Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 – The Use

Right, after looking at how the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 fared in terms of appearance, I shall go on to ramble about its functions and whether the usage of this phone is worth your energy, youth and most importantly, money.

Let’s be honest, we are all designed to want the best out of the things we purchase. But here’s the ironic part, we don’t really want to pay a lot despite our desire for perfection. I know I’m one of the cheapos. Take a look at your nearest rojak stall lah, we’ll ask for more cucumbers, more pineapples, more sauce and I’ve even heard people requesting for more Styrofoam boxes.

And when payment is requested upon, we’ll shoot this very common line, “Aiyo, why so expensive one? Got count wrong ah?”

But hor, you can’t blame us. Cheapness is just one of the many personalities most of us are born with here in Malaysia, same goes to discourtesy, hot-tempered and lousy driving. But that’s a WHOLE other story.

So, back to the story on the Galaxy Mini 2.

As I’ve mentioned in the previous post, I’m not one who is too fond of touch-screen phones. Naturally, it leads to a state where I do not exactly know how to operate a touch-screen phone well. But is that really the case here?

Functionality And Specifications

The very first thing I noticed about the Mini 2 is its smooth navigation. I’ve heard complaints from peers that certain touch-screen phones are ‘laggy’ whenever you’re sliding from a page to another. It’s not as fluid as one expects them to be. And since we’re living in a generation where speed and smoothness is crucial, phones that lag will inevitably bring out the murderer in us.

“URGH. THIS PHONE IS TOO DAMNED SLOW!”

“Hey bro, you okay there?”

“NO I’M NOT! GODDAMMIT THIS PHONE IS SO LAGGY I WANNA BITE THE BRAINS OUT OF SOMEBODY THIS VERY MOMENT!”

“Errrr bro, why are walking towards me with your mouth opened? Bro? BRO?! ARGHHHHH NOOOOOOOO!”

*Pictures for this scenario could not be illustrated as the blogger possesses no talent in the art of drawing, so it would be appreciated if you play this scene with your imagination.*

Yup, imagine that. Slow phones create zombies. Is that what you really want? Pretty sure that’s not what Samsung wants. Despite having only an 800 MHz processor, I think it was perfectly sufficient for a smooth navigation between pages and apps on the Mini 2. Never really experienced any form of lag through out that 2 weeks of trial.

Here’s the best part, I was expecting a phone with only 800 MHz to have poor graphic resolutions. Just compare it to the older Galaxy Ace, where the graphics were so-so and has nothing to shout about. In fact, I thought the Mini 2 was merely a repackaged Galaxy Ace with a different housing, name and model number.

Heh. Boy was I wrong about it.

Accordingly, the Mini 2 has an improvised graphics display compared to its predecessors. Well, of course it’s of no surprise since its TFT capacitive touch-screen boasts a whopping 16 million colours.

Games appear to be more intriguing albeit the relatively tiny screen.

Social networking is made more attractive. Well, not too sure what relevance is there between the colour and the social networking site but it certainly felt more attractive in my personal opinion. Maybe it’s the jakun in me that is creating all these hype

Receiving and reading e-mails on the Mini 2 is pleasurable.

And heck, even my blog looks good on the phone. Heh. Shameless publicity stunt, everybody needs to do it sometimes.

The camera however, with much regrets when said, is not that satisfactory.

Although it’s a 3.2 mega-pixel camera, it does not have an auto-focus function as well a flashlight. Hence, the camera for the Mini 2 only works well in the outdoors or places that have very good lightings. And sadly, if you have terribly shaky hands during photo-taking sessions, you’re gonna hate this camera to bits.

Here’s a photo taken outside, on a relatively sunny day.

If you were to zoom-in whilst snapping a shot, your image will turn up somewhat fuzzy. Quite normal since it’s using digital zooming.

This one, on the other hand, is taken in a snooker centre where the lights were quite beaming. But still, you could see some fuzziness in the image.

Majority of the photos I’ve taken was a product of 2 or 3 retakes. It’s usually a challenge for me to take a clear and distinct photo on the first try with the Mini 2 since it lacks an auto-focus function, resulting in a very blurred photo. And unfortunate for me, I have a pair of fairly shaky hands, which makes the photo-taking process much more stimulating. I SWEAR IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY OVER-CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.

The video-taking aspect on the other hand, has nothing to shout about as well. Typical VGA shooting. Do check out this short clip I’ve taken using the Mini 2.

So, apologies if you were somewhat shocked after watching the video. My bad.

Pricing

Right, here comes the most attractive part of the entire phone. For less than RM599, you can actually own a Samsung Galaxy Mini 2. Yes, you’ve read it right. FIVE NINE NINE AND LESS. One of the retailers I know is selling at RM580, not too sure if you can find any lower than that. It’s easy on the wallet, especially for cheaps like me.

And with 4GB of internal memory, I don’t think you would have to spend more on an external memory card. Well, unless you have like, a lot of personal stuffs you would like to carry around for your convenience and entertainment. Y’know, videos, maybe.

My overall experience with the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2? Honestly, there are positive aspects as well as negative ones. But let’s just say the good side pretty much outweighs the bad side. I’m willing to forgo the cons since I’m pretty much awed by the pros offered by this petite but powerful device.

So, if you’re one who wants the most out of everything but only willing to spend the least, the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 is just the gadget you’re looking for. Don’t be fooled by its size, remember the Malay saying ‘kecil-kecil cili padi’?

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