Samsung F480

To pick up where we left, prepare to meet the next bestseller by Samsung. If you think Samsung F480 is not up to such a challenge you might want to think again. The compact touch-operated handset has every chance of becoming the next best thing since sliced bread. It is extremely pocket-friendly but its own pocket is bulging - so to say - the little fella has it all. Plus, the looks are fantastic, so only one important question remains - is the performance on par with the marvelous specs. Luckily we are just about to answer that question, so sit back and enjoy.




Key features

-Ample 2.8" 262K touchscreen color display of QVGA resolution
-Touch-operated flash UI
-5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
-Camera comes with face detection and wide dynamic range
-3G with HSDPA
-Great design and high quality construction
-228MB of internal memory
-microSD card slot
-Widgets
-Excellent haptics
-FM radio with RDS
-Great camera interface
-EDGE, Bluetooth and USB connectivity
-Great web browser



Main disadvantages

-Tri-band only
-Display legibility suffers under direct sunlight
-No landscape mode and no virtual QWERTY keyboard
-Fingerprint magnet
-Inadequate flash for the camera
-Video recording capabilities max out at QVGA resolution




Final words

It's not too often that we are so impressed with a handset as we are with Samsung F480. The little fella is an extremely capable device carrying a serious feature pack. In addition, it is so suave and compact that it is bound to earn itself quite a lot of fans. User-friendliness is also among its definite strong points. Some users might miss the Armani logo for the frill of it but we for one won't really grieve over it.

Samsung F480 is expected to hit the shelves on May 19th and - take our word - you might just want to wait until then before you fork out the cash on your next handset.

Samsung F110 Adidas

Samsung F110 is not revolutionary. And no, it's not a high-end gadget either. But it's part of a unique workout system developed by Adidas. The Adidas miCoach system makes your phone a full-fledged workout sidekick recording each of your steps and guiding you along your sports endeavors while playing your favorite music to make sweating a bit more pleasant.




Key features:

-Dedicated sports features:
-On-board miCoach application measuring sports progress and giving voice feedback
-Synchronization with miCoach web-based coaching system
-Built-in accelerometer with step counter
-Stride sensor and heart rate sensor in the extended package
-Comes with sports headset, 3.5mm audio jack remote and an armband
-2 megapixel camera
-1GB of onboard storage
-FM radio
-Stereo Bluetooth
-Works without a SIM card inserted




Main disadvantages:

-Boring design
-Camera has no autofocus
-Poor display resolution and poor sunlight legibility
-Built-in step counter is really inaccurate
-No memory card slot
-No 3G
-No office documents viewer



Final words

When compared to the existing digital sports systems such as the Nike+, the Adidas miCoach phone has a number of strong points - the heart-rate monitor, the free choice of running shoes, the mobile phone functionality, the "double-tap-to-get-stats" feature, and the FM radio. However, the iPod nano used by Nike has larger storage space, higher resolution display, better sunlight legibility and it's more compact.

Successful or not, the Samsung F110 Adidas phone will remain a niche phone and you are unlikely to see much of it on phone-shop windows.

Samsung i620

We have seen lots of phones from Samsung with slider form factor but this time it's a full hardware keyboard that is revealed when you slide the Samsung i620 out - the new mid-range smartphone running on the Windows Mobile 6 Standard edition. Packed with some exclusive features - a rotating D-pad wheel and sensor keys all over, you might as well be blown away by the one-off snowy white color too. So, it's compact, it's QWERTY, it's smartphone - yes this is really an offer you can't resist to play with - and neither do we. So grab yourselves something to drink and join us on this Samsung i620 review.




Key Features

-Windows Mobile smartphone
-Novel design and unusual form factor
-Compact dimensions
-2.2" TFT display
-Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA, 1.8 Mbps
-Rotating wheel and sensor front panel keys
-Full hardware QWERTY keyboard with sufficient backlight
-Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
-2 megapixel camera
-microSD card slot




Main disadvantages

-Landscape orientation is not common for applications
-No Wi-Fi
-No autofocus, mediocre camera performance
-TI OMAP 200 MHz processor struggles at times
-QWERTY keyboard has little tactile feedback
-Only 34MB storage memory available to the user




Conclusion

Samsung i620 is a stylish (to some!), neat and relatively compact slider phone, plus it runs on Windows Mobile 6 Standard. The full QWERTY hardware keyboard brings even more functionality to the smartphone. The sensor keys and the useful D-pad wheel help a lot when dealing with the address book, the menus and especially with the gallery images.

