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The Samsung Genio range has already garnered plenty of attention for offering stacks of touchscreen features in cheap, affordable handsets. The latest to land at Electricpig HQ is the Samsung Genio Slide, rocking a full QWERTY board underneath a neat 2.8-inch proddable panel. So how does this bargain blower measure up? Read our Samsung Genio Slide review now and we’ll tell all.
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Considering you can pick up the Samsung Genio Touch for as little as £20 on contract without fronting up, it really does have everything but the most fussy of workaholics could need. There’s Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS all on board, as well as its knock out feature, BBC iPlayer.
iPlayer, and a raft of other handy add ons including Facebook, Twitter and Google, are all accessible from the side panel of the TouchWiz UI. This works best when the keyboard is slid out and sits down the bottom of the landscape screen and it’s in this mode you’ll become most adept at using the Samsung Genio Slide.
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The keyboard itself is ace, a real stunner considering how cheap the Samsung Genio Slide is. The buttons are reassuringly well designed and have just enough of a bobble to them to make typing at speed nice and easy. Compared to the far pricier Motorola Milestone, it’s a winner. Moto’s flush effort is uncomfortable and awkward. This will see you tapping out Tweets with ease within seconds of starting the device.
The touchscreen is passable, but being resistive it does take a few stabs in order to register your exact commands. The vibrating action is infuriating however, the phone buzzing every single time you touch the panel. It can be turned down though, something we advise doing if you choose to stump up for a Samsung Genio Slide.
There are some minor glitches with the Samsung Genio Slide though. While it has a decent heft, the slide mechanism shows off the mobile’s cheapness. It’s definitely a tad wonky and we bet after a few months being lugged around it would feel even looser. The camera, at 3 megapixels, is average and only works best in low light. But with such stellar features, it’s easy to forget this is a basic phone.
The Samsung Genio Slide is a really ace cell. It crams in some all important features which until a year ago would only have been found on pricey smartphones. Plus the inclusion of BBC iPlayer makes it a worthwhile investment. If you’re watching the pennies but want a phone that can do it all, this is definitely worth a closer look.
