good feeling about it since it handles basic video games pretty well. More CPU-intensive tasks, on the other hand, will surely take their toll on the handset's performance.

You get only 4GB of internal storage with the Samsung Galaxy Fame, out of which only 1.95GB are available to the user. Chances are that's going to run out really fast, so equipping the smartphone with a microSD card is highly recommended. Or in case you're okay with relying on cloud storage, there's 50GB of it included for free for 2 years, courtesy of Samsung and Dropbox.

Web Browser:

There's nothing new to see on the stock web browser present on the Samsung Galaxy Fame. It's pretty much the same application found on all of the company's recent Android devices, with its support for multiple tabs, incognito mode, and saving pages for offline reading. The browser itself works well and gets the job done when it comes to occasional web surfing, but what makes its use uncomfortable is the display's small size and low resolution.



Camera:

Now that's a nice surprise! Low-end phones usually come with cameras that are mediocre at best, but the 5-megapixel auto-focus snapper on the Samsung Galaxy Fame is actually quite usable. In fact, the images that it produces are very rich in detail, and even the ones taken indoors look presentable. The camera interface itself is pretty straightforward to use, offers handy features like panorama and various shooting modes, and can be launched right from the lock screen with the help of a shortcut.




Samsung Galaxy Fame Sample Video:



Multimedia:

The Samsung Galaxy Fame comes with the very same music player present on all of the company's recent Android smartphones. And that's not a bad thing since the app surely gets the job done. It can sort tracks by title, album, artist, or folder name, while playback controls appear in the notification bar for quick and easy access. A 7-band equalizer and additional sound enhancements, such as reverb and bass boost, are included as well. The built-in loudspeaker is pretty loud, but crackles when its volume is turned up all the way.



Expectations:

Our first one-on-one encounter with the Samsung Galaxy Fame went smoothly and left us with a very positive impression. It is a smartphone that looks good, feels comfortable in the hand, and has the potential to be a well-selling Android offering aimed at price-conscious consumers. Of course, we can't ignore the bits we didn't like, its low-quality display being the most significant among them, but as a whole, the device seems quite promising. If you're out looking for a budget-friendly smartphone, keep an eye out for the Samsung Galaxy Fame. It should hit the market in the near future, and that's also when we'll give it our final verdict once we take a finalized unit for a spin.

Samsung Galaxy Fame Video Preview: