Samsung Nepal has released the new Samsung Galaxy E5 on March 12th, 2015. It came along with the Galaxy E7. This is a very new series in the mid-range smartphone segment. E series phones are having plastic and metal mash-up built. The design is also a bit new with pretty curved edges. The back and front side construction of the phone is plastic while the side rails are of metal. We got to use this device in the blogger’s meet and at the office. So, this is our Samsung Galaxy E5 hands-on review.
Samsung has introduced a new mid-range smartphone in the market with a brand new series. The Galaxy E series is the company’s new attempt to grab the mid-range segment. Smartphones in this series boast quite powerful specs, an AMOLED screen, a good camera, and a solid body. The construction is a bit different this time because Samsung is using a non-removable battery. All of this is to make the phone feel solid and slim. Now let us look into the detailed specifications of the E5.
Samsung Galaxy E5 Specifications and Overview
- Display: 5 Inches Super AMOLED Screen
- Resolution: 720×1280
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 4
- SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (Quad-Core)
- CPU Details: 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53
- GPU: Adreno 306
- Memory: 1.5 GB RAM
- Storage: 16 GB eMMC 4.5 Internal, 128 GB micro SD card support
- Battery: 2400 mAh Lithium-Ion
- Back Camera: 8 Megapixels with f/2.2 Aperture
- Front Camera: 5 Megapixels with f/2.2 Aperture
- OS: Android 4.4.4 KitKat (TouchWiz)
- Connectivity and Sensors: micro USB 2.0, Accelerometer, Proximity
Also Read: Samsung Mobiles Price in Nepal
Build and Design
The Samsung Galaxy E5 has a plastic body with curves on the edges. It has metal rails on the sides that make a solid frame. The screen is on the front side with the forehead at the top. Samsung Galaxy E5 has Samsung branding, a front camera, sensors, and an earpiece at the forehead. Similarly, there is a chin at the bottom with the home button and touch navigation buttons. The backside of the E5 has a camera, LED flash, and speaker. Left side of the phone has a volume rocker while the right side has a power button and SIM card plus an SD card tray.
Internal Hardware
The new Samsung Galaxy E5 comes with Snapdragon 410 chipset that has a 64-bit 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. This SoC comes with Adreno 306 graphics and 1.5 GB RAM. The internal storage is 16 GB and we can add a micro SD card up to 64 GB. The battery is 2400 mAh which stays on the mid-side. This is a quite good specification for a smartphone. One thing to notice is that the Snapdragon 410 is also in Samsung’s budget range Galaxy Core Prime. Therefore there is no upgrade in the processor but there is certain addition due to more RAM, storage, and battery.
Galaxy E5 supports HSPA+ technology with a maximum downlink speed of 42 Mbps. This phone supports 3G, 3.5 G, and 2G but not 4G in Nepal. E5 comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box and now it can be upgraded to Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. It is better to update to get the latest features on a smartphone.
Display and Camera
Samsung Galaxy E5 also has a better screen and camera power. The screen is better than other budget range phones with a 5” Super AMOLED panel and Gorilla Glass 4. The screen resolution of the Galaxy E5 is regular 720×1280 or HD which is perfect for this screen size. SAMOLED screens are already really great and high resolutions are a plus point. Big AMOLED screens are amazing to watch movies, videos, surfing the internet, and playing games on Android. This big screen is also protected by Gorilla Glass 4 which provides better scratch and drop resistance. It is nice to have Corning glass in inexpensive phones as well. This is a nice move from Samsung because screen replacements are expensive.
The main rear camera at the backside of Samsung Galaxy E5 is 8 Megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture and it can take photos at 3264 x 2448 resolution at maximum. It can also record videos at 1920×1080 at 30 frames per second. On the front side, there is a 5 MP camera that can also record 1080p videos. The new front camera has a feature with a 120-degrees wide-angle selfie. There are other features as well which include selfies with palm gestures, voice commands, beauty face detection, and more. It also does some face correction and beauty addition in the selfie.
Impressions
Samsung is changing the phone design slowly. They are approaching for more unibody construction. Samsung Galaxy E5 has a non-removable back which means we can’t remove the battery and change it. Samsung Service centers can always do battery servicing when required. It means the device is more solid but we have to give up the user serviceability. However, the design and feel are great.
The phone has a quad-core processor which is very suitable here. Memory wise we get 1.5 GB which is more than what budget segment models offer. This should provide some extra headroom. We also played FIFA 15 which was pretty fun and smooth. We experienced no lag at all during our play. Cameras also work very well in places with good lighting conditions. 8 MP main sensor brings good high-resolution pictures. We like the fact that both cameras can record videos in 1920×1080. This is a good step forward. The battery is on the lower power side but we give it a pass. We just hope they improve the battery size in the next iteration.
Galaxy E5 has a Hybrid SIM system. This means we can’t install two SIM and SD cards at the same time. It is either two SIM or one SIM and memory card. Some users might face a problem if they wish to install everything at the same time. If you really need all three and can work with a bit cheaper phone with almost the same specs then get the Grand Prime. The official Samsung Galaxy E5 price in Nepal is Rs 26,500 ($260). It is available for purchase all around the country through official retail outlets.
