Samsung Propel Pro i627 Review

Introduction:

So here we go again with yet another device adding the “PRO” word to the end of the name of an existing model. Samsung’s presence has been surprisingly steady for AT&T with a diverse mix of devices geared towards different individual needs. Already a hit with the text messaging crowd, the Samsung Propel utilized a unique form factor that made it stand out . Building up on that similar form factor, the Samsung Propel Pro i627 may provide an alternate option for those looking for a feature rich smart phone.


The package contains:

Design:

There is no denying the comparisons this phone will garner with the already released Pantech Matrix Pro. Although they have different form factors, they utilize the same design language with both having that chrome color and reflective plastic. However, the Samsung Propel Pro i627 uses it all around its body, providing chick embodiment. We like how it shines in the light, but it can easily attract smudges and fingerprints. It has that just polished feel every time you place it in your hand. Surprisingly, it feels really well built even with its wide body (2.4”) and thickness (0.60”). The weight (4.83 oz) is tolerable when you hold it in your hand and does not feel strained when placed in a pocket.



You can compare the Samsung Propel Pro i627 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The 2.55” screen manages to show some good detail thanks to the 320x320 pixel resolution. While using it indoors, you’ll notice the occasional reflections that did not pose too much of a problem. As much as we like the shiny material, it can be a hindrance for those trying to view it at different angles. Even when we placed it on the highest brightness, it just reflects everything which makes it difficult to see. Viewing it indoors had its quirks, but taking it outdoors to direct sunlight made it extremely difficult to read.

Samsung Propel Pro i627 is a square looking slider phone with a QWERTY keyboard when opened. The navigation joystick, located in the middle, is a welcome departure from the traditional directional pad. You can move it in any direction for navigation but also acts as a selection button by pressing it down. The circular border around the joystick will light up in red, green, or blue when a specific action is performed such as charging or receiving a message. The left and right soft keys are raised and wide enough to accommodate a finger press. Below that are the send, home, back, and end buttons which are flush with the surface. We had no complaints about the layout and feel to the buttons on the front of the phone.

When you slide the display up, it will reveal the four row QWERTY keyboard. It looks as though that Samsung decided to use a different layout than what’s been used on some of their other devices. Following the shape of the phone, the keys are squarish with no spacing in between them. It looks similar to the design used for the Motorola Q9h; with it being slightly raised. The buttons were just too crowded for us when speed typing away and found ourselves having to make corrections. This is especially troubling for anyone with larger fingers. The bright white backlighting illuminates the QWERTY making it visible to see the characters on each button.


On the left side, you’ll find the power button, volume rocker, and microSD slot. While on the right side of the phone are the dedicated camera button and proprietary USB/charging port. There is a latch you push down on the top of the Samsung Propel Pro i627 that releases the back cover to expose the battery (1440 mAh) and SIM card slot. Finally, the 3-megapixel auto-focusing camera and self portrait mirror can be uncovered by sliding the phone upwards.

Software/Features:

Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 is used to power the chic looking Samsung Propel Pro i627. With its glitzy looks, we found the same standard home screens also featured on the Pantech Matrix Pro with the exception of the one named Wizpro. It showcases a rotating carousel of five icons on the bottom that can easily access a variety of stuff without having the need to go through all the standard menus. They are the home, contacts, organizer, photo, and music icons. When selecting the home icon, it will display a large digital clock, date, and quick access to some applications such as e-mail, text messaging, and web browser to name a few. You can add up to eight people to contact via text messaging or phone call when you select the contacts icon. The organizer icon will show you the calendar for the entire month as well as any appointments and tasks to complete. You can view all the pictures on your phone by selecting the photos icon. Lastly, when you choose the music icon, it will have a mini media player on the home screen for your music pleasure. The Wizpro home screen runs smoothly because it lacks animations when making selections or just navigating. It’s still very functional because you can do just about anything through it.



As with other Windows Mobile phones, you can store as many contacts as the phone’s memory can hold. From more traditional pieces of information such as phone numbers to obscure things like children, you can put in a lot of information for a single contact.

You can add an assortment of e-mail addresses and sync over the air using Microsoft Exchange Server. There is nothing different with the messaging options when compared to other such phones.



We were pleased with the overall results of how well photos were taken by using the 3-megapixel camera. Pressing the dedicated camera button took three seconds to get the application up and running. The interface provides icons on the top portion of the screen for different functions such as white balance, resolution, and shooting modes to name some. Four different resolutions are available from 640x480 to the maximum 2048x1536. There is a square border in the middle of the screen which is used to focus in on an image. You can either press down on the joystick or camera button to have the camera automatically focus and take the shot. It took roughly seven seconds for the picture to come up from start to finish. Photos are adjusted by the phone to get the best representation of what you shot. Brightly lit areas are well represented with colors matching up with great detail found in the photo. Conversely, low lit shots came out bland with a slight fuzziness haze with each picture.


