The soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy 3 is the manufacturer’s latest pass at a budget Android smartphone, and at this stage it looks promising.

Positioned as the little brother of the Samsung Galaxy S, the Galaxy 3 does well enough in the specifications and features department to satisfy entry-level users, but will most likely fall short for those wanting the latest and greatest phone.

The most glaringly obvious money saver here comes in the form of the 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen. While it’s of a decent size, the resolution is rather unusual (400×240 pixels), which means that some apps may not render properly on it.

The phone itself feels sturdy enough, without being bulky (it’s just under 1cm thick). Connectivity options are excellent (HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and A-GPS) as is multimedia - you can use the phone to play back audio and video and there is a built-in FM tuner. Content can be stored on the internal 170MB memory, expandable via microSD card.

Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy 3 will be confirmed before its release.

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By Caroline Warnes