SAMSUNG GALAXY ACE 3

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 continues the
Korean firm's drive to create an Android
device for every single niche in the market.
Samsung's current range has the powerhouses
of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note
3 , followed up by the less powerful yet still
impressive Galaxy S4 Mini .
Below that sits the Galaxy Ace 3, with the
Galaxy Fame and the Galaxy Young rounding
off the list.
Being one of the lower-specced handsets, it's
reasonable to assume that the pricing would
match, and you wouldn't be far wrong.
SIM prices start from around £200, $225,
with 4G contracts in the UK as low as £19pm,
or 3G for £17pm.
This puts the Galaxy
Ace 3 in square
contention with the
newly launched HTC
Desire 500 and the
Nokia Lumia 625, as
well as being a shade
more expensive than
the Samsung Galaxy
S3 Mini .
Being a more budget-
oriented device, the
Galaxy Ace 3 has a
lot to compete
against. Sitting within
the Galaxy range
should help, though -
as should an existing
user base that might
be looking to upgrade
from the original
Galaxy Ace.
In order to convince you to part with some
(though admittedly not much) of your hard-
earned cash, the Galaxy Ace 3 packs in a few
surprises. The more observant will have
noticed that it is 4G enabled, for example.
In truth, this will be the biggest selling point
of the Galaxy Ace 3, as there is not a lot else
that it has to shout about. Running only a
dual-core 1.2GHz processor, when the HTC
Desire 500 offers a quad-core, seems a
disappointing.
I'm still a little sceptical of the need for such
power in low-end devices, though, so I'll take
a look at that later.
Another key specification on the modern
smartphone is the screen. The Galaxy Ace 3
comes with a 4-inch, 480 x 800 screen,
meaning 233ppi. It's a long way off the Galaxy
S4, with its 441 ppi, but it's not too bad.
It seems a little odd that the screen matches
that of the HTC Desire 500, yet somehow
seems brighter and crisper. Then again,
Samsung is famed for putting truly spectacular
screens onto some of its devices.
To cope with that screen, the Galaxy Ace 3
measures in at 121.2 x 62.7 x 9.8mm. This
puts it in the same size bracket as the Galaxy
S4 Mini, although the extra 12g of weight is
very noticeable.
Previous TechRadar reviews have commented
that added weight can sometimes help make a
device feel more premium, but the Galaxy Ace
3 feels a little heavy.
Besides the 4G antenna and 4-inch screen, the
chassis also encases the more standard
smartphone features: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0,
GPS and GLONASS, and NFC.
The Galaxy Ace 3 is shaping up to fit nicely in
the Galaxy range, and this is aided by a strong
design ethos from Samsung. Put the Galaxy
Ace 3 alongside any of the Galaxy phones
since the Galaxy S3 and the curvier nature is
instantly recognisable.
You can pick up the Galaxy Ace 3 in two
colors. I'd tell you to guess what they are, but
black and white are too obvious to make the
game fun. Everyone would be disappointed if
it was just black, though.
There's little to say about the colors
themselves, but what is noticeable is that the
sensors by the front-facing camera are far
more noticeable on the white version. Hopes
of a notification light were also dashed.
A faux chrome band wraps around the chassis,
making it look a little more premium, as well
as breaking up the block white or black color.
As with all smartphones, the screen takes up
most of the front. The home button, as well as
the back and menu soft-keys sit below,
following the same Samsung layout first seen
on the Samsung Galaxy S .
The volume rocker sits at the top of the left-
hand side, with the power lock button
opposite on the right. This leaves the 3.5mm
port sat on the top, and the microUSB/
charger port on the base.
You knew that, though, didn't you? All Galaxy
models, from the Fame through to the S4,
follow in the same vein.
Tucked behind a removable plastic back cover
is an 1800mAh battery, as well as the Samsung
standard microSD slot. I'm really thankful for
its inclusion, although I should mention that
the Galaxy Ace 3 does come with a respectable
8GB internal storage, even if you can't use all
of it.
The added internal storage will give the Galaxy
Ace 3 a boost, as the Desire 500 has less than
1GB of accessible storage, compared with the
Ace's 5GB. It is beaten in the camera
department, with the Galaxy Ace 3 packing
only a 5MP rear sensor. A VGA sensor sits in
the top left, above the screen.
It's hard to be definitive about how much this
affects camera performance, as the Galaxy S3
Mini came with only a 5MP sensor and was
still very impressive.
In terms of size, the Galaxy Ace 3 hits a nice
medium. The race to ever-bigger screens
continues (check out the Sony Xperia Z Ultra
and its massive 6.44-inch beast), but the
smaller stature of the Galaxy Ace 3 means that
the entire screen can be accessed with one
hand.
Overall, the design of the Galaxy Ace 3 isn't
phenomenal, if only because it fits so nicely
within the Galaxy range, and that can't be a
bad thing. It has a lot to live up to, but
bringing 4G to the lower end of the market
should really help.
Interface
When it comes to any device running Android,
you're going to find a certain level of
customisation. The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 is no
exception.
Anybody who has used any Samsung device,
whether running Android or not, will be
instantly familiar. It's understandable that
Samsung is keen to have uniformity across all
its devices, as it builds a tighter ecosystem,
and it will help convince users to make the
jump to Tizen, when that arrives next year.
Not everyone will be a fan of the overlay, but
it is very easy to use, and intuitive. It is also a
lot closer to the native stock Android, as
opposed to HTC's Sense 5.0. There is definitely
no BlinkFeed to be seen.
On the hardware side of things, the Galaxy Ace
3 suffers a little. The dual-core 1.2GHz feels a
little slow. On the whole, the handset chugged
along nicely, but the Ace 3 stuttered enough
times to demand comment. The quad-core
power is noticeable on the HTC Desire 500.
Of course, though, every OS and UI should be
intuitive. After all, what is a smartphone if it
doesn't feel smart? Samsung has nailed this
with TouchWiz, and every iteration takes it to
the next step. The immediate comparison will
always be to Sense, as it is the best known UI
besides TouchWiz.
Something such as having quick settings in the
Notifications bar as an example is a massive
boost, to both usability and battery life. One
key fault here, though, is the lack of any
autobrightness feature, and it's hard to explain
that omission.
There is access to both a quick settings page
and Google's push to have a settings button
via the notifications bar. On the Galaxy Ace 3,
as with all Galaxy devices, it feels a little
redundant.
Being Android Jelly Bean , the expandable and
dismissable notifications are around, and this
is an excellent feature. The top notification
expands to show you more information, such
as multiple messages from WhatsApp, or the
ability to archive via Gmail.
Swiping left or right also allows you to remove
the notification from view, meaning that you
don't have that text or email sat there bugging
you all day. Voicemail messages, as ever, are
still sat there until you call them.
The App drawer has taken a quick lick of paint,
differentiating from the stock drawer in some
pretty handy ways. The ability to sort your
application list by date, alphabetically in a
grid or list, or even hide apps that you don't
want on there, is greatly appreciated.
As ever, folder creation isn't possible within
the app drawer, which is a tad frustrating. It
seems needlessly difficult on the home screens
too, as there is no drag and drop. This could
be due to patent litigations, or the desire to
avoid them, but it's still disappointing.
The Koreans have also had another look at the
lock screen. Widgets are possible, although
the use for them is unclear, as you need to
swipe about to alternate lock screens. Having
preferred apps there is far better.
You can also add text to the lock screen, with
the idea being that you can put your details
on, so if you lose your phone it can be
returned