Mobile Phone Blog - Mobile phone reviews and news » Samsung-mobile-phones

Samsung S9110. In yo’ face!

Mark — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:12:32 +0000

Oh man, sometimes, sometimes the mobile phone world actually manages to surprise, amuse and downright please us no end. Not often, mind, but sometimes. And today is one of those days.

So, why is that, we here at least four of you asking with a yawn. Well, a little while ago LG got all excited about a new product they were launching, the GD910, which, to give credit where it’s definitely due, looks like a stunning watchphone. Fantastic, LG think, we’re going to be the first watchphone on the market for years (after most people thought the idea was dead and buried) and this is going to be one of the most desirable products ever! However, the GD910 is not due out til next month, and will cost around £1,000. That’s right, a grand.

Step up Samsung with a classic bit of banana skin placement, because the Samsung S9110 has also just been announced, out of nowhere. It looks kinda similar: cool touchscreen, think and sleek body, etc. and so on. But, this thing is going to retail at about £400, AND is out this month, not next. Boom! In your face LG, in your big red faces.

Do we more firm details about the Samsung S9110 (or any more than these Samsung S9110 deals or this Samsung S9110 review can provide)? No! Do we care? No! Well done Samsung indeed, well done.

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Samsung Pixon 12. The megapixel myth

Mark — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:25:32 +0000

If our memory wasn’t so addled by drink, we would be able to remember a relevant fable or myth at this point. Something along the lines of the boy who cried wolf. But instead of crying wolf the boy spent all his time trying to make something he owned bigger and bigger in the silly belief that what he was doing was making it better, when in fact all he was doing was making it bigger. And also making it dangerously close to collapse. And the point in this failed memory exercise would be to prove some kind of point about why you shouldn’t be all that excited about the new Samsung Pixon 12, the world’s first camera to be sporting an obscene 12 megapixels.

But why, you ask, why does bigger not equal better?

Well, A-ha! we should be able to say. Just think about the boy who ***** with his *****. Or the girl who tried to hard to ***** with her *****.

As it is, all we can say is: trust us, there’s absolutely no reason why this 12MP camera will take better pictures than an 8MP or even 5MP camera on another phone. Fair enough, Samsung have probably put quite a bit of effort into making the camera good as well as big in the pixel department, but we just think this whole thing smacks of outdoing, or aiming to impress and blind the public with meaningless stats. And yes, we did get out of bed on the wrong side this morning.

And to be fair, there’s a raft of other things going on with the Pixon 12 (check out this Samsung Pixon 12 review for more details) but their camera claims have just wound us up something rotten. Have a squizz at this video of the Pixon 12 in action if you’re already sick of our ranting.

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Samsung Jet S8000. Mmm, sexy phone

Mark — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:08:25 +0000

The mid-range phone category is a tricky one to break into as, like all middle classes, it’s the most popular, and therefore the most (overly) populated. Sometimes though something shines through the masses and makes itself known, and this time around, for us at least, it’s the Samsung Jet that’s doing that. Even before this thing is turned on it positively hums, with the deep black of the casing so dark and moody it feels like it’s stealing a little of your soul; then the cool red patterning on the back gives you a little of it back; and the sheer heft of the thing as you hold it – not too heavy, not too light; not too curvy, not too straight – is fantastic.

Then once the Samsung Jet’s on there’s a whole new world of fun to be had, thanks in no small part to the TouchWiz user interface that has at its core a cool cube-based navigation system. With an easy rotation device, the 3D cube gives you quick (and fun) access to everything you could want from the phone. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a bunch of (customisable) widgets on every homescreen (such as Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, etc.) so you’re never more than a tap or two away from what you want. Add to this the ability to draw a shape to unlock feature, the fully stacked 5MP camera, the new Dolfin browser that loads things in a flash (and also, handily, supports Flash), expandable memory and all the GPS, Wifi and Bluetoothing anyone could need, and you’ve got a very nifty little device indeed.

