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Although the Galaxy Ace follow-on plays host to its own MP3 loving music player and integrated video player, this is by no means a handset that has been designed and crafted with the media savvy in mind, more attuned to occasional, casual plays than heavy use and acting as a fulltime PMP replacement.
With the Galaxy Ace 2 playing host to just 4GB of internal storage, up considerably on the meagre 158MB of integrated storage found on its predecessor, those looking to use the device to store large amounts of media content can benefit from the optional microSD expansion that sees the handset capable of hosting up to 32GB of data.
With the pre-installed MP3 music player located in the centralised apps menu, or via a shortcut icon placed on one of the handset's seven homescreens, disappointingly, unlike many of its rivals, the Android filled device does not feature an MP3 loving widget allowing for advanced, quick access to the device's musical abilities. The same limited access applies to the handset's video features.
Playing host to the usual collection of MP3, MP4 and WAV media file types, the Ace 2's multimedia abilities, although slightly limited of largely impressive with the 3.8-inch WVGA 800 x 480p offering strong, vibrant playback whilst the inbuilt speaker exceeds expectations.
Outstripping the audio abilities of those offered by a number of the handset's closet rivals, the inbuilt speaker found on the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is capable of producing strong results with well-rounded, intricate tones being pumped out by the device.
Not quite the perfect inclusion, the handset's speaker isn't without its faults, however, distorting slightly at the top of its volume scale and coming unstuck when placing the handset down as its rear-mounted positioning causes it to become instantly muffled with output ability heavily diminished.
Thanks to the Galaxy Ace 2's Google branded innards, users can benefit from expansive YouTube integration with the standard video sourcing app paired with an optional homepage widget to allow you to get your daily fill of entertaining cats and epic fails in simpler fashion.
There's some more good news for UK dwellers too: Sky Go will be supported on the phone when it gets the update to Jelly Bean, meaning the chance to watch sports or films when your partner isn't looking.
