Samsung Galaxy Portal review

Samsung certainly hasn’t been a frontrunner in the Google Android race, but now the Korean manufacturer has just released its second Android device, the Galaxy Portal.

Samsung isn’t a stranger to smartphones – the company has jumped between Windows and Symbian throughout its legacy, but the Galaxy, operating on Android, is probably the most interesting we’ve seen.

Also known as the Galaxy Spica in the US, the Portal takes the original Galaxy and strips out some basic features.

The design has also been tweaked slightly, with a diamond-shaped four-way navigation key below the screen, rather than the off-rectangle shaped hardware button on the Galaxy.

The Portal certainly isn’t light on the hardware buttons like some Android devices, such as the newly announced HTC Desire. There’s the home screen settings button and back button directly below the screen, answer and call end buttons plus a home key and Google search button alongside them.

However, these buttons make the front feel clunky because they’re unnecessarily large.

Around the sides, there’s a hardware screen unlock key, volume controls and the camera button.

Although it doesn’t make a massive difference, the Portal’s screen is TFT rather than AMOLED. Of course, AMOLED is brighter and a lot easier to view in bright conditions, but this doesn’t mean TFT can be scrapped just yet.

The display is still large at 3.2in and it's also equally responsive thanks to the capacitive technology used. Swiping and navigating round the device is smooth and simple, just as you’d expect, with just your finger doing all the hard work.