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Samsung Genio S3650. Definitely the phone for you

Martin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:23:53 +0000

The Samsung Genio Touch is being launched alongside Samsung’s new groundbreaking slogan for all its future touchscreens. Which is… wait for it… it’s a cracker: TOUCH FOR EVERY LIFESTYLE.

Quite aside from the slightly dirty / dangerously perverted suggestiveness of that, what an absolute loads of tosh.

Touch, for every lifestyle… way to narrow down the market there you spineless chumps. Why not just go right out there with the truth: TOUCH FOR WHOEVER, SERIOUSLY, ANY OF YOU, JUST BUY ONE OF OUR PHONES.

Or how about: YOU BREATHING, YEAH? THEN BUY A TOUCHSCREEN PHONE.

Every lifestyle…. would you adam and eve it.

Anyway, all of which is a shame because the Samsung Genio Touch is a downright decent budget option. Fancy, it ain’t, groundbreaking, it certainly ain’t, but if you want a very nice looking phone sporting a decent touchscreen with the fantastic TouchWiz interface, then look no further. As this Samsung Genio Touch review or the official press release prove, there’s enough going on here to make this a very viable option indeed. Music playing, social networking, video recording… it’s got it all. Well, that’s not true, but it’s got enough.

TOUCH FOR YOU. AND YOU MUM. AND YOU DAD. AND YOUR COUSIN. SERIOUSLY, ALL OF YOU. YOUR DOG TOO. AND YOUR GRAN. YEAH, WE KNOW SHE’S DEAD. BUT, YOU KNOW, SHE MIGHT CALL IF SHE’S ON THE OTHER SIDE. SERIOUSLY, WE’LL SELL, TO ANYONE, WE’RE NOT PICKY. WE DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT YOU AS INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEINGS, HONESTLY, WE JUST WANT YOU’RE CASH. Brought to you by Samsung.

Samsung S9110. Let’s pretend

Martin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:15:17 +0000

Yes, yes, you’ve seen the picture, you know what this blogs all about… but, just imagine, just pretend that you hadn’t, and we were to give you some specs like this:

- A TFT capacitive touchscreen, just under 2 inches
- Outlook support for all your emails
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Voice recognition
- Only 11.98 thick

And you’d think, hmmm, okay, that screens pretty small, but that’s probably just because this is some kind of super-compact smartphone…

Well, that’s kind of what this is… but it’s more than that. Or less. It’s a gosh darned watchphone. A watchphone! We remember when we used to get excited about watches. Look, look, my watch has a calculator on it, a calculator! Or, look what I got for Christmas, a watch that plays an extremely primitive LCD version of Donkey Kong… And looky what we have with the Samsung S9110. The future, ladies and gentleman, the future is here! Well, it was already here because LG had already announced the GD910. But the Samsung S9110 is the equivalent of a mobile gazumping because 1. it’s being released a month early than LG’s effort, and 2. it’s going to be half the price, even though there’s not really that much to tell them apart. Tasty tasty.

Check out these Samsung S9110 deals for some early markers on what you can expect, or have a little look at this Samsung S9110 review for the full lowdown on what’s coming your way

Samsung S5600 Preston. Hurrah for Mark Lawrenson!

Martin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:59:42 +0000

When the only – and we mean the only, check out Wikipedia if you don’t believe us – current claim to celeb-fame you can make about where you live is that Mark Lawrenson was born there, you know things are rough. So it is for the people of Preston. But the time has come to rejoice! Sing from the rooftops, fair (or are you just pale and malnourished?) people of Preston, because now you can ditch that walrus-moustached goon and rally behind a new hero, the Samsung S5600, the only phone in known history named after a depressing northern town! Hurrah for bizarre decisions by Korean multi-national companies! Hurrah for random words being picked out of some book or other! Hurrah for Preston!