We were hoping to see a bump in resolution with the video recording on the Propel Pro. Instead, we were limited to record at a resolution of 320x240. Yet, we were surprised to see some steady frame rates and good detail when recording. The phone does not adjust lighting conditions when you go through different areas. However, we did like how you can shoot, stop, and shoot again all on the same recording without it being broken up. Audio quality was reproduced perfectly without any hint of distortion.

The Propel Pro is a Video Share capable handset, but we were unable to test out the feature. It allows you to place a phone call while sending real time video to the other person at the same time.

Just like the Samsung Epix, we find that the Windows Media Player utilizing the Samsung skin only. Icons are small with this, but it shouldn’t be too much of an issue with a non-touch screen phone. It will display the title of the song, cover art, and audio length. The joystick is used to pause, play, reverse, or fast forward a song. And just like other recent Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 devices we’ve reviewed, you can use the mini media player via the home screen. Music will continue to play until you actually stop it. You will also find additional music oriented programs such as XM Radio and MusicID under the AT&T Music application. The single speaker managed to produce vibrant audio without any crackling or distortion. It was easily heard when placed on the highest volume, but still isn’t as loud as we would have hoped for. If you’re a music buff, you’ll be shocked on having to buy an adapter to use your own pair of headphones. Luckily, stereo Bluetooth is available to provide you a wireless option.

Thanks to the bump in screen resolution, the Samsung Propel Pro i627 displayed some nice looking videos. There was no lag when we played a trailer in 320x136 H.264 format. The frame rate was steady throughout the video with astounding detail. The device will automatically play it in full screen unless you change the settings. Audio accompanied the stellar playback without any issues as well. Additionally, we were able to play the same trailer in 640x272 and 720x306 H.264 with some choppiness though. The audio started to outpace the video and was just out of sync between one another.



Using the device internationally for both phone calls and data will be no problems thanks to its global quad-band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz). The Propel Pro i627 uses Bluetooth 2.0 which gave us no issues pairing it up with a headset or laptop for wireless file transfers. 

For now, we’ve come to grasp that Pocket Internet Explorer to be the sole option for web browsing on devices running Windows Mobile Standard. Mobile sites with minimal photos came up fine without any hiccups in load times and scrolling. On the other hand, complex sites like ours took well over two minutes to fully load. Equally as horrendous was the painful duty of having to perform vertical and horizontal scrolling. Images were not placed in the correct locations with noticeable lag accompanying our scrolling nightmare. You can always install an alternate application such as Opera Mini or Skyfire for a more enjoyable experience.

Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 allows you to view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files without the ability to edit them. For travelers on the go, using AT&T Navigator will provide good turn-by-turn directions while offering plenty of local points of interests. The IM client on the Samsung Propel Pro i627 is powered by OZ Messenger to allow you to pick from AIM, Windows Live Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. There is a great Voice Commander software installed as well which you can to do a variety of things from phone calls to running programs. It managed to pick up what we said without having to repeat ourselves.

The smart phone comes with 95.2 MB of storage memory and 67.6 MB of program memory. You can supplement the storage memory with microSD support for cards up to 16 GB. The Propel Pro is loaded with 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, and is powered by a 528 MHz processor. We can’t say we experienced any major slowdowns with the device. Menus loaded up really quick even when scrolling through the home screen.

Performance:

The single speaker did an exceptional job at handling phone calls. We were able to listen to a caller very easily when volume was placed at the middle setting. There was a slight robotic tone to our callers, but we were still able to hear them well. Callers on the other line also stated that our voice was easily understood with very little repeating done on our end. The speaker phone quality lacked any punch to its volume when it was at the maximum. So we had a hard time understanding a caller when other background noise was present. But the caller was still able to hear us well on speaker phone.

Retaining a signal reception in the greater New York metropolitan area was no problem with the phone. But we did notice that bars were fewer on this device when we compared it with the iPhone and Pantech Matrix Pro. Data connection seemed to be steady wherever we were. Adding Wi-Fi will help those out in areas where 3G is not present.

The Samsung Propel Pro i627 got a decent battery capacity upgrade for being a smart phone. Unlike the first Propel, this one packs a 1440 mAh battery which is rated for 6.5 hours of talk and 288 hours of stand-by time. After four days of normal use and brightness set at the medium setting, we had over 40% of the battery left. Those numbers are still an accomplishment in our books. You can probably get more life out of it if you reduce the screen brightness.
 

Conclusion:

So when you compare it with the other “Pro” devices available, you get a pretty well balanced phone with plenty of connectivity options. It’s not the first device we’ve seen use that reflective chrome material, but it has a unique design not traditionally found. Unfortunately, the QWERTY is awfully cramped and might cause some pain when typing long e-mails. But it still manages to run the Windows Mobile platform with its own unique home screen; lessening navigating through all those menus. The business professional will sure come to like all the features that the Samsung Propel Pro i627 has to offer while at the same time turning heads when this phone is whipped out.