Samsung Galaxy Portal

The Galaxy Portal (AKA Spica) is the first smartphone I've owned, and also my first Samsung, working on the Android v2.1 OS. I've found it to be a brilliant piece of kit. A couple of my friends have iPhones and this can match almost all that they do and looks good too. There are many free Apps available from the Android market, some are rubbish but there are some gems in there too.

Having had mainly Nokias I struggled with the different set-up at first, but after a few days' playing around I got the hang of it. The screen isn't great in bright sunshine, battery life isn't brilliant and the KIES software that came with it is not much good, but everything else about this phone is great. The screen is AMOLED, so you have to actually touch it (it will not work with a stylus) but that just means you can't stab it accidentally! As with all '3' phones it comes with Messenger preloaded but also has Google Maps and Satnav built in. Reception has been good virtually everywhere I've been so far - London, Midlands and South West.

I was considering an upgrade to the prettier Galaxy S but it's the same inside as my current phone so there's no point.

My only real gripe is that I can't find a decent case for it!

I'm writing this review on my galaxy portal and I've had it a couple of months now and am wondering how I ever lived without it! The internet speed is great, it feels really intuitive to use if you can use a pc, there's no horrid menu navigation and I can surf all day without having to recharge it before bedtime.