Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the quieter Android launches, like the low-key release of the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE earlier this week by Sprint. It’s a 4-inch budget-friendly device that Sprint is touting as one of their most affordable LTE-capable options, and it’s in stores now. For $100 on contract, you can’t really go wrong with that the Victory has to offer; It’s got a 800 x 480 display, a Snapdragon S4 MSM89610 Lite processor, 4 GB of internal storage, and ships with Android 4.0.4 onboard. It’s also got a decent 5 MP rear camera, 1.3 MP front shooter, and Samsung’s signature TouchWiz interface. We took a brief look at it last night here in New York—hit the break for our knee-jerk reactions.
The Victory is noticeably lower-end than than Samsung’s current flagship, the Galaxy S 3, but its also noticeably cheaper. And for $100, it offers quite a bit for your buck. Performance was snappy and call me crazy, but that display isn’t nearly as bad as you might assume. It’s also NFC-capable, with both S Beam and Google Wallet onboard. Unfortunately, the big downside here is a flimsy-feeling plastic finish and a rather bulky and stout footprint—this is definitely last generation’s design, maybe even older.
While it’s a solid offering for the price, especially if you’re a Samsung fan, there are better options out there with the same pricetag, including the absolutely incredible Droid RAZR M on Verizon. For diehard Sprinters, though, the Victory is definitely a bargain worth looking at, which is exactly what we’ll do in our full review.
