While reviewing Samsung’s Propel phone a couple of months ago I heard about the Propel Pro and I was pretty excited. If Samsung could take all the great multimedia features of the Propel and combine that in to a Windows mobile enabled smart phone, then they would have a great phone. That is exactly what they did with the Propel Pro.
Call quality was good and setting up personal (Xpress Mail) or work (Outlook) email was simple and worked easily. The colored light message notifications in the Joystick area were a cool visual reminder.
In regards to features, the Pro has everything the original Propel had; 3G enabled web browsing, GPS, Flash support, IM and video, but more of it. The Pro allows you to switch from your cell network to local Wi-Fi networks.
The Pro’s Flash Memory is 128MB RAM/256MB ROM, which helps Windows Mobile 6.1 run smoothly. You can also use the external microSD slot to add up to 8gb of memory.
The 3.0 Megapixel camera comes with auto focus and delivers sharp images with good color. Also included is a tiny mirror for those social networking self photos. You can also stream live video to another 3G Video Share capable phone, which is kind of cool.
Video on the Pro loads quickly, the picture quality is ok and the video options are great; Comedy Central, CNN, Adult Swim, etc.
I am really impressed with the look of the phone. The surface is a dark smooth metallic surface that gives it a sleek look. The size (3.9” x 2.4” x 0.6”) may appear bulky to some but at 4.83 ounces, it felt very sturdy to me. The sliding keyboard mechanism worked smoothly and did not feel cheap or flimsy while the joystick seemed out of place on the phone. The QWERTY keyboard on the Pro is fine but I would have liked for the keys to be spaced out more, the keys feel a bit cramped. The 320×320 screen looks great, the colors are vivid and the images are sharp.
Samsung really put together a great phone with the Propel Pro. It combines a great array of features and then puts them in to a sexy looking metallic slider body. The phone will run you $149 with a contract and that’s not bad considering how much phone you are getting.
