Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini GT-19195 - Members Review Phone Feedback By BandofBrothers aka Lee.
First Thoughts.
The phone has a 4.3” screen which is slightly larger than the current iPhone 5s screen size of 4” i’m currently using ,which has highlighted to me that I wouldn’t ever want to downgrade in screen size.
The phone itself is light, well manufactured and comfortable to hold in one hand due to its curved design. {albeit a little slippery to keep hold}
The Power-Lock button is on the opposite side of the volume rocker switch.
Both buttons were easy enough to hit and very responsive and even better I could use these one-handed. I did sometimes find myself accidently hitting the Volume Button when putting the phone sleep.
Even though the phone is Dual-Core it really packs a punch, and I experienced very little lag at all.
Setting up.
The usual affair of inputting my Gmail Account details and creating a Samsung Account followed by keying in my e mail addresses, followed by the settings updating.
All went without hiccup as i’ve come to expect from Samsung and Android set up wizards.
As usual with my devices the keyboard clicks were turned off straightaway.
The Micro SD card is hidden behind the back cover and battery which is quite awkward to fit ,and this also makes it not hot-swappable. The slot for the Micro Sim card sits along side it.
In General.
The Internet browsing experience was buttery smooth with no crashing.
I opted to use Google Chrome.
The phones music specifications provided the usual affair of settings and do not disappoint.
I like the way the Smart Screen feature keeps the screen on as long as you are looking at it. {Smart Stay}
The keyboard is well spaced out and easy to type with and the Home Screens glide across with a touch of class.
It seems the Stock e mail app can only be set to sync with my servers every 5 minutes being the most frequent. I’m used to my e mails being pushed to my iPhone as soon as they arrive to server.
Not something that is a deal-breaker for most.
After speaking with MI5 {a very knowledgeable Android user}, he recommended K-9 Mail which is an open-source e-mail client. Worked seamlessly. Being a Dr Who fan the app icon made me smile too ! Thank you again @MI5
Screen Quality.
I have nothing negative to say about the quality of the screen which provides excellent colour saturation ,with bright vivid colours along with crisp fonts.
Data Connection and WiFi
I used 3G connection on this phone and as i’m lucky to be in a strong area for signal the phone had no issues maintaining connection, but as I had not strayed into a fringe coverage area I cannot really comment on how well this phone would hang onto data connection.
The phone had no issues connecting to my Home WiFi or WiFi that is provided in the City Centre or Coffee Shops.
Call Quality.
Both outbound and inbound calls were very clear and crisp….. enough said.
The audible alerts for calls and Notifications were loud enough to hear even in a working environment, which is a must have for me and my needs.
It seems to me nearly everyone i’ve seen with the Samsung Phones choose the ‘whistle’ notification sound !
Battery
As with all the review phones ……I used this model straightaway as my Primary phone and found the battery to be more than adequate.
I easily attained a full days usage which is a minimum benchmark I set for all the phones I use.
Camera.
When choosing a phone the camera is not one of my primary concerns as I typically use this feature to capture that special shot such as my granddaughter doing something funny for example.
The rear 8 mega pixel camera provided more than adequate shots for my own needs and the front facing 1.9 mega pixel camera gave a clear crisp shot too ,but I'm not adding any selfies in my review !
Ive added a sample of picture I took in my City Centre Shopping Centre.
Sorry i'm not David Bailey !
Gaming.
I played Fifa-14 by EA SPORTS as this game tends to push the phone’s boundaries, and Sonic Dash and RoboCop, and the gaming experience was Ok I can see that perhaps the more intensive games that are available may push this model close to it’s limits.
Accessories.
If I was to purchase a case for this phone then it would be this one. Yes its bit pricey but I like the look of this original case.
http://accessoryshop.o2.co.uk/samsung-original-s-view-cover-for-s4-mini---black
The full specifications for the Samsung Galaxy S4 can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S4_Mini
The Good.
Good Solid Construction.
Vivid Bright Screen.
Good Battery Stats.
Lots of RAM. {1.5GB}
Expandable Memory via Micro SD card.
Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
Light Handset.
Responsive Touchscreen.
4G Compatible.
NFC.
The Not So Good.
The Micro SD card is not hot-swappable.
Price.
Not Full HD display.
No Alert notification light.
Disappointing 8 GB (5 GB user available) on board storage.
Slippery in the hand.
Conclusion.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is a very solid mid range mobile phone.
I would have no qualms having this as a secondary phone.
If you like my review and fancy owning one of these phones then take a look here :
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/samsung/galaxy-s4-mini-black-mist/
A massive Thank you to @Toby , @Anonymous and O2 for allowing me to once again be involved in this fantastic handset review system.
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