Samsung Monte review

Samsung's touchscreen mobile phone onslaught shows no sign on stopping, with the Monte arriving on the heels of the Samsung Genio Touch, Genio Slide and Galaxy Portal.

Built around a 3-inch 240 x 400 (WQVGA) touchscreen, the Monte uses Samsung's TouchWiz interface, and that means it has a focus on widgets.

The Monte is pre-loaded with widgets for several social networks, YouTube and BBC iPlayer access, and shortcuts to phone functions and apps.

A physical keyboard is completely eschewed here, in favour of a soft keyboard on the touchscreen. It has haptic feedback, giving a small vibration when you press certain buttons.

For mobile internet lovers, there's speedy 3G mobile broadband for browsing when out and about, and Wi-Fi connectivity means you can get even faster connections from hotspots.

A-GPS location finding is present, along with Google Maps to make use of it.

A built-in accelerometer enables switching to landscape mode automatically when browsing the web and viewing media.

The 3.2-megapixel camera on the Samsung Monte's rear is without a flash, but does feature video recording and numerous shooting modes. There's also a front-facing camera for video calling.

The microSD card slot supports up to 16GB, while charging and PC connectivity is handled via a micro USB port. There's a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting any standard set of headphones to, although the supplied pair come with a microphone for hands-free chatting.

The Samsung Monte is available for around £120 on pay as you go, or free on contract.