And did we mention just how damn good the Samsung Jet S8000 looks? We did? Well, who cares, we’ll mention it again. There’s no hint from Samsung as yet about when you might be able to get your hands on this thing, but we’ve a sneeking suspicion it won’t be too far away. And, all being well, you’ll also be able to pick it up for not very much at all, so keep those eyes peeled. There’s a more detailed Samsung Jet Review here, or have a little look at the video below to get yourself as worked up as we are.

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Samsung Omnia 2 i8000. Eye candy? Check

Mark — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:55:40 +0000

Smartphones, they’re so… predictable. We see so many fly under our noses these days that we can barely tell them apart. So what about the Samsung Omnia 2. Does it have Wifi? Check. GPS? Check. 3.5G? Check. Camera around the 5-8 megapixel range? Check…

So when the recent spurt of Samsung announcements about the new Omina series wafted our way, we weren’t expecting much except another few tick boxes hastily checked. However, the Samsung Omnia 2 I8000 has really caught our eye. Which is exactly what you’d expect of something that has a 3.7” AMOLED screen. Or, to translate: the biggest ever screen on a mobile, and a screen made of the hottest new technology that brighter, crisper, thinner and more energy efficient than anything else out there. So we won’t waste our time telling you about the achievable download speeds, the dual LED flash or the expandable MicroSD memory… you know all that. What you don’t know is just how good this screen is. The video below gives a little hint, but you really have to see this thing in action.

Helping it out a great deal is the TouchWiz 2.0 user interface which has more live action widgets, customisable effects and cool looking ways to navigate your phone’s world than you can imagine. What’s more, the video playback makes full use of the 800 x 480 pixels giving DVD-like playback for your travelling-to-work-time-killing entertainment. Check out a full Samsung Omnia 2 review here for all the usual box-checking. The Samsung Omnia 2 I8000 won’t be hitting your shelves for a couple of months, but keep your eyes peeled for when it does.

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Samsung Omnia Lite B7300. Slimmed down goodness

Mark — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:22:16 +0000

The Samsung Omnia Lite will be one of the first mid-range touchscreen phones from Samsung and we think it’s going to be a cracker. Although not as fully spec’ed as many other touchscreen devices out there, we think it’s got enough going for it to be a more than decent (and definitely affordable option) come its release date later this year.

One of the biggest plus points for the Samsung Omnia Lite, in our humble opinion, is the inclusion of version 2.0 of TouchWiz, Samsung’s User Interface that makes navigating through all the different menus and functions of the phone an absolute pleasure. Too many touchscreen interfaces are clunky and seem barely designed with actual users in mind, so it’s great to see Samsung updating an already decent piece of kit. In a similar way, the 3D multimedia player looks like it’ll be great fun to use, as well as being functional. There’s also multi-push email access, Microsoft Office Suite and HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, plus an integral Opera Browser for the smoothest internet browsing around. The 3 megapixel camera might not be the best around but it’ll do for most day-to-day usage, and the now standard A-GPS completes a modestly impressive line up.

And thanks to the trimmings Samsung have made from the typical beefcakes of the Omnia range, you’ll also be pleased to hear the Lite comes in a slim, if not quite dinky, package too. At just 13mm thick it’s one of the slimmest smartphones around in fact.

So if you want a whole range of functions at your fingertips but don’t want to rob a bank to afford them, there’s a good chance you’re going to be made very happy indeed by the Samsung Omnia Lite B7300. Check out this longer Samsung Omnia Lite review for more persuading.

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Samsung Pixon 12 takes on Sony Ericsson head to head

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:01:38 +0000

It seems that megapixels are becoming as important on phones these days as they are on digital cameras. What started out as a nice addition to your handset, has now become an essential addition to any serious camphone user. So now ladies and gentlemen the megapixel war is well and truly in full flow. Samsung has just announced the Samsung Pixon 12, which is essentially an upgraded version of the original Samsung pixon, but with an improved camera, upgraded from 8 to 12 megapixels. This comes hot on the heels of the Sony Ericsson Satio, originally named the Idou, which was announced at the Mobile World Congress back in February. It seems that these devices come in 4’s so we are sure that Nokia and LG will not be far behind in announcing new handsets that offer 12 megapixel handsets in the near future, so watch this space for further developments.
But what does the megapixel war really mean for consumers? Any digital camera expert will tell you that the number of megapixels a camera has is just a starting point when looking at picture quality. Others would go further in saying that once you reach a certain resolution, the number of megapixels becomes even less important. Other factors that need to be considered are the quality of the lens and the level of zoom, both optical and digital. The problem is that people like slim mobile phones and trying to fit an optical zoom mechanism into a mobile phone means it becomes considerably bulkier. The Samsung G800 is a perfect example of this. It seems that manufacturers would sooner stick to digital zoom over optical in an attempt to keep the phone as slim and light weight as possible. The best thing to do is check out some actual pictures that are taken by either of these phones to see which one truly takes the best photographs, do not go on megapixels alone!

