Samsung Unveils Affordable Android Phones in India

Samsung has announced the launch of its "Affordable Android Smartphone" duo - Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5 in the Indian market. The launch of these two smartphones comes just a few weeks after the deadly duo of the Galaxy S and the Wave were introduced in India. Both Samsung Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5 boasts of Android centric features like the Layar Reality Browser - an augmented reality application that shows the user what is around him/her by displaying real time digital information, social hubs and support for almost all Google services.

Like the Galaxy S, both the phones support Swype text input and feature Samsung's updated Touchwiz 3.0 UI as well. The Galaxy 3 lets the user customize upto seven home screens. In addition, both Samsung Galaxy 3 (I5801) and Galaxy 5 (I5503) support what Samsung calls AllShare - a feature via which users can share Multimedia content between devices like the mobile and the PC as well as the TV. The phones can also function as TV QWERTY remote. Apart from that, Galaxy 3 has out-of-the-box DivX format support enabling you to watch digital videos without transcoding issues.

Let's take a look at each of the devices now.

Samsung Galaxy 3 ( I5801)

This model is step higher version of Galaxy i5700 Spica. The Galaxy 3 comes with a 3.2-inch WQVGA 16M TFT hi-resolution screen and an auto focus camera at the rear. It also supports and a Wi-Fi connectivity. The phone comes with a 1500 mAH battery and an internal memory of 130MB which is further expandable to 32GB using microSD cards. Users can also download applications from Samsung Apps store. The Samsung Galaxy also comes preloaded with ThinkFree Office Mobile which lets the user create, view and edit word documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. The phone also supports DivX, Xvid, MPEG4, Real and WMV movie files and FM radio. Samsung will be offering Galaxy 3 (I5801) for Rs.12,300.


Samsung Galaxy 5 ( I5503)

As for the Galaxy 5, this one comes with a 2.8-inch QVGA TFT screen and has a 2MP fixed focus camera. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi connectivity, 3G HSDPA with speeds up to 7.2 mbps. For music lovers, there is a 3.5 mm jack as well. The device also comes with FM radio and A-GPS. The 90 MB internal of the phone memory is further upgradeable to 16GB. The Samsung Galaxy 5 (I5503) is priced at Rs.10, 200.


Galaxy 3 would be capable of running Android Froyo 2.2 update too. This is due to the 256MB RAM inside it compared to a mere 128MB RAM inside i5700 Spica. If you're looking for low-cost multimedia Android smartphone, then these are your best bets.