In the end - it all boils down to this: the Samsung i620 doesn't offer high-end features but offers excellent implementation of the features that are currently on-board. As such it will have a really hard time coping with Symbian bullies out there.

Sony Ericsson W760

Sony Ericsson W760 made a name for being the first Sony Ericson phone to offer an integrated GPS receiver. With a large QVGA display, stereo speakers, Media Center and the 3 megapixel camera on top, the W760 packs a nice punch. It's an exciting slider that may look no-thrills on the outside, but has all the prospects of becoming a bestseller.



Key features

-Quad-band GSM support
-Tri-band HSDPA
-Built-in GPS receiver
-3 megapixel camera with geotagging
-Walkman player with Shake control and SensMe
-Media center
-Stereo speakers
-FM radio with RDS
-YouTube integration
-2.2" QVGA TFT display
-M2 memory card slot (1GB card included)
-Stereo Bluetooth
-Built-in motion sensor




Main disadvantages

-No video-call camera
-Camera has basic portrait interface and no autofocus
-Poor legibility under direct sunlight
-Integrated stereo speakers are not impressive neither in sound qiality, nor in loudness




Final words

Sony Ericsson W760 is a nice attempt at creating an all-purpose slider. It's got all the goodies many users are waiting for.

Although in dense urban environments our beta unit had a weakish GPS sensitivity, the amount of GPS applications is commendable - especially for a first try from Sony Ericsson.

Samsung G810

The announcement of Samsung G810 must have had many a geek's heart skip a few beats. The handset has all but the kitchen sink and there's Symbian under the hood.



Key features

-5 megapixel camera with auto focus and 3x optical zoom
-Symbian OS with S60 user interface
-2.6" 256K-color TFT LCD display with QVGA resolution
-Wi-Fi
-Built-in GPS receiver
-3G capabilities with HSDPA support
-Xenon flash
-330MHz TI OMAP processor
-130MB of internal memory plus a microSD card slot
-3.5 mm stereo audio jack
-Bluetooth and USB v2.0
-TV-out functionality
-Great metallic design




Main disadvantages

-Large size
-Awkward keypad
-Tri-band only
-Poor sunlight legibility
-Xenon flash is disappointing
-Optical zoom reduces picture quality noticeably




Final words

To begin with, it is quite obvious that Samsung are a bit late releasing the G810.
Samsung G810 has a unique optical zoom feature and is probably the sleekest looking among them all-but-the-kitchen-sink devices out there. It has the performance and snappy user interface, which is probably what's most important in such a phone.

Sony Ericsson C702

Sony Ericsson C702 on the other hand is keen to impress with GPS and splash and dust resistance. Its 3-megapixel camera takes advantage of geotagging, and features face detection, red-eye reduction, autofocus and dual LED




Key features

-Splash and dust resistant
-Built-in GPS receiver
-3 megapixel camera with active lens cover and dual LED flash
-Face detection and geotagging, fast autofocus
-Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) in the European version
-Fingerprint resistant case
-FM radio with RDS
-Bluetooth (with A2DP)
-Tracker sports application
-Memory card slot for M2 cards (up to 8GB M2 cards supported)





Main disadvantages

-Controversial looks
-No office documents viewer
-Awkward volume/zoom rocker
-No TV out



Conclusion

A midrange cameraphone for the sports minded, the Sony Ericsson C702 sure brings excitement to the company’s Cyber-shot line. With HSDPA and a good media package keeping company to the capable 3-megapixel shooter, C702 has the entertainment sector duly covered. Add the sturdy casing and GPS-supported extras (the Tracker application is more than welcome), and you’ve got the right gadget for those who like their calls with a pinch of adventure