Hands-on: Samsung Propel Pro

Oh, Samsung, we'd had decent hopes for your Propel Pro. But once we got it into our hands, we're left wanting. Don't get us wrong - we like the form factor and the speed of the device seems up to snuff - but some of the design details are a little disappointing.

First off, the whole phone is a little thicker than we expected. The keyboard is passable, but maybe the Snap has already raised our standards. The five-way D-pad has been replaced by a joystick that just isn't up to snuff. It seems to sit on some little rubbery ball and while you can get used to it, it's still bad. Hey, at least it's not a little touchmouse, right?

The Propel Pro had potential, but it just doesn't feel all that Pro compared to other WM devices. On the bright side, at least it's a Windows Mobile Standard phone with greater than a 240x320 screen. It definitely makes for a decent texting machine, but we're just not feeling that you put the same effort in here that you did with the BlackJack II - which so far appears to be the better device. More pics after the break.

Phil is the father of two beautiful girls and is the Dad behind Modern Dad. Before that he spent seven years at the helm of Android Central. Before that he spent a decade in a newsroom of a two-time Pulitzer Prize-finalist newspaper. Before that — well, we don't talk much about those days. Subscribe to the Modern Dad newsletter!