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5 of 7 Credit: Samsung

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When you're browsing pre-paid smartphones, it's common to wonder, "what doesn't this phone have?" rather than looking for what's included. Impressively, this list is rather short. The Gio supports 3G browsing on the Optus network (900 and 2100Mhz UMTS frequencies), Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. Samsung includes social networking apps and Navigon maps out of the box, plus DLNA media sharing, so you can share pictures, music and video with a compatible TV or Blu-Ray/DVD player over Wi-Fi.

There's also a 3-megapixel camera included in this package, with auto-focus software and a range of scene modes, smile detection and a panorama shooting mode. There's no flash for illuminating dark scenes, so you'll want to avoid nightclubs with the Gio, but otherwise the photos are reasonably good.

The Gio runs on Android Froyo version 2.2, and although this is a few generations older than the latest Android systems, we haven't noticed any major downsides during our tests. With 2.2, you have the ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot and share your 3G data with a computer or tablet, and speech-to-text functionality for creating text messages and emails without typing. Samsung also improves keyboard input by including Swype software, allowing you to compose messages with continuous swiping gestures rather than tapping at the screen.