This is the final installment of my Samsung Galaxy Proclaim review. If you haven’t yet read the first part, you may want to click here to get started.

Display/keypad

Although technology has continued to move along over the past several months, the screen on the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim is plenty good for the price of the phone. It’s no Super AMOLED like they are putting on the smartest of smartphones these days (the Samsung Galaxy S4 is now up to Full HD Super AMOLED). But you won’t be disappointed in the quality of the display, as it is bright and crisp.

For those of you interested in the technical specs, this phone has a 3.5-inch TFT touch screen. It offers 16M colors, a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, and supports “multi-touch.”

One thing I would caution you on – I strongly encourage you to put a screen protector on your Proclaim, as the screen seems especially prone to scuffs and scratches. My phone arrived a few days before I got a protector, and in that short time I acquired several dull areas on the screen from where I was frequently touching to unlock the device. Screen protectors are very inexpensive and well worth the cost to protect your investment.

The only downside I can say on my screen protector is that it seems to have somewhat diminished the visibility of my display when used in bright sunlight. Once again, though, it’s worth it in my opinion to give up that functionality in order to extend the useful life of the device.

Another thing that I have to comment on here is the “Swype” keyboard. For those of you that are new to Android, the operating system allows users to install different types of keyboards. There are many different options that you can download from the Google Play store (some free, some paid). The Samsung Galaxy Proclaim comes with the Swype keyboard pre-installed for you. Swype allows you to type on the touch screen without picking up your finger until you are done with a word. So to type the word “the,” you would move your finger from “t” to “h” to “e,” all without picking up your finger.

Swype will determine where your finger slows and/or changes directions, and interprets the movement to predict the word you are typing. In fact, you only need to get close to the letter you mean to use and that’s usually good enough. This can dramatically speed up your typing once you learn it – and it’s a very short learning curve.

Alternatively, you can also search the Play Store, as I mentioned above. The “Kii” keyboard is one that’s currently very popular, with over five thousand ratings at an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 possible.

With the Swype keyboard, the shape of the phone that I touched on in the first part of this review, and the compact size and light weight, the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim is very comfortable to hold and use, whether you prefer to go one-handed or use both hands.

Connectivity

I also love the ease of connecting the Proclaim to other devices, such as computers or bluetooth devices. As I mentioned in another post on this site where I compared the Proclaim to an iPhone, I HATE Apple’s requirement that users connect their iPhone through iTunes. Every time I try to use iTunes to manage my iOS devices, it’s a huge headache.

The Samsung Galaxy Proclaim, on the other hand, is recognized by your computer just like a flash drive. File transfer becomes a matter of easy drag-and-drop navigation.

Similarly, I have had success pairing my Proclaim to a handful of different bluetooth devices. Specifically, I have used both standard bluetooth earpieces with a microphone (in a couple of different brands), as well as a stereo headset designed for listening to audio but not making calls. All connected without a problem.

One other thing that I really like about the Proclaim, and Android in general, is the ease of “tethering,” or using your phone to create a hotspot through which other devices such as laptops and tablets can connect to the internet (using your phone’s cellular data connection). This feature MUST be used with caution and moderation due to Straight Talk’s rather strict policies regarding data limits. However, I love the flexibility of using the FoxFi app to create a hotpost with my Samsung Galaxy Proclaim.

Camera

I’m not going to say a lot about the camera on this phone, because it’s pretty unremarkable. Not terrible, just average. You’ll get a 3.15 megapixel camera that performs reasonably well, but honestly the quality is blown away by any of the newer phones. Then again, you’re paying a lot less for this one. To sum it up, I wouldn’t want to use it to take pictures of my family memories or for vacation pictures, but when you’re on the go and it’s the only image capture device you have handy, you won’t be disappointed.

It does support video capture at 720 x 480 resolution – short of “HD,” but better than I would expect from phones of this release vintage and price range.

Finally, one last note here – there is NOT a front-facing camera. That really doesn’t affect the way I use my phone, but if you were hoping to video chat with the Proclaim, you’ll be out of luck.

Conclusion

Well, that pretty much concludes my review of the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim for Straight Talk or Net10. To wrap things up, I’ll go through a quick summary here, followed by my final recommendation:

• Compact, easy-to-handle size
• Good reception
• Adequate battery life
• Mediocre camera
• Verizon coverage
• Expandable via microSD
• Google Play Store access – hundreds of thousands of apps
• Straight Talk/Net10’s low monthly rates

So, if you are looking for your first smart phone, I think it’s worth your time to think about the Proclaim. The most important thing for me here is that you’ll get Verizon coverage – something that is hard to do on a prepaid smart phone.

Especially now that Straight Talk offers the Proclaim as a $60 refurb, you can’t go wrong. Even if you have to pay full price of over $150, this is a viable option for people that must have Verizon coverage and don’t want to get intimately involved with the technical workings of their phone. (Which I’m assuming means you, because honestly you probably wouldn’t have read this far if you enjoy tinkering with, and possibly breaking, such things.) Click here to check out the phone on Net10′s site, or here for Straight Talk.

If you have previously used a later-model iPhone or higher-end smart phone, the Proclaim will feel like a step back for you. In that case, check out how you can bring your own phone to Straight Talk.

{ 0 comments }