While high-end Android smartphones get all the attention these days, it's easy to forget just how important the mid-range is.

Manufacturers such as HTC, Sony and Research in Motion have all catered to this rapidly growing market however, with great success.

But one of the biggest players in the market is Samsung, with the Galaxy Ace proving to be just one of the best-selling devices out there.

The South Korean giant is at it again however, with the Y range of smartphones, so we got our hands on the Y Pro.

The Samsung Galaxy Y Pro has a similar form factor to Nokia's E71 and the BlackBerry Curve 8520, with a trackpad and QWERTY keyboard at your fingertips.

Hardware and design

The Y Pro's keyboard is well-designed for the most part, although we couldn't help but wish for slightly bigger keys. Nevertheless, speedy typing is possible on the device, a must for text addicts.

The keyboard also has two shortcut keys, letting you assign applications or functions to them. It's a neat touch, giving users quick access to their favourite instant messenger or game.

The Y Pro doesn't set the world on fire when it comes to the design, being made of plastic for the most part.

The front of the device has the aforementioned keyboard, four face buttons and the trackpad. The back, made of a similar material to that of the Galaxy Note and S2, has a speaker and camera sensor.

The Y Pro doesn't have much in the way of extra ports and buttons, with a mini-USB connection, volume rocker, power/lock button and audio jack adorning the handset.

On the display side of things, the Y Pro doesn't stack up to Samsung's AAA offerings, but compares favourably to similarly priced handsets. The 240 by 320 TFT screen is touch-enabled too, giving users the best of both worlds. While it doesn't boast great viewing angles or sharp images, it does the job anyway.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Y Pro sports an 832MHz processor, 290MBs of RAM and 190MBs of storage (SD expansion is available), putting it firmly in the mid-range sector.

A nippy experience

But in saying that, the device is capable of running your usual games with little issue. Angry Birds, for instance, runs smoothly, while a 3D go-karting title was also playable. But the small screen does make it a bit more challenging in some games, such as those that require tilting or frantic swiping.

The device also plays back media just fine, with YouTube streaming in great quality and sound being loud and clear. While you won't be storing much on the internal memory, you can use the microSD slot for that.

The Galaxy Y Pro also comes equipped with a 2MP rear-facing camera that performs about as well as you'd expect. There's no front-facing camera, so video-calling is out of the question.

When it comes to software, the Y Pro utilises Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, with an update to 2.3.6 available. The only major downside is that the handset is unlikely to receive the Ice Cream Sandwich update, falling below minimum specs.

The platform is surprisingly nippy too, with apps opening quickly and menu transitions displaying little lag. And the software is optimised for both the trackpad and the touchscreen, making menu navigation a breeze.

The Y Pro differentiates itself by coming equipped with the Samsung Social Hub for social media, Samsung Apps storefront and ThinkFree Office.

The Galaxy Y Pro doesn't have the stellar specifications of its more expensive stablemates, but makes up for that with an affordable price-tag (R1499) and great performance.

Score: 8 out of 10