Samsung Galaxy Portal i5700 review

Can Android 1.5 and black plastic cut it in 2010?

The definitive Samsung Galaxy Portal review
The definitive Samsung Galaxy Portal review

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Get ready for a shock - the Galaxy Portal has a surprisingly decent battery. Samsung's previous Galaxy, was lambasted by all and sundry for eating battery life willy-nilly, despite having a supposedly more efficient OLED screen.

Samsung galaxy portal

The tables have been turned here, with the Samsung Galaxy Portal's regular LCD screen somehow staying alive for a full day of in-bed, on-train, in-office, on-train then in-bed-again casual Twitter and web action.

Battery enthusiasts will know there's a good scientific reason for all this - the Samsung Galaxy Portal has a 1500mAh battery, slightly larger than the usual 1400mAh versions or lower you find in other phones. Every little helps.

You'll still spend most of your time worrying about unnecessary apps running in the background guzzling power and leaving you without text access at unfortunate moments, mind - but that's all part of the modern smartphone game.

Samsung galaxy portal

Battery makers need to get their act together, basically, as they're seriously holding back technology - although there are some free task-manager applications on the Android Market that can seriously help maintain battery life.