Samsung GALAXY Europa GT-I5500 - Ebony black (Vodafone) Smartphone

Good: Reponsive screen Good battery life Decent included apps Good Twitter and Facebook integration Unobtrusive Android skinning

Bad: Too many buttons Screen too small for media rich activities Camera could be better No QWERTY keyboard in portrait mode Measly 1GB microSD card supplied

Comment: The Galaxy Europa i5500 is another small format Android handset, running Android 2.1 but also packing in a much more pocket-friendly price.

It has the Android necessities of Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS on board and there is 140MB of user memory, plus a 1GB microSD card in the box.

The build has a weird asymmetrical design that makes the phone look fatter at the top than at the bottom when viewed edge on.
That's an optical illusion created by the fact that there is a silvery edging to the handset that sits at a non-uniform angle. It forms the whole of the top plate, then slants along the edges so that it can form a lip on the bottom front of the handset. Clever, but not rocket science, really.

The actual dimensions are 56 x 108 x 12.3mm, and the handset is not thinner at one end than the other.
The plastic build materials mean the Samsung Galaxy Europa i5500 is quite light at just 102g, but the plastic doesn't feel shoddy. We doubt the Samsung Galaxy Europa i5500 will survive to many falls from a great height, but the odd drop from a table top ought not to cause it any real harm.
The shiny black backplate is a fingerprint magnet, and we aren't sure we need the 'with Google' reminder on the backplate.
The front fascia is positively riddled with buttons and the area in which they sit looks cramped, though actually using the buttons did not feel especially squeezed.

We are never really sure you need Call and End buttons on an Android handset and in this case there is a shortcut to the dialler hardwired to every main screen. At least the End button doubles as the off switch.

There's a nice sized D-pad which, like Call and End buttons, can feel redundant on a handset with a touch screen, though we can see why some people might like to use one from time to time.

Samsung has also found room for two extra buttons – one offering the Android Menu and Home functions, the other giving you Back and Search functions. There are very slightly concave, which helps with ease of use.

Samsung hasn't gone overboard with side buttons and connectors. There's a 3.5mm headset connector on the top edge, nothing on the right or bottom, and on the left a volume rocker and microUSB power connector.Samsung has skinned Android 2.1 so that while things look pretty familiar, there are plenty of tweaks on offer to play with joyfully thanks to the TouchWiz 3.0 overlay from the Koreans.
There are seven home screens, ready for you to populate with links to apps, widgets and shortcuts. The main home screen is the one you get to when you press the Home button, and oddly it is the one on the far left of the sequence - much like the Samsung Galaxy S.

This was my first entry into the clever smart phone market, and principally I chose the Samsung because my grandson has the top of the range model (and loves it), and I wanted to use this lesser one as a connection to the internet on my own router more than as a rather expensive mobile phone. The only mistake I made when I bought it advertised as 'Unlocked' was to accept the item actually locked to 3. Whatever you do, don't do the same. Absolutely insist that it is 'Unlocked'. Mine was eventually unlocked at a market stall for £10 but in doing so it completely screwed the internet connection. Fortunately a clever young man in a Boscombe mall stall fixed it at no charge, and then I was clear. Yes, the screen is small - but adequate. Yes, the keys are small - and if you have average fingers like mine, then you will constantly have to keep going back and erasing the letter (or lettters) you just pressed incorrectly on the keyboard, Don't waste your money buying a probe for £5 - they don't work well enough to justify the expense. The keyboard senses the electrical impulse in your finger, and there isn't any in the probe. This phone definitely needs a clear and precise User Handbook as to how to handle the many Apps - most of which are of absolutely no use to you. Like me you may need someone to help set it all up and get it ready for the way you want to use it, as my grandson did for me. Every time I tried to slide an App over to the first screen I found I had set up another screen! Then I had trouble trying to get rid of that!
For what I paid new (around £45) it is most definitely a real bargain and great fun to use. Any more than that and I would say don't buy it - go for something bigger. You'll need infinite patience if you don't have fingers like knitting needles! I like the brilliant clarity, the usefulness of Google in the palm of my hand, the landscape and portrait modes, the modern shape and style, but I dislike the closeness of the keyboard letters. Apart from that - excellent value at the price.

Very easy to use smart phone. I am new to these phones (only tried other family members phones) and found this easy to use from day one. A nice samller size than some - good for someone with small hands - you're not dropping it all the time and it doesn't feel huge when you make a call.Excellent value for money and very pleased to have purchased it.

A great little smartphone available at reasonable prices, processor is fast enough for browsing the net, Android apps are superb and plentiful. The touch screen is perhaps a little bit too small, but you cant have a small smartphone with a big screen - you make your choice, a big screen for ease of use or a smaller phone which slips easily into your pocket or purse.
Overall a wonderful phone, clear screen, easy enough to use particularly with the 4 way toggle, very fast, small, neat and light. battery life is adequate, very good if you restrict it to 2g coverage and don't spend ages on the net, or have the GPS enabled.
Recommended to anyone who wants a small, budget priced smartphone!

Really impressed with the phone. Good (if a little on the small side) screen. All the features you would expect of a GPS enabled smartphone ~ free sat nav and so much more. The latest Android 2.2 Froyo software is superb ~ swipe text input takes a little while to get used to but after that text input speed is amazingly quick. Three are offering the phone for £49.99 with free delivery which is a real bargain for a phone of this spec! If you run GPS enabled tracking apps the phone battery will only last about 24 hours life but with low use battery life is 2 - 3 days between charges.