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When looking around the smartphone market, the low-cost Samsung Galaxy Young is certainly an interesting proposition.
It aims to bring the smartphone market to those that might be unable to afford it, with a cut down feature list and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean available for a smaller price tag.
We liked
It's hard not to like the price, especially given that this is the sort of price tag that usually accompanies network branded handsets that all too often over promise and under deliver. With Samsung's nous behind it, it's a pleasure to see a handset of this price with these features on the market.
I am a fan of Samsung's TouchWiz UI. It delivers on a whole range of things and adds an extra level of smart to your smartphone, something that I really value. Android itself is a great OS but its these extra features that make a smartphone worth the money.
We disliked
The camera is an area that Samsung really needs to work on with the Galaxy Young. There are definitely compromises that need to be made in order to keep the cost down, but many people now look to their mobile camera to share their daily lives via social media, especially in the target age group.
Space is another issue that needs to be addressed, especially with youngsters that tend to install and remove apps at the drop of a hat. For storing pictures and music a microSD card can be added, but this adds extra cost and doesn't allow total movement off apps over.
Finally the battery is an area that gave me concern. I can see it easily lasting a standard 9am-3pm school day, but for a full day's use you're starting to push the Galaxy Young.
Final Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Young was never going to be the best handset ever brought to market, but it manages to bring a lot of features that make Samsung handsets so successful whilst coming in at a reasonable price tag.
This means that it is ideal as a first time smartphone or second phone that will cover you in emergencies, or even as backup so you don't have to take your flagship handset away with you whilst travelling the world.
As a first foray into the smartphone market or as a cheap handset to offer kids to take to school I can think of few other phones at this price tag, although if you're thinking about a two year contract I'd advise looking at the Nokia Lumia 520.
Thanks to O2 for providing a Gaalxy Young for review
First reviewed: March 2014
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