Given the plethora of high-end Android-powered smartphones, including the just released Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it's obvious that some consumers are fine without all the bells and whistles, preferring a simpler, cheaper kind of handset.
The Samsung Illusion, available from Verizon Wireless, is just this kind of smartphone. Powered by Android 2.3, and unable to access Big Red's 4G LTE network available here in Columbus, the Illusion still provides a quality experience at an inexpensive price.
Samsung Illusion Specifications
The Illusion sports a 3.5-inch touchscreen that is still pretty responsive, despite its lower 320 x 480 HVGA resolution. The included 3MP camera also provides no HD video capture functionality.
The on-board memory ranks well below higher-end smartphones at only 2GB, but it does offer a microSD port supporting upwards of 32GB. The processor is clocked at 1GHZ. Verizon's suite of VCAST music and video apps is pre-installed.
The best part of the Illusion is its $79 price, which is significantly cheaper than the higher-end Android phones. A 2-year contract with a data plan is required. Verizon should really consider doing away with the data plan requirement for these cheaper Android smartphones.
Use your Illusion
With apologies to Axl Rose, the Illusion doesn't require much patience to use. Anyone familiar with the Android OS should feel right at home. As mentioned before, the touchscreen is responsive and the web browser works reasonably fast, provided the Illusion's antenna finds Verizon's 3G signal.
Columbus Verizon customers looking for an inexpensive, yet good quality, Android smartphone would do well to check out the Samsung Illusion.
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