Review Full marks to Samsung’s marketing folk for the Galaxy Fit’s go-getting name, but it’s actually a fairly low-end Android smart phone with an outdated OS, low resolution screen and less than speedy processor. That said, it has a few good points too, including a surprisingly good 5Mp camera.

Exercise equipment? Samsung's Galaxy Fit

Bearing a passing resemblance to the recently released Galaxy Mini (aren’t there an awful lot of Galaxys recently?) the Fit has a similar glossy black fascia surrounded by chrome-look trim on its gently curved edges. What looks like a D-pad beneath the screen is actually the Android home button, flanked by touch sensitive menu and back buttons (there’s no search).

On the sides are volume buttons, a microSD memory card slot covered by a cheap plastic grommet and a power/sleep button. On top are a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB power/sync slot beneath a sliding cover that’s notably better quality than the memory card slot’s flimsy grommet. It measures 110x61x13mm (108g) and as with other recent Galaxys, the back is a very slim, textured sliver of plastic.

The 3.3in screen is a little larger than the Mini’s 3.1in offering, but that means that the already disappointing resolution of 240x320 pixels looks even worse when spread across the larger display.

The 3.3in screen's fairly low resolution leaves room for improvement

The Fit runs the 2.2 Froyo version of Android, which is beginning to look a little long in the tooth now – even if you’ve no need for video calling and the other innovations of 2.3 Gingerbread, you may miss some of those handy bug fixes and ease-of-use apps like ‘Connect to PC’ in the settings menu. It does have Samsung’s Social Hub however, which helps you to keep track of your social messaging updates.

Fit for purpose?

The processor is 600MHz, way behind the 1GHz we expect from Samsung’s higher end single core Androids. While the relatively low power might seem fitting for the low-end screen, the Fit still seemed to struggle in general use, taking its time when switching between apps and delivering an unnervingly jerky performance during some busier games.

The 5Mp camera turned out a good deal better than expected

The Android browser is decent enough, though this version doesn’t have Flash support (the processor would have struggled to handle streaming video anyway). Pinch to zoom functionality is there though, and there’s fairly fast connectivity via 3G or Wi-Fi.

Sample Shots

Click for a full-resolution image

Click for a full-resolution image

Click for a full-resolution image

The 5Mp camera really isn’t bad at all, certainly standing up against the similarly specced snappers on much more expensive phones (for shame, HTC). Features include autofocus, continuous shot (up to nine if you hold the shutter button down), panorama shot, smile shot and macro mode. Picture quality is good with sharp edges and generally accurate colour balance.

Working out?

Video recording is at a maximum resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, so not great on paper, though it’s good enough for snapping looters and shaming them on YouTube. Video viewing leaves something to be desired on the less than impressive display. The handset features an FM radio and the Android music player is a decent one. That said, you’ll have to supply your own headphones as Samsung doesn’t supply any.

A bit of a lightweight

QuickOffice is installed, offering the ability to view and edit, but not create, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, as well as view PDFs. It comes with 160MB of memory on board and a 2GB memory card, though you can also add your own up to 32GB if you feel the need. The relatively small battery 1350mAh battery saw the Fit through a full day of fairly heavy use, but not much more.

Verdict

The Samsung Fit is a low-end Android with a poor screen and underpowered processor, but just about redeems itself with a decent camera. ®

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