Samsung Galaxy Pro Android with a portrait QWERTY keyboard

the Samsung Galaxy Pro Android with a portrait QWERTY keyboard

Samsung has just taken the veils off yet another Android handset in its rapidly expanding portfolio, this one targeting those BlackBerry-addicted portrait QWERTY keyboard lovers.

The "Pro" tag is getting increasingly common and is in use on a wide variety of devices, a habit that seems to stretch back to 2008. Usually it refers to a smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, and in general there are two ways of doing this - a BlackBerryesque style device such as this Samsung with a compact QWERTY keyboard mounted underneath a small screen, or a heavier slider device with a bigger screen and keyboard, such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro. Android handsets with a BlackBerry-type keyboard are quite rare, but presumably Samsung think that there is a big enough market to merit the release of the Galaxy Pro.

The Galaxy Pro squeezes a four-row button array beneath a set of Android keys and a 2.8-inch touchscreen, while its insides are filled with an 800MHz processor of an unspecified variety and a 3 megapixel cam with autofocus skills. UK carrier Three has already confirmed it'll be offering this Froyo handset -- via an unlisted YouTube video we've embedded for you after the break -- and others should soon be coming out with their own announcements and, eventually, pricing.

This is an Android 2.2 device with a 2.8" 320 x 240 pixel touchscreen display. On the back is a 3 megapixel camera, and inside the Galaxy Pro supports 3.5G data and WiFi. As you would expect the Galaxy Pro also has GPS and all the other usual features you would expect of an Android smartphone.

The smartphone also offers support for Microsoft Exchange, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, and mobile hot-spot capabilities. Despite having the word "pro" in its name, however, the handset is more of an entry-level to midrange device, as it uses an 800MHz processor and has a 3-megapixel camera

Because this is an Android phone then you have access to a vast array of applications, plus Samsung's own social media enhancements. The Galaxy Pro also includes the Thinkfree document editor, plus everything that you'd expect from an Android 2.2 device.

The fairly large 1350 mAh battery is quoted as giving up to 11 hours talktime and 25 days standby time, although Android users rarely get anything like that. However the screen and processor are unlikely to draw much power, so you should be able to last at least a whole day on a single charge.