Samsung Galaxy 551 its the first phone with slider from this producer but shows some weakness in autonomy and multimedia features. We think the phone was made just for the old fashioned SMS lovers. The expectations before test
This smartphone was officially announced in Europe in October 2010. However, finally the new Galaxy 551 was arrived in Romania. For this new device, Samsung, one of the biggest players from this industry has decided to incorporate a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a feature particularly used by the fans of classic SMS and social networks. At the first view the Galaxy 551 is no shortage of attractions with its operating system (latest Android 2.2 Froyo). Its multimedia features, the processor limited to 600 MHz and a small 3.2-inch screen make from this phone a desired gadget. We want to know if for a price below 300 euros this smartphone is a good choice. Let’s see the test. 
The reality
Like almost all the Samsung models, the Galaxy has a glossy black coat and combines, under its touch screen display, three classic buttons:. One of them is taking to the menu access and return to the center, which could be a pad, but does is a button to return to the home screen ! A little bit tricky but we love the sliding keyboard with four lines. Definitely this smartphone look very well.
This smartphone is powered by full connectivity and other usual features of a smartphone (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Micro USB port, 3.5 mm jack) this device incorporates a Micro SD reader – to supplement the low internal memory (just 160 MB in the default configuration). However, this phone comes with a 1 GB card to store your images and a start button. The photo sensor with good resolution is just other feature of the Galaxy 551.
Not able to read Flash files
Because is running the latest version of Google Android OS, Samsung Galaxy 551 can be transformed with ease into a good GPS with Google Maps navigation. In the same time you have the access to the mobile Internet or Wi-Fi 3G + (mail, browser and platform application downloads from the Market).
Anyway, a very weak point is that smartphone is not able to run Flash files. The Froyo OS seems to integrate a compatible Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1, but Samsung Galaxy 551 is not able to read Flash files. Anyway, the competitors (LG, for example), seems to solve this problem but Samsung is still in expectation. What is waiting for ?
Anyway, a very weak point is that smartphone is not able to run Flash files. The Froyo OS seems to integrate a compatible Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1, but Samsung Galaxy 551 is not able to read Flash files. Anyway, the competitors (LG, for example), seems to solve this problem but Samsung is still in expectation. What is waiting for ?
Multipoint zoom on keyboard
We tested the touch screen navigation and the menus seems to have a strange delay effect (but is working, without any bug). If you want to compare with other smartphones produced by Samsung (like Galaxy S for example) the interface is still multipoint to zoom in / out of a pinch, and input from the keyboard, is accurate and fast, but a little bit weak, comparing with these models.
Weak battery
Even the Galaxy 551 is not full of features, it leaves us a little bit of curiosity. The pictures taken with the 3.2 megapixel camera are quite good if you have enough light and you use no zoom. Anyway, the video file format has limited resolution at 320 x 240 pixels and the images seems to be blurred. Other features of Galaxy 551 are the FM radio and the TouchWiz interface. Anyway, this phone fails to mention missing of any support for video files formats. The DivX, Xvid and WMV are not supported.
Another cons of this phone in the battery life, limited to around 5 hours and 20 minutes of talk time (3G network).
The test and review conclusions
After our tests we can say that the Galaxy 551 is a smartphone pleasant to use, especially if you need a good keyboard. Because the price is low, Samsung has decided to cut some features. Anyway, they was not very inspired because the Flash,DivX, Xvid and WMV formats are not able to be used. The battery life is not very long, too.
Technical specifications and features
| Weight in Grams | 117 |
| AF | Yes |
| Resolution Width in Pixel | 2048 |
| Resolution Height in Pixel | 1536 |
| Flash | No |
| Optical Zoom | 0 |
| Digital Zoom | 3 |
| Vertical Resolution | 400 |
| Horizontal resolution | 240 |
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
| Operating System | Android |
| USB | Yes |
| Type | Excluding Pack (Phone Only) |
| Integrated TV Tuner | No |
| Integrated Radio | FM |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| GPRS | Yes |
| HSCSD | No |
| Height in mm | 111 |
| Width in mm | 55 |
| Depth in mm | 15.3 |
| Java | Yes |
| E-Mail Function | Yes |
| I-Mode | No |
| Instant Messaging | Yes |
| Memory Card Reader | Yes |
| Design | Sliding QWERTY |
| Number of Display Colours | 262,144 Colors |
| Any stall Button | No |
| Edge | Yes |
| Technology | UMTS (3G) |
| Keyboard / Touchscreen | Keyboard + Touchscreen |
| MP3 Player | Yes |
| Customer Video | N / C |
| WiFi | Yes |
| Number of Screens | 1 |
| GPS | Integrated |
| Push (Email and Multimedia Content) | Yes |
| Screen Technology | TFT |
| MP3 or WMA | Yes |
| Talk Time (H) | 0 |
| Standby time (in days) | 0 |
| HSDPA | Yes |
| A2DP | Yes |
| Video resolution in pixels | 320 x 240 (QVGA) |
| NFC-enabled | No |
| Dual Sim | No |
| Specific Absorption Rate in W / kg (DAS / NAS) | 0.38 |