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Just as important, or even more so nowadays, is a smartphone's ability to message a contact, rather than just make calls.
With the number of messaging options available, we have come to praise many a smartphone on their ability to stay in touch. Android devices, such as the Galaxy Mega, are equipped with such a wide range of tools to communicate that it's hard not to be impressed sometimes.
In order to be able to message a contact, you will need a decent keyboard to start with. Samsung Galaxy devices of old have never been amazing in this area, in fact we'd go so far as to say they have been awful; cramped keyboards tied together with inaccurate word predictions .
Things took a turn for the better with the advent of the Galaxy S4, and that has been carried across to all of Samsung's modern smartphones, including the Mega. We were a little worried that the larger screen on the Galaxy Mega was going to prove a bit of a hindrance. In actual fact, we didn't find it to be too bad.
Typing two handed was very comfortable, a lot more so than typing with one hand supporting the Mega and the other tapping away. Auto correction was by no means perfect, but it was more than adequate. The only real gripe we had with the keyboard was the vertical key spacing, with a little too much room given.
As with every review, we do sometimes find ourselves slipping into using our more favoured apps, and we're massive fans of the Swiftkey keyboard app, and we were pleased to see that this removed the vertical spacing, making it easier to use.
Using the keyboard in landscape is, unsurprisingly, a lot more difficult, We found that we were able to hit most keys, but the central keys were a little harder to hit, and we don't think our hands are all that tiny. Laying the Galaxy Mega flat and trying to type like on a tablet was also rather hard.
SMS and MMS messaging is all handled via Samsung's standard Messaging app, with the same blue and yellow bubbles that we have come to expect. We would really like to see Samsung put some work into making this app a little more appealing, but there are certain levels of customisation available within the settings menu, and the app is more than sufficient.
ChatON is a feature that now graces every Samsung device, and is available to download from app stores, such as Google Play. In essence, it is a WhatsApp/BBM/iMessage rival, that sends IMs across to your contacts. You can also use it to send voice messages, as well as pictures.
As a platform, Samsung has clearly given it some thought, but unfortunately, we seem to have been justified when we said that we don't think it'll catch on, as we have found that there are very few contacts online.
The rise of the cross platform WhatsApp and BBM for iOS and Android won't do ChatON any favours.
The email client that appears on current Galaxy devices is also out on the Galaxy Mega. Shocking. It is something that we have commented upon before, such as in our Galaxy S4 review, and we are glad that it has made its way across Samsung devices.
The clean UI makes the client easy to use, and the support for multiple accounts combined with an aggregated inbox makes it a lot more intuitive.
Being an Android device, Google has also bundled the Gmail client in. With the latest update bringing in contact photo's, and swiping to archive messages, the app is more packed and more intuitive than ever. It also brings across all the features that has made the desktop client so powerful.
