The Galaxy Express 2 is several steps below Samsung's big gun, the S5, and spec-wise it's designed to sit somewhere between the older S4 and the S4 mini, though it's actually a bit cheaper than either.
The 4.5in display offers a less-than-HD resolution of 960x540 pixels and while it's okay for web browsing and video views, it certainly lacks the 'pop' of the better HD screens. It's reasonably sensitive though, and we didn't have any problems getting it to accept our brushes and presses.
Software and processor
It's running the 4.2.2 Jelly Bean version of Android, which is looking a little aged these days, and there's no definite date for an update to KitKat. It has Samsung's TouchWiz interface though, which makes a few tweaks to the basic Android and adds a fair amount of extra including Smart Stay, which uses the front-facing camera to check if you're still looking at the screen before switching off (not always reliable), the S Planner calendar app and the Samsung Hub offering access to Samsung's apps, music, books and videos store. It comes with 8GB of memory on board but fortunately you can add another 64GB to this via microSD card.The dual-core 1.7GHz processor is backed by 1.5GB RAM and proved to be pretty nippy in practise. Apps opened quickly and there was no obvious delay when browsing and working. It didn't seem to have any trouble running HD video games like Real Racing 3 and our AnTuTu benchmark test gave it a score of 20,204, which puts it at the higher end of other dual-core handsets we've tested, ahead of the HTC One mini 2 and Motorola Moto G for instance. The 2100mAh battery wasn't exceptional but didn't let the sound down either -- you should expect to get a day's worth of regular use out of it but not much more.
The 5-megapixel camera sounds like the bog standard for midrange smartphones these days but it's actually pretty good. It includes autofocus and an LED flash, but also comes with a range of modes including Auto, Night, Sports, Panorama, Sound & Shot, Continuous Shot and Best Shot. There's a good level of detail in the shots and while colours may not be especially vibrant, they at least look accurate. It can also handle HD video recording at 1280x720-pixel resolution and there's a basic VGA camera on the front for video calls.
SPECIFICATIONS
Software
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor
Dual-core 1.7GHz
Memory slot
Yes
Display
4.5in qHD TFT, 960x540 pixels
Connectivity
Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports
microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera
5 megapixel with autofocus, LED flash;VGA front-facing camera
Video playback
AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV, MP4,3GP, WebM
Audio playback
MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA,WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTL, RTX,OTA
Radio
Yes
Battery
2100mAh
Size
132x66x10mm
Weight
134g
Software and processor
It's running the 4.2.2 Jelly Bean version of Android, which is looking a little aged these days, and there's no definite date for an update to KitKat. It has Samsung's TouchWiz interface though, which makes a few tweaks to the basic Android and adds a fair amount of extra including Smart Stay, which uses the front-facing camera to check if you're still looking at the screen before switching off (not always reliable), the S Planner calendar app and the Samsung Hub offering access to Samsung's apps, music, books and videos store. It comes with 8GB of memory on board but fortunately you can add another 64GB to this via microSD card.The dual-core 1.7GHz processor is backed by 1.5GB RAM and proved to be pretty nippy in practise. Apps opened quickly and there was no obvious delay when browsing and working. It didn't seem to have any trouble running HD video games like Real Racing 3 and our AnTuTu benchmark test gave it a score of 20,204, which puts it at the higher end of other dual-core handsets we've tested, ahead of the HTC One mini 2 and Motorola Moto G for instance. The 2100mAh battery wasn't exceptional but didn't let the sound down either -- you should expect to get a day's worth of regular use out of it but not much more.
The 5-megapixel camera sounds like the bog standard for midrange smartphones these days but it's actually pretty good. It includes autofocus and an LED flash, but also comes with a range of modes including Auto, Night, Sports, Panorama, Sound & Shot, Continuous Shot and Best Shot. There's a good level of detail in the shots and while colours may not be especially vibrant, they at least look accurate. It can also handle HD video recording at 1280x720-pixel resolution and there's a basic VGA camera on the front for video calls.
SPECIFICATIONS
Software
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor
Dual-core 1.7GHz
Memory slot
Yes
Display
4.5in qHD TFT, 960x540 pixels
Connectivity
Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports
microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera
5 megapixel with autofocus, LED flash;VGA front-facing camera
Video playback
AVI, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV, MP4,3GP, WebM
Audio playback
MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA,WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTL, RTX,OTA
Radio
Yes
Battery
2100mAh
Size
132x66x10mm
Weight
134g
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