Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 review

The Galaxy Ace 3 appears to be geared towards internet browsing, with its 4G technology on board, but it still packs in the ability to make standard voice calls.

Different people access their contacts in different ways, so whether you choose to access via the dedicated contacts app or the dialler, both apps have you covered. First, the contacts app.

Yes, Samsung's contacts app is rather uninspiring, as per usual. This is by no means a bad thing, it is still a very highly functional app.

The list brings up small, low resolution pictures that when tapped bring up methods of contacting people, as well as little icons to show how many accounts are linked with that individual contact.

Moving around the contact list is smooth, swiping up and down the dual-core insides copes well, and moving around selecting the individual letters to scroll around even quicker.

Again, I was a little disappointed that, unlike with the excellent HTC Sense, there is no automatic contact matching and linking. Selecting individual contacts does allow for contact linking, and the suggestions it comes up with are generally fairly accurate, although can require some manual searching.

With Android running underneath, it is possible to draw in data from a variety of social accounts: Google, Facebook, Exchange, as well as from other third-party apps such as Skype and Twitter (unfortunately, no longer preinstalled), should you use and install them.

This can easily mean that your contacts list feels a little cluttered. Tapping the menu button, and going to "Contacts to display" means that you can choose different accounts, and even better "Only contacts with phone numbers."

On the social side, Samsung devices also don't have the ability to show up Facebook statuses, nor browse through photo albums pulled in from varying social accounts like the HTC Desire 500. I can't tell if it's a good or bad feature, as I can take it or leave it.

Another niggle is that, unlike the HTC, high-resolution pictures can't be pulled down from your social networking accounts, only from your Google+ account. It's not a major thing, but having high-resolution photos throughout the Galaxy Ace 3 would go a little way to make the phone feel a little more premium.

The Phone app, the T9 dialler that every man and his dog is familiar with, comes up, with large, easy-to-hit blue buttons contrasting against the black background.

Like the contacts app, the dialler is also highly functional. Smart dialling is supported: dialling 323, for example, brings up "Dad," like it would have done in predictive text on old feature phones. It also brings up contacts that have the 323 number combination within their contact details.

As a feature, it is one of those that really help make a UI feel intuitive, and while widely supported, it is still missed on others (read iPhone and Windows Phone).

Calling

Selecting a contact is only half the job. You'll need to be able to talk to them. I'm pleased to say that the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 doesn't disappoint here.

Call quality was impressive, as was signal holding.There weren't any dropped calls, and I found that the Ace 3 had signal in every place that I expected, matching the HTC One bar for bar.

Samsung's "Adapt Sound' is also making it across the Galaxy range, popping up again on the Galaxy Ace 3. Plug in a headset, or headphones, and the Ace 3 will play some sounds to tailor the sound to suit your ears.

"Soft sound" and "Clear sound" are also available, but I couldn't really spot a difference between them.
Within the call are the standard Android options: Headset, Keypad, Speaker, Mute and End Call.

One feature from other Galaxy devices makes a very welcome appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Ace 3. After the call has ended, the screen brings up three options: Message, Call or Video Call.

This makes it a lot easier to recall or text the person you just phoned, should you find that you've forgotten to say something, or if you said that you'd send details on afterwards.

Video calls are also supported, although this seems likely to be used a lot more via third-party apps such as Skype. It's a lot easier to use, and Skype contacts sync up with other contacts so you can Skype-call them direct from the contact screen.