Info: Samsung Galaxy Ace vs. Samsung Galaxy Y

Samsung Galaxy Ace vs. Samsung Galaxy Y

Every so often while engaging in conversation with normal people – people who don’t spend all day reading and/or writing about mobile phones – something comes up that I figure might make a good idea for a feature. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

A friend of mine recently got a new Samsung phone, and – given her modest budget and lack of technical knowledge – I figured she might’ve walked away from ye olde phone shoppe with a Samsung Galaxy Y. She wouldn’t be the first.



However, it turns out she’s actually now rocking a Samsung Galaxy Ace. “What’s the difference?” she asked. “I… don’t… know,” was my embarrassing response. “Don’t you write about mobile phones?” “Yes. Yes I do.”

Off the top of my head, I can tell you that the Samsung Galaxy Ace attended Mobile World Congress 2011, and looks a heck of a lot like the iPhone. It’s a fairly modest chap with a 3.5in display.

Oh, and let’s not forgot all those problems with random reboots.

The Samsung Galaxy Y, on the other hand, is more recent, and under Samsung’s naming structure we know it’s aimed at the Young market. Sigh. Next we’ll have phones aimed specifically at girls. Oh wait…

Both are firmly at the lower end of the spectrum; we certainly ain’t talking Samsung Galaxy S II here. Let’s have a closer look.

Display

Samsung Galaxy Ace: 3.5in capacitive display, 320x480 resolution, 165 PPI.

Samsung Galaxy Y: 3in capacitive display, 240x320 resolution, 133 PPI.

Ahh, so the Samsung Galaxy Y’s display is a good half inch smaller than the Samsung Galaxy Ace’s. It’s worth noting that the modest resolution on the Samsung Galaxy Y might mean some apps are incompatible.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy Ace: 5MP rear camera, autofocus, LED flash, no front facing action.

Samsung Galaxy Y: 2MP rear camera, no front facing action.

Victory for the Samsung Galaxy Ace once again, quite emphatically. In either case, no sexy webcam action.

Processor

Samsung Galaxy Ace: 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7227, Adreno 200 GPU

Samsung Galaxy Y: 830MHz ARMv6.

Not much to separate the Samsung Galaxy Ace and Samsung Galaxy Y here.

OS

Samsung Galaxy Ace: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Samsung Galaxy Y: Android 2.3

No mention of an update to Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) for either device (correct me if I’m wrong here), but don’t hold your breath. Needless to say the Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note are at the front of that particular queue.

Price

Samsung Galaxy Ace: Currently £170.99 @ Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Y: Currently £89.99 with £10 O2 PAYG credit @ Amazon

It’s a case of “you get what you pay for”, but the Samsung Galaxy Y at £89.99 seems like a pretty good
deal to me.

Ok, I’m now satisfied that the Samsung Galaxy Ace and Samsung Galaxy Y are very different phones. Phew.

Of course, there’s also the Samsung Galaxy Fit, Samsung Galaxy Gio, Samsung Galaxy Mini and Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus to consider at the lower end. Damn you, Samsung. Too. Many. Phones.

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