As Samsung’s official page shows, all you’ve got to rally behind is a slightly beefed up version of the Tocco Lite, but we think that’s good enough to celebrate (especially given the alternative). And as these Samsung Preston deals prove, you can only get the thing on Orange at first, but then at least that will match the colour of the faces of most of the women in your fair city. But as this Samsung Preston review shows, it really is a pretty decent phone indeed, so you can be at peace. Or you’ll be in peace at least until you watch the video below. Then you’ll be having weird scary nightmares for many months to come. Nightmares that seem to be blending all those scary memories of when you saw Silence of the Lambs for the first time, but this time the victim is a mobile phone. Oh er….

Samsung i7500 Reviewed

Martin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:09:31 +0000

Samsung i7500

The Samsung i7500 is notable in that it is the first ever phone by Samsung to feature the new Google Android interface. Also known as the Samsung Galaxy, the phone is one of the few to feature this new interface, the others being the HTC Magic and the HTC Dream and is the first to have a 5 megapixel camera onboard. There are a number of improvements to this new 1.5 version of the UI, so let’s have a look at the specs of the phone.

- Works on all 2G and 3G networks

- Weighs in at 119 grams and has a thin waistline of only 11.9 mm

- OLED capacitive touchscreen is 3.2 inches long with a resolution of 320×480 pixels and is able to display a vibrant 16M colours

- Accelerometer sensor for auto – rotate

- Handwriting recognition

- MP3 and WAV ringtones supported

- Speakerphone

- 3.5 mm headset jack

- Unlimited number of Phonebook contacts and call records can be stored (limited to the memory available on the phone)

- RAM of 128 MB

- 8 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded via the microSD memory card slot upto a maximum of 16 GB

- Class 10 GPRS, HSCSD and Class 10 EDGE connectivity available for surfing the internet in areas where 3G connectivity is not supported

- 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA and Wi-Fi connectivity available for high speed internet and downloads

- Bluetooth v2.0 for connecting and sharing data with other phones

- microUSB v2.0 port for high speed data transfer between the PC and the phone

- 5 megapixel camera with a resolution of 2592×1944 pixels. Other features of the camera include autofocus, LED flash and Geo-tagging

- Video recording

- Android OS

- Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 MHz processor

- Messaging options include SMS, MMS, IM and Email

- HTML browser

- Only colour scheme is Black

- GPS

- Video player supports the playing of MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and WMV videos

- Google Search, Maps, Youtube, Picasa Integration, Gmail, Calendar, Google Talk

The buttons of the phone are the most notable change when looking at the user interface. The trackerball has been done with and, instead, a normal D-pad (something seen in the older Samsung phones like the Samsung D500 and the Samsung D600) has been used, while the other buttons are pretty much the same but their style and layout has been changed, so if you’re used to the G1, it will take a couple of minutes of readjusting before you get the feel of the Samsung i7500.

The back key is fairly obvious but the menu key is fairly queer in that it is indicated by an arrow which points up from a square bracket. The home key, which is similar to that found in Nokia Nseries phones, is wedged in between the back and the end button. The Home key is fairly small but raised just enough to make pressing it quite easy.

All-in-all, a great touchscreen phone which should please all the Android fans no end!

Samsung Pixon 12. A tight squeeze

Martin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:29:41 +0000

The Samsung Pixon 12 has a 12 megapixel camera, as you might have guessed. That’s really, really impressive, you might be thinking. You’re wrong. The 12 megapixels stuffed into this thing will not – repeat, will not – work as well as even the 8 megapixels out old Canon digital SLR boasts. Not even close. Not even if you squint. And the reason, as you can ask – if you want – the 21 Malaysian students who a couple of years ago crammed themselves into a Mini, is that when you cram that many things into such a small thing, that small thing doesn’t really work very well.

For Mini, read camera’s light sensor. For Malaysian students, read megapixels. Because like so many things in life, bigger does not always mean better, and so it the case with the Pixon 12. It is not a bad camera at all. In fact, with its autotracking, touch-to-focus, super quick next-shot times and a few other impressive features, it’s a pretty decent cameraphone indeed. But here’s the rub: it’s a cameraphone. Camera… on a phone. And we think that cameras on phones just don’t need to have 12MP. We think the Pixon 12, in fact, might have take images that were every little bit as good if it had an 8MP camera that had had a bit more time spent tweaking. And those files it took with its 8MP would have been a whole lot less ridiculously big than those that the Samsung Pixon 12 does in fact take.

