Samsung’s second Android phone, the i5700 Galaxy Portal, is a scaled-down version of its first model, the i7500. It’s a similar size and shape, and the OS is more or less the same too, but a few of the specs have been downgraded, making for a competitive price tag.

Style and handling on the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Portal

Considering it’s a touch-screen phone, the Samsung Galaxy Portal has a lot of buttons. There are buttons for call and end call, home, back, menu and a ‘Google Search’ key – six in all, plus the large D-pad. It makes for a congested fascia. The phone itself is slightly smaller and a little thicker than an iPhone, which is a good size.

Operating on the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Portal

Many Android handsets have manufacturer or network extras alongside the Android OS, but the Samsung Galaxy Portal is Android all the way. Specifically, Android 1.5, which is a little dated but can be upgraded. The icons are somewhat retro looking, and there’s no multi-touch, the pinch-to-zoom function that later Google phones have sported.

That’s not to say that Samsung isn’t taking Android seriously. It gives a shortcut to Layar, the gateway to augmented reality (AR) application. AR shows you what the camera is seeing and overlays the image with extra information so you can find the nearest branch of a bank, for example. It’s a good application, and one that Android picked up on far more quickly and comprehensively than Apple, so it’s nice to see it showed some love on the Portal.

There are some Android programs preloaded on the phone, including some games, and you can download thousands more if you wish.

The touch-screen is relatively responsive, although can seem a bit sluggish if you compare it to the Google Nexus One with its super-speedy Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It’s perhaps not a fair comparison, though, and really this isn’t bad at all.

Features and screen on the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Portal

It’s when you compare it to the earlier i7500 that the Samsung Galaxy Portal starts to fall down. The camera has been downgraded from five megapixels to 3.2 megapixels and there’s no longer a flash, but that’s not really an issue. The i7500 had 8GB of internal memory, but the Portal relies on memory cards for storage space. This again is not the worst thing in the world, and many phones use memory cards successfully.

The real difference between the two phones is the screen. While the Samsung Galaxy Portal has the same 352x416-resolution screen as its predecessor, compared to the dazzling AMOLED display on the i7500 it’s just dull. On the plus side, though, the central processor on the Portal is faster than on the i7500.

The Portal has kept the very worst bit of the i7500, though: the screen unlock key. While locking a touch-screen phone is unnecessary to avoid it having a life of its own in your pocket, Samsung’s system is just irritating. The only way to unlock the screen, which automatically locks after 15 seconds, is to hold the side-mounted screen lock button for about a second. It feels like an eternity, and really needs to be changed. At the very least, Samsung should allow you to choose your unlocking method.

The verdict on the Samsung i5700 Galaxy Portal

The useable, reliable Android operating system is the highlight of the Samsung Galaxy Portal, and the preloaded apps and Layar software make it very useable. While it’s a good size and sits comfortable in your hand, there are too many buttons to confuse the issue, which is a shame.