Midrange Droid

Android phones are all over the tech news so I was wondering for a great deal of time, when will I have one?

It was 16th of June when I decided to go to SM Cyberzone, It was also the day when I decided to part ways with Nokia.

Don’t get me wrong, Nokia has been good to me for so many years. Nice build quality, durability, reliability, regular software updates it offers.

I didn’t know what I’ve been missing until I got my first Android.

Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830: 13,600Php

I was disappointed when I saw its box; I was expecting a much bigger one. Welcome to the Philippines. It didn’t matter though; all the basic items were included in the package. (Micro usb cable, 2GB memory card with adapter, headset, papers, cd and 2 back covers)

At first, I was having difficulties using it. I was like in an unfamiliar terrain because it was almost nothing like Symbian smartphones that I had.

Galaxy Ace is not cheap and doesn’t look cheap. Its minimalist design still gives elegance to it.

It is compact and good to hold, its back cover (the black one) is slightly rough textured for better grip. It has another back cover included. (White)

Ace is packed with Android 2.2 Froyo infused with Samsung’s own Touchwiz 3.0. It also has a speedy 8ooMhz CPU and Wireless LAN.

User interface is brilliant; it lives up to Android’s reputation of being user-friendly. Customization can be done easily; you can have up to seven panes in your home screen which you can populate with different shortcuts and widgets. Tons of free applications can be easily downloaded at Android Market Place.

Battery life has been its weakest point; I have to recharge it once every 24 hours even if I turn off its 3G signal and set the screen brightness to minimum.

Forgot your digital camera? No problem. Ace is equipped with 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. It produces crisp pictures even in low light situations and an HD like image at daytime.

At the end of the day, I felt proud I got myself a decent Android phone that can do most of what you’d expect on a smartphone. 

Was it worth the cost? 

Definitely.