The Samsung S5570 Galaxy Mini Smartphone was developed for the international GSM/Edge/GPRS market. It is a quad-band device, operating in the 800, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz bands, supported in the US by T-Mobile and AT&T, as well as the higher-speed ranges, supported at 7.2 Mbps, supporting HSPDA in the 900 and 2100 MHz bands.

The S5570 is small enough to fit in one’s hand easily, measuring only 4.03 by 2.4 by 0.4 inches and weighing about 4 ounces so it is quite convenient to use. For its mini-size, though, it is quite a capable smartphone as it uses the Android operating system and this gives one access more than 200,000 apps (up to 600,000 with some versions of the operating system), so one can customize it to meet one’s specific needs.

It offers several built-in apps when purchased, such as access to Google phone, YouTube, Google mail and Google Talk (Gtalk) as well as Google’s social hub (Google released Google+, its own social networking tool, however, using the right app one can access Facebook and Twitter and follow the other major sites). For the most part, one will find that these apps will do quite nicely, however, one can access other apps to fine-tune the mini-sized smartphone to a greater degree.

Startup internal memory is limited to 348 MB, but it the S5570 also offers the ability to upgrade to up to 16 GB of hot-swappable memory with, however, one must remember that every time you upgrade smartphone it does take away from the amount of memory available for other options.

The S5570 is Internet-ready with access to WiFi standard 802.11 b/g/n. This means that not only can one use it at home with an older (b/g) router, but one can also find public hotspots using the N standard. It is also compatible with Bluetooth 2.1 A2DP so that one can sync other devices to it or one can sync it to another device.

The QVGA 320 by 240 resolution gives one a rich, vivid display that is position sensitive. Like other Samsung’s it relies on three gyros to sync up its position relative to one’s hand orientation so that if you are viewing it in portrait and swing it 90 degrees to use it in landscape mode the screen understands and updates instantly.

The key to the S5570, as with all Android-capable devices, is the wide and rich variety of apps available with which one can customize their smartphone. Since the S5570 has GPS (A-GPS) built-in, obtaining the right Google Map app or Google Earth app can turn your mini-sized smartphone into a navigation device and since it offers a 3.5 mm standard audio output, one should be able to find an audio stream through which you can hear a variety of music. Also, with the right app installed one should be able to easily find streaming video content. Remember that if one uses this for streaming video it may not offer all of the rich blacks and colors due to its limited resolution.

Still the 3-inch screen is a perfect fit for this mini-sized smartphone. With the universe of Android-based apps available you can quickly set up the S5570 with an app that delivers a mini-sized QWERTY-like keyboard that is better for single-finger typing that touch typing, though, it still speeds texting and emails. And with 16 GB of hot-swappable microSD memory capability you can easily share images you take directly with other larger devices or via the Internet.