But then, we realise with a world weary sigh, where would the angle have been? Where would the hook for the press / the advertising / the boasting friends have been. If you can’t shout about having more megapixels than anyone else, what can you shout about? Too true, too true. Have a read of this less world weary Samsung Pixon 12 review for a full lowdown on that camera, and the phone’s other stats (not that anyone cares, right?), then have a look at this video:

Samsung i7500. Googletastic

Martin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:36:24 +0000

It’s always nice when you get to ignore stuff. So often (far, far, far too often) these days phones are released that have barely anything to distinguish themselves from a hundred other handsets already out there. Phone A might have a megapixel or two more than phone B. Phone B might have a slightly more contrasty screen than phone C. Phone C is endorsed by Jim Carey. But every now and then it’s our privilege to announce a phone with something, well, something new. And the Samsung i7500 is just that, being as it is (pretty much) the first phone to be released featuring Google’s new Operating System, Android.

First, a caveat: we know the Android-packing HTC Magic is already out, but HTC are so niche a manufacturer the vast majority of day-today users out there won’t even have heard of its existence, so we’re happy to claim the i7500 as the first mass market Android phone. And just what’s so good about Android? Well, nothing that, initially seems that remarkable. It just gives you easy, very fast access to everything Google do. So that’s Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk and a whole bunch of other apps via the Android Market. But what is remarkable is just how good all these things are. If you’ve not yet converted to Gmail, or Google Calendar, you might not realise this. But for those who find their lives are pretty much Google-centric, this is pretty darn exciting.

And the Samsung i7500 does a whole bunch of other phone-like things – takes very decent pictures, let’s you plug your 3.5mm headphones in and all that jazz – but frankly, who cares! (Sorry, read this Samsung i7500 review if you do actually care). This is all about Google for us, and we couldn’t be happier that that’s the case. Have a little look at this prototype in action for a hint of what’s to come:

Samsung Jet S8000. Flashy in a good way.

Martin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:10:23 +0000

Some phones are flash from the outside. Some phones are flash on the inside.

And some, luckily for you, manage to be both. The first thing that hits you about the Samsung Jet S8000 is just how damn flashy it is on the outside. Verging on, but not quite crossing the line of, being too-look-at-me, the phone is actually a piece of workmanship to behold. With its deep gloss plastic casing that seems to suck in all light, it’s cool deep red patterning on the back, and the thin (just under 12mm) curvy feel of it seemingly made exactly for your hand, you’re going to be impressed even before you flip the switch.

But once you do, everything inside is as flash and functional as you could want. The camera’s great, with more functions than you can shake a stick at, the Dolfin browser browsers and downloads the best the web’s got to offer nice and quickly, the TouchWiz interface is not only intuitive but actually enjoyable to navigate, there’s a new landscape QWERTY-keyboard entry for messaging and… and…

Well, there’s loads more than we have the space to tell you about here. Needless to say the Samsung Jet is already a firm favourite with us here. Samsung have, in fact, done a fantastic job recently with the Samsung Jet being one of own several new phones being announced, none of which let the side down. And if you’re soon to be in the market for a more than competent mid-range phone (there’s no confirmed release date yet, but we think it should be with us in a couple of months) then you could do a hell of a lot worse than this. There’s loads more specs and details in this Samsung Jet Review, and a half decent video below:

Samsung Omnia 2 i8000. Tasty touchy

Martin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:57:29 +0000

Touchscreens have been knocking around for a while now, but it’s not often that anyone other than Apple gets them right.

We’ve seen handset after handset now that, while promising to be “full touch!” or “super responsive touchscreen!” are little more than gimicky conversions of button-pressing phones. Sometimes, in fact, it seems like all that’s happened is someone’s imported all the software and interfaces from a non-touchscreen phone and slapped a basic touchscreen on top of it.

