Samsung Exhibit 4G review: Droid on display

Introduction

As far as Android phones are concerned, Samsung seems to have all the bases covered in the United States. From the Samsung Gravity SMART, all the way to the Galaxy S family of devices, there is a droid for every taste and budget. In the Samsung family of Android phones, the T-Mobile exclusive Exhibit 4G, which will be the subject of our review today, sits somewhere in the middle of the range. It is an interesting hybrid of budget and high end features which, together in its slim body, make it a smartphone worth a lot of interest.

Samsung Exhibit 4G official press shots

The Samsung Exhibit 4G shares a lot of its internals with the Samsung Galaxy S – one of the best Android devices to come out in 2010. It packs a smaller, 3.5” AMOLED screen and lesser quality camera. The Exhibit 4G does however, offer Android 2.3 Gingerbread and access to T-Mobile’s ultra quick HSDPA data network. Add all these ingredients in a small, good looking package, and you have a recipe for a great mid-range smartphone these days. Now, let’s see what else the Samsung Exhibit 4G has to offer.

Key Features

• 3.5”, 16M colors, AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 pixels resolution
• 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, Hummingbird chipset
• Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with TouchWiz UI
• Quad-band GSM and dual-band HSDPA support
• Wi-Fi calling enabled
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot functionality
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 3.15MP autofocus camera with LED flash; front facing camera for video calls
• D1 video recording @ 30 fps
• Video player with DivX support out of the box
• microUSB port (charging); stereo Bluetooth 3.0
• microSD card slot (up to 32GB; 4GB included)
• Accelerometer and proximity censor; ambient light sensor
• Web browser with Flash support
• Smart dialing

Main Disadvantages

• No camera shutter key
• Low still shots resolution and D1 only video recording
• The all plastic body feels cheap
• The back is prone to scratches
• No FM radio

As you can see, the package which the Samsung Exhibit 4G offers, comes straight from last year's top of the line devices, save for the camera unit. Its performance is no different either, and the price has been nicely adjusted so it looks like a pretty good deal. With Gingerbread on board, the device is up to date in the software department as well.

Samsung Exhibit 4G live shots

Now that we are familiar with the key features of the Samsung Exhibit 4G, it is time to see whether the droid will be able to deliver up to the expectations. Hit the next page for a proper hardware inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include all of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The Samsung Exhibit 4G is a US-only phone, so it will probably never get to the shores of the Old Continent. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!