Samsung Propel Pro review – Cramped keyboard
Thumbs Up:
Samsung Propel Pro offers QWERTY keyboard, numerous email features, GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G support. The call quality and camera’s picture quality were good and satisfactory.
Thumbs Down:
Samsung Propel Pro is bit bulkier than other smartphones. The keyboard is cramped. Samsung still uses common jack for power and headphones.
Inside the Trunk:
Technology: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Band: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Phone Design: Slider
Caller ID: Yes
Other Features: 3.5G support, 3-megapixel camera, Windows Mobile 6.1, GPS/A-GPS, Microsoft Direct Push, Microsoft ActiveSync
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Samsung Propel Pro is powered by 528MHz processor. It has 126MB RAM, 256MB ROM and one micro-SD card slot that supports up to 8GB cards. The operating system is Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1. Supported wireless interfaces are Bluetooth 2.0 and IEEE 802.11b/g.
Preinstalled software list include Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, Microsoft Voice Command, Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Direct Push, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Adobe Flash Lite, AT&T Xpress Mail, Calculator, ActiveSync, Calendar and Alarm.
2.55 inches display of Samsung Propel Pro has a resolution of 320×320 pixels. The smartphone has 3-megapixel camera that features automatic focus adjustment. It has one connector for USB.
The additional features of Samsung Propel are Voice Command, Conference calling, Call forwarding, Voice dialing, Speakerphone, micro-SD card slot, HSPDA, EDGE, USB, GPRS, GPS, Web browser, Wi-Fi and TTY compatible.
Samsung Propel Pro has 1440mAH lithium ion battery that has a life 380 minutes of talk time and 288 hours of idle standby time. Accessories supplied inside the package are user manual, software CD, USB cable and power adapter.
Razzle Dazzle:
Samsung Propel Pro has square like shape and looks like Verizon Wireless Blitz and LG Lotus. The Propel Pro is 3.9 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep and it weighs around 4.8 ounces. It feels wide and some bulky while taking in hand. The display screen works like fingerprint magnet that captures smudges and finger print even on gentle touch.
Inside Dope:
As you might know, the CTIA 2009 had a hot wavy trend about messaging phones and one of the best debuts was Samsung Propel Prop (AT&T). The Pro looks like previous Samsung Propel due to QWERTY keyboard and slider design. However, Samsung has made new additions to this Propel Pro in form of Windows Mobile 6.1 that attracts business class users. This Windows Mobile smartphone provides impressive call quality and broad range of email and wireless features. Samsung Propel Pro also has some design issues like its predecessor. It is thick and bulky as compared to other smartphones such as Nokia E71x and Samsung Epix. If you like slider phones and need a new smartphone, then Samsung Propel Pro will be a good deal. The Propel Pro costs $149 with two year service agreement from AT&T.
2.5 inches LCD display of Samsung Propel Pro is on the front side. It has 320×320 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. The display is not a touch screen, but it is enough bright and sharp as per your requirement. It seems a bit wash out in sun light like displays of other cell phones. You can personalize the Home screen by changing background images, color schemes and layouts. We prefer the slide panel layout as it provides easy access to applications and information from the Home screen.
Navigation array located beneath the display and contains joystick, back button, Home shortcut, Talk key, End button and two soft keys. All these keys are easy to use except joystick because it does not serve as precise input for navigation, selection and scrolling. The joystick will work fine after some usage, still cannot match trackball or directional keypad.
You can push up the display screen of Samsung Propel Pro to access the keyboard. The sliding mechanism is very smooth and display will lock securely in its place. The keyboard of the Propel Pro is slightly different from the original Propel. Instead of having oval shape, the buttons have rectangular shape without any space between the keys. The keyboard looks cramped and difficult for persons with large thumbs. Even the space bar key is small in size. The keys are not stiff like that on Samsung BlackJack II.
Micro-SD card slot, volume rocker and power button are located on the left spine of Samsung Propel Pro. You will find camera activate/capture key and common headset/power jack on the right spine. We prefer the Samsung to include 3.5mm headphone jack and combined micro- or mini-USB port for power/USB connection. The camera is located on the back of front side, so you have to slide down the phone to access camera.
Samsung Propel Prop offers Microsoft Office Mobile Suite and Microsoft Direct Push Technology for synchronization with Outlook. The email features include AT&T Xress mail and support POP3/IMAP4/SMTP accounts. It also has pre-installed instant messengers such as Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and AIM messenger.
The management and personal tools by Samsung Propel Pro include stopwatch, unit converter, world clock, alarm clock, voice notes, task list, RSS reader and PDF viewer. AT&T has also provided its services such as WikiMobile, Mobile Banking, eBay, My-Cast Weather and MobiTV.
The voice features of Samsung Propel Pro include voice commands, multimedia and text messaging, conference calling, three-way calling, speed dialing, speakerphone and quad-band world roaming. Moreover, you can make a video call through AT&T Video Share service if the recipient has Video Share compatible mobile. Please note that you h ave to additional $4.99 per month to AT&T for the same.
Samsung Propel Pro can store contacts limited to available memory and SIM card can store more 250 contacts. Each contact entry can save multiple phone numbers, IM screen names, notes, email addresses, and more. You divide the contacts into caller groups and also pair them with a group ID, ring-tone and picture for photo ID.
The Bluetooth profile of Samsung Propel Pro supports stereo and mono Bluetooth headsets, hands-free kits, wireless file transfers, wireless modem, printers, keyboards, and more. The smartphone is only tri-band HSDPA/UMTS based. Its 3.5G support features broadband like speeds and enables you to connect 3G network even in abroad. The Propel Pro also has integrated Wi-Fi.
Samsung Propel Pro also has A-GPS/GPS that features free application like Google Maps, text-based turn-by-turn driving directions, voice guided directions, real-time tracking data and location based-service. AT&T also includes AT&T Navigator to provide location recorders, voice guided instructions and traffic data. It is free for first 30 days and after that costs $9.99 per month until you cancel this feature.
Samsung Propel Pro has one 3-megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording feature. The still camera settings include white balance, ISO sensitivity levels, image qualities, resolutions, scenes and shooting modes. The settings in camcorder mode are effects, white balance, three quality settings, two resolutions and others.
The image quality was overall good and impressive for a mobile camera. The shutter lag was a bit large that might result in blurry images. However, the resulting images were sharp and nice and colors looked good. The video quality was average due to some pixilation and blurriness.
We made few calls through Samsung Propel Pro via AT&T service. The overall call quality was satisfactory and good. We received clear but a bit hollow sound on our end. The callers received good sound at their end. The speakerphone call quality was good. The volume was loud even in noisy situations, but suffered with some crackling sound occasionally. We did not have any problem in pairing the Bluetooth headsets from Motorola S9 and Logitech Mobile Traveller.
We did not face any system crash or delays in functioning while using Samsung Propel Pro during test. However, occasionally we had to wait for launching some application. The Web browsing speed was also good. Microsoft.com and Disney website loaded completely in 15 and 20 seconds respectively. The buffering speed of streaming video via AT&T Video was not good. The streaming video quality was blurry and pixilated. However, already stored small video clips were played surprisingly good. The GPS was also quick to trace our changing locations.
Samsung Propel Pro has 1440mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 12 days idle standby time and 6.5 hours of talk time. The digital SAR rating is 0.473 per kg as per FCC radiation tests.
Nitty Gritty:
Samsung Propel Pro is Windows Mobile smartphone. If you do not mind non-touch interface, a bit bulkier design and cramped keyboard, then buy this – Propel Pro. Else, we will recommend you to check other smartphones for AT&T in the same price range.