Not so with the latest range of Samsung phone’s, most impressive of which is the Samsung Omnia 2. This thing now only has a massive (huge, monstrous, biggest-ever, make-your-eyes-bleed) screen, but the thing actually works. In fact, it doesn’t just work, it hums, it sings, it positively screams slickness when you use it. This is thanks not only to the rather big screen (with its resistive response technology, super bright and crisp AMOLED display, 800×480 pixels) but to the UI that’s onboard. TouchWiz 2.0, designed from the finger up, as it were, is an absolute pleasure to use on the Samsung Omnia 2. Using is, you realise how shoddy some other companies attempts at ‘interactivity’ really are. Using a collection of completely customisable widgets, you’ll soon find you’re completely in synch with your handset, bouncing around between all its many and various functions quicker than you could imagine. The whole thing is based around a 3D cube navigation that not everyone will find attractive straight away, but with a little patience it turns out to be nifty enough for everything you’ll want to do with your Samsung Omnia 2 .

Available sometime in the Autumn. So watch this space for a future confirmation, and read this Samsung Omnia 2 review in the meantime. Or, have a gander at the video below.

Samsung Omnia Lite B7300. Pocket sized goodness

Martin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:24:58 +0000

Here’s a little rundown of the recently announced Samsung Omnia Lite, due to be released in a couple of months.

GPRS + EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA + WiFi data connectivity
3.0″ touchscreen with 240 x 400 pixels, 65k colours
3 megapixel camera
TouchWiz 2.0
107 x 52 x 13mm
103 grams
Bluetooth 2.0
250MB of internal memory, expandable with MicroSD to 32GB
GPS
FM radio
OS: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

We have to admit there’s nothing much in this list to impress, but then that’s not at all what Samsung are planning with the Samsung Omnia Lite. The whole point, in fact, has been to trim down the somewhat bulky Omnia model and produce something that’s more pocket friendly – both in terms of size and price. So while the Lite isn’t going to be downloading quite as fast as its chunkier cousins, it’s still going to be more than enough for an average user. The same goes for the camera, the screen itself and pretty much everything else – nothing is of the highest quality, but you certainly won’t feel let down by what’s in the package.

And luckily there’s a few things that are pretty special. The new version of Samsung’s own TouchWiz interface looks absolutely fantastic. It’s a real pleasure to use something that’s been specifically designed for touchscreen interaction, rather than a UI that feels like it’s been shoddily translated from non-touchscreen use. Add to that some nifty little features designed to make the most of the GPS and the Samsung Omnia Lite B7300 that might just be the right fit for your pocket. Check out a Samsung Omnia Lite review here for the full lowdown.

Samsung Omnia Pro B7610. The legs to last?

Martin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:27:34 +0000

As with most smartphones, the upcoming Samsung Omnia Pro packs a mighty list of specs and features. Just have a look at this lot:

Windows Mobile 6.5
integration with Microsoft Exchange
3.5″ 480 x 800 pixel display 16m colours WVGA resolution
113 x 58 x 16mm
slide-out QWERTY keyboard
5 megapixel camera
3.5G support
WiFi
GPS
Bluetooth
800 MHz processor
DLNA support
TV-out connection
FM radio
microSDHC card slot (up to 32GB supported) and 1GB of onboard storage.
The battery tipped as a 1,500mAh pack

Pretty impressive, you might agree. And packing an AMOLED screen (ultra-bright, while being ultra-low in power consumption) we think this could be a cracker of a phone for those who need plenty of finger space for all their daily tapping, scrolling and surfing. Could be, that is, if the Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 was due out anytime soon. However, with the Samsung Omnia Pro B7610 currently scheduled for an October unveiling, we wouldn’t be surprised if this list was not quite so impressive come then. Check out a full Samsung Omnia Pro review here, or have a peek at the video below for an early hint at what’s to come. The video doesn’t show the video-playback capabilities unfortunately, but it does give a bit of a hint at what you can expect from that screen. Look at the size of it!