[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
The Galaxy A5 is a slim smartphone from Samsung, with a five-inch HD (1280 x 720) touchscreen, Android 4.4 “KitKat” operating system, and powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU. It has 2 GiB of RAM and 16 GiB storage space, a 13 MP main camera, and a 5 MP frontal camera. Let’s take a good look at it.
The model number of the sample we reviewed is A500M.
Figure 1 shows the box of the Samsung Galaxy A5.
Figure 1: box
Inside the box, besides the smartphone, you will find a wall charger, USB cable, earphones, extra inserts for the earphones, and a user manual.
Figure 2: accessories
Figure 3 reveals the Samsung Galaxy A5. The three buttons required for Android are below the screen, being the “home” a physical butotn and the other ones touch buttons. The frontal camera for “selfies ” is at the top right corner. The front of the phone is covered with Gorilla Glass 4.
Figure 3: the Galaxy A5
[nextpage title=”Overall Look”]
The Samsung Galaxy A5 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor, which has four Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.2 GHz. It has 2 GiB of RAM and 16 GiB of internal storage in the version we tested.
The five-inch Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, with an excellent image quality.
Figure 4 shows the back side of the device, which has a full aluminum body. The back cover is not removable. Here you will find the main camera surrounded by a LED flash and the speaker.
Figure 4: back side
Figure 5 unveils the bottom of the Galaxy A5, where you will find a microphone opening, the MicroUSB/charger connector and the earphone connector.
Figure 5: bottom
At the left side of the smartphone you will find the volume adjustment buttons.
Figure 6: left side
At the top of the phone there is only another microphone hole.
Figure 7: top
At the right side of the phone is the power button and the card compartments.
Figure 8: right side
In Figure 9, you see the drawers for Nano-SIM cards. Actually, the compartment at the left-hand side holds the first Nano-SIM chip, while the drawer on the right-hand side holds the second Nano-SIM card or a microSD memory card. You cannot use two SIM chips and a memory card at the same time.
Figure 9: drawers for Nano-SIM and memory cards
[nextpage title=”Using the Galaxy A5″]
In use, the Galaxy A5 is excellent. The quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor running at 1.2 GHz and the 2 GiB of RAM give the phone a lot of agility. The screen is big and bright, with crisp and clear images and colors.
But the highlight of this smartphone is actually its design and dimensions. It measues 5.48 x 2.74 inches (139.3 x 69.7 mm), and is only 0.26 inches (6.7 mm) thick. Just for comparison, the ASUS ZenFone 5, which has the same screen size, measues 5.8 x 2.9 inches (148 x 73 mm) and is 0.4 inches (10.3 mm) thick.
The Galaxy A5 is also light, weighing 4.34 oz (123 g), and its full glass front, aluminum body and square borders are at the same time elegant and great to hold.
The screen resolution is good for the size of the screen, although a Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen could offer a better experience. Of course, such a screen would position the Galaxy A5 as a high-end device, making it more expensive.
The Galaxy A5 comes with the Android 4.4 operating system, which is easy to use and intuitive. Figure 10 shows the initial screen when you turn on the phone for the first time.
Figure 10: main screen
Pressing the icon with sixteen dots, you enter the list of applications, shown in Figures 11, 12, and 13. The Galaxy A5 comes with several preinstalled apps and games.
Figure 11: list of applications
Figure 12: list of applications
Figure 13: list of applications
You can install new applications using the Google Play Store, which has thousands of applications and games available.
The smartphone uses a 2,300 mAh lithium battery. According to the manufacturer, it can last up to eight hours with 3G intenet usage, 12 hours of video playback, and up to 15 hours of talk time in a GSM network.
The cameras of the Galaxy A5 are another highlight: the 13 Mpixel main camera is excellent for a mid-range smartphone. You can check the quality of unedited photos taken with the device by clicking here and here. It can also record videos at Full HD.
The front camera (for video chats and “selfies”) has 5 Mpixel resolution, which is excellent. It also support animated GIFs, wide selfies, and gesture control (you just show your palm to the camera for it to automatically take a picture after two seconds).
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specifications for the Samsung Galaxy A5 (model SM-A500M) include:
- Dimensions: 5.48 x 2.74 x 0.26 inches (139.3 x 69.7 x 6.7 mm)
- Weight: 4.34 ounces (123 grams)
- Display: 5″, 1280 x 720, Super AMOLED touchscreen
- Operating System: Android 4.4 (“KitKat”)
- Main Processor (CPU): Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916), four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.2 GHz
- Graphics Processor (GPU): Adreno 306, embedded in the CPU
- RAM: 2 GiB
- Storage: 16 GiB
- Memory Card Slot: yes, MicroSD
- GPS: yes
- FM Radio: yes
- Sensors: accelerometer, proximity, compass, light, Hall
- SIM slots: two Nano-SIM
- Networks: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, 4G LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n, dual band
- Bluetooth: yes, 4.0
- Rear camera: 13 Mpixel
- Front camera: 5 Mpixel
- Flash: yes
- Battery talk time: 15 h
- Battery: 3.7 V, 2,300 mAh Li Ion, not removable
- More information:https://www.samsung.com
- Average prince in the U.S.*: USD 400.00
* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Samsung Galaxy A5 is a great mid-range smartphone with an excellent slim design and good cameras. Altough its cost/benefit ratio is not as good as the ASUS ZenFone 5’s, it delivers a better and more compact design, and better cameras.
Strong Points
- Big screen (but not too big), with crisp and vivid images
- Great design
- Slim, compact, and light
- Excellent performance
- Good main camera
- Great frontal camera for “selfies”
- Memory card slot
- Supports two Nano-SIM cards (in the model we analyzed)
- Supports 4G LTE networks
Weak Points
- Could cost less
- You can not use a second SIM card and a memory card at the same time
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