The Samsung Galaxy Prevail isn't your typical Samsung Galaxy S phone, and for the most part, that suits us fine.
Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds.
Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
The Samsung Galaxy Prevail oozes sophistication and charm, thanks to its obsidian-smooth screen coating, soft-touch finish, and sartorial metallic accents.
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Sloping screen
It's difficult to see in a photo, but hold the phone right and the top and bottom screen edges slope slightly downward, another polished element.
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Size
With a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, this is no jumbo phone. The Prevail is therefore portable and pocketable.
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Just Android
No skins or other additives flavor Android 2.2 Froyo; this is the pure thing--minus the hot spot that Boost Mobile disabled.
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Camera
The 2-megapixel camera won't blow your socks off, but it takes better pictures than we expected.
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Storage
The Prevail comes with 2GB memory to get you started, but holds up to 32GB in total. Considering it only has 124MB of internal memory, that's a good thing.
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Photo quality
The more natural light you introduce, the better your photos will be. This studio shot looks fairly sharp and colorful, though with a pinky-brown hue we didn't see in pictures taken with better lighting.