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Samsung Omnia HD i8910

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:51:14 +0000

Samsung Omnia HD i8910 is one of the latest mobile phones announced about at the Mobile World Conference 2009 Barcelona. Out of the 4 high end models that Samsung introduced at the MWC this time, the Omnia HD i8910 takes a special place for several reasons:

Its superb 3.7 inches big screen surely was an attention grabber and the quite uniquely designed front space conveniently utilizes the surface and gives the display a quite a bigger look. It looks very simple and easy to use despite all the sophisticated features it comprises of. The multimedia facilities consist of a brilliant media player which supports the usual audio formats and also MPEG4, DivX, H.263 and H.264. The TV-out enables you to connect your phone straightaway to the TV and watch the images/videos in your own TV! By now you should not have any doubts as to Omnia HD i8910 is the best when it comes to multimedia!

That’s not all. The 8MP camera is autofocus & smile/blink detection enabled. It can does videos at 24fps speed and the relevant software supports subtitles, video trimming & audio dubbing. It’s quad-band on GSM, tri-band on UMTS and connects to EDGE also. You can surf the internet at a 7.2Mbps speed using HSDPA. Omnia HD i8910 runs on S60 5.0 unlike the original Omnia which ran on Windows Mobile. If you want more in depth view of this phone please check out this video .

Samsung has not yet stated a selling price for this device as it’s expected to reach the mobile markets by April 2009. However you can always keep in touch with the Samsung Omnia HD i8910 deals and stay alert of any new updates. Samsung Omnia HD i8910 deals can help you buy the phone without having to pay the entire amount at once. Not only that, these Samsung Omnia HD i8910 deals compete to give the best tariffs. These online phone deals are a trustworthy way of getting the best out of your new mobile phone.

For network specific deals, follow the links below:

Samsung Omnia HD on Orange
Samsung Omnia HD on O2
Samsung Omnia HD on T-Mobile
Samsung Omnia HD on Vodafone
Samsung Omnia HD on 3 Mobile
Samsung Omnia HD on Virgin

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Samsung’s U810 Renown – Is it too basic?

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:30:17 +0000

The recently released U810 Renown from Samsung is a very basic phone which offers a few simple features for personal users. The phone is equipped with a 2 mega pixel camera and a media player but it is still unknown as to whether the UK version of the phone will be equipped with GPS like the US version. I’ve seen a recent Samsung U810 Renown review and it seems to me that I’m not the only one who thinks this phone is a little too basic. It doesn’t even have FM radio and is only available in one colour which isn’t even a very nice colour anyway. I have to say, so far I’m not impressed with this phone at all.
I’ve also seen a lot of deals available and currently the Samsung U810 Renown Vodafone phone appears to be the best value for money. However, if you’re searching for Samsung U810 Renown contracts or PAYG models, I’d suggest you shop around to make sure you get the best deal available at the time. I’ve noticed that as we approach Christmas, mobile deals in general are getting more affordable and I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised as to what they can afford this year.
Overall, the Samsung U810 is a nice phone in terms of design and it is very well built, as all Samsung’s are. However, I feel as though it is missing major features and not having an FM radio is just bizarre. Also, I’m not sure on the colour – it seems a little odd to me. I’ve seen a lot of Samsung U810 Renown videos and most of them show the phone in a lot of detail are well worth watching if you’re interested in this phone. You’ll get to see the phone in action before you buy it and also you’ll get a closer look at the features available on this phone.

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