A little brother to the Samsung Galaxy--to which it bears more than a passing resemblance--the Galaxy Spica is a little bit less fully-featured than its near relative.  That makes it Samsung's entry-level Google Phone, but it has a faster processor than the Galaxy and will soon get Android 2.0.  Does that make for a useful, reliable handset though?



Before we get started on testing this smartphone, we should point out that the Spica will soon be upgraded to the next version of Android, but for the time being ships with version 1.5, codenamed Cupcake.  Samsung has decided to leave the Galaxy itself as it is though, and we have a hard time with this policy of releasing new models to take over old ones without actually bringing any significant changes.



While some of the competition is going for high-end handset like the Milestone from Motorola or Sony-Ericsson's Xperia X10, Samsung, LG and Huawei are all banking on entry-level and mid-range models.  The specs are less impressive, as the results, naturally enough, but these phones can still be enough for less demeaning users, or those who don't want to shell out on something more expensive.  The Galaxy Spica is a classic example.

No more AMOLED screen

Compared to all the other Google Phones we've seen from all the manufacturers (LG, Motorola, HTC, Sony-Ericsson, Acer and so on), this one manages to escape our usual observation that they're usually solid and masculine.  We really don't know why all of the Android handsets we've seen so far have the same chunky look and feel: it's hardly elegant …  That said, the Spica doesn't stand out with a particularly innovative design, either.  The first that comes to mind is 'look, it's a Samsung: a Galaxy … wait a second, a Spica!'  We're glad to see that the black back of the phone has gone from glossy to matte: greasy fingerprints are much less easy to spot and it's much easier to get a good grip on the phone.

Less favoured than the Galaxy, the Spica misses out on an AMOLED screen which would have provided a great contrast for the display, amongst other things.  The 3.2'' capacitive touchscreen that replaces it is not too bad, as long as you avoid bright sunlight.  It's pretty accurate and very responsive, too.

Spica is quick off the mark

The Spica uses the standard Android interface.  Some critics feel that this interface has yet to catch on with the general public, while others prefer it to an extra layer of software, precisely because it is plain and simple.  It's nothing like the sophisticated interface on the HTC Sense or the one that Sony-Ericsson has developed for the Xperia X10, which are easier on the eye and better at integrating services and applications that aren't included in Android's default configuration.  That doesn't mean, though, that the Spica's interface, as basic as it is, isn't very easy to get the hang of.


To customise the three homescreens, all you need to is slide the applications tab up the screen, choose the icons you want and drag-and-drop them on to the desktop.  If you press and hold the home button at the bottom of the screen, you open the task manager, but if you want close apps that are running, you should download the Task killer app from Android Market.


Another easy-to-reach physical button is used to launch a Google search automatically.  We're still impressed by the tight integration of Google's own tools (Gmail, Google Maps, GTalk and so on), as well as Android Market, which makes installing apps easy, if not necessarily very fast.

The handset responds to commands immediately almost all of the time, and apps launch quickly, even if the Spica isn't quite as fast as the HTC Hero.  The Qualcomm MSM processor, running at 800 MHz is definitely ready to take on Android 2.0, but if you want to keep the Spica ticking over quickly, remember to close down apps you're not using.  If you're not entirely convinced by touchscreen interfaces, the physical directional arrows at the bottom around the 'OK' button works well.

A button on one side of the handset is used to bring it out of standby, but it's a little fiddly: the screen often lights up only to switch off again straight away.  The accelerometer, which you need to adjust the virtual keyboard (available as a Samsung option, a T9 or a full QWERTY version) from portrait to landscape mode, isn't the fastest we've seen.  The onscreen keyboard, which is generally quite effective, isn't always available in landscape mode, which is a shame.


Multimedia

Despite only having a bare minimum of internal memory to play with, the Spica has all of the features you'd expect on this sort of handset, including a camera, video and web browsing.  Fortunately, though, it ships with either a 1 GB or an 8 GB memory card, depending on the model you opt for.

The 5 Megapixel sensor and flash found on the Galaxy are gone: instead, the Spica makes do with just 3 Megapixels and has neither a flash nor zoom.  It produces rather inaccurate photos, with lots of noise, especially in low light.  Taking photos isn't particularly quick, and sometimes takes up to three seconds.  The Spica can play DivX files natively, with no need to convert them first.  It also supports H.263 video and MPEG-4.  It shoots video in 640 x 480 pixels, although the Galaxy only managed 320 x 240 pixels.  That said, the lack of zoom is a shame, and the mic isn't excellent.