Samsung M7500 Emporio Armani Disadvantages

Samsung M7500 Emporio Armani review

Samsung and Armani do it again and the GSMArena fashion column is back in business. It's a whole new dress code this time, as the Samsung M7500 Emporio Armani leaves the tux in the closet and goes clubbing. And if a name that opens doors is not enough, the Emporio Armani phone by Samsung claims to have an ear for music. We guess there's no doubt though, its No 1 job is to get you noticed. Aptly dubbed Night Effect, the M7500 Emporio Armani just loves it when it's dark. So, someone please hit the lights.

Each time a fashion brand enters the mobile phone market controversy is inevitable. The haute couture label certainly justifies the asking price but will the handset get away with gaps in the spec sheet.

The Samsung M7500 Emporio Armani is a stylish handset with a distinct focus on music. The flashing light effects, the dedicated music keys plus the 3.5mm jack and the slightly redone music player application are a reason enough for music lovers to check it out before purchasing their next handset. The distinct music slant is also quite in line with the handset's obvious refusal to compete for a top slot in the fashion phone segment.

Key Features:

• Quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA support
• 2.2" 256K-color OLED display of QVGA resolution
• 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with smile shot
• Emporio Armani branding
• Light effects
• 120MB of internal memory and microSD memory card slot (verified to work with 16GB cards)
• 3.5mm standard audio jack
• Dedicated music keys
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth (with A2DP) and USB v2.0
• Multi-tasking support and a convenient shortcut bar on the homescreen
• Office document viewer
• ShoZu integration
• Smart dial

Main disadvantages:

• Hefty price tag
• QCIF video recording
• No camera flash
• No accelerometer, so no fancy music controls or screen rotation
• Smallish display for the price range
• Task Manager is assigned to the camera key

With the Emporio Armani logo, Samsung are trying to attract users who have both music features and style in mind. The phone is mainly youth-oriented, especially with the flashy stripes and logos on the sides.

It is interesting to note the partnership that gave birth to the Samsung Armani phone back in September 2007 was not a one-hit-wonder. But Samsung have obviously tried to not make it d?j? vu all over again. The original Giorgio Armani touchscreen phone clearly has the high-end sophistication, confidence and class associated with the luxury Giorgio Armani brand whereas the Emporio Armani target range is different and that's obviously reflected in the M7500. Take the flashy branding away and you get a regular handset with music on its mind. Think M3510 and M3200 of the Beat series.

Though it's hard to identify a clear competitor for the Emporio Armani branded M7500 - as such partnerships are not so common in the mobile-phone world - we should definitely mention some phones which have a lot in common with the Samsung M7500. Probably the Walkman phones from Sony Ericsson are the major competitor for the Emporio Armani handset. Walkmans in this price range do seem to have the upper hand in terms of features though.

The 300 euro they're asking for can get you Sony Ericsson W902, which matches the features of the M7500 but adds a 5MP AF camera, accelerometer for auto screen rotation, image geo-tagging and nice perks like SensMe and Shake control.

Half the price of the M7500 is another music-centered competitor - Nokia 5320 XpressMusic. This S60-driven phone is 3mm thicker, has only a 2MP camera with fixed focus and a smaller 2" display but outdoes the Emporio Armani with its 8-way Navi key, dual-band HSDPA and smartphone capabilites.

Motorola ROKR E8 can also come into play and again it's almost twice as cheap as the M7500 Emporio Armani. The Moto's limitations are the 2" display, no 3G support and the 2MP fixed focus camera. On the other hand, the E8 is only 10.6mm thin, has a touch-sensitive morphing keypad, scroll wheel and 2 GB of inbuilt memory.

Motorola ROKR E8

Before we wrap it up, Samsung do have another co-branded phone: the Samsung F480 Hugo Boss. This one differs from the original F480 only by virtue of the Hugo Boss insignia on the case and of course the well-stocked retail package.

If fashio and music are your game, hit the next page for more on the Samsung M7500. Let's turn it on and light it up, and take it for a spin.

Samsung M5650 Lindy Disadvantages

You just couldn't have missed the Samsung Corby. Dirty cheap phone with replaceable rear covers and more clones than features. That's the one. Newsflash: the outbreak of cheap as chips touchscreen handsets continues now that we have the Lindy - fresh off Corby's rib.

Here's the deal. Samsung want to put a touchscreen in every pocket but the Lindy is also trying to give fast data and WLAN to the masses. It's all Corby on the surface - to the extent that you will want to put some of Corby's fashion jackets on the Lindy. They won't fit but that's not the point. The point is the Lindy is a plain and friendly touchscreen that puts a bargain price on all-round functionality.

Someone at Samsung must be in love with the Corby concept since the family is getting bigger by the day. The number of Corby sequels is beyond belief: the QWERTY packing CorbyPRO and CorbyTXT were followed by the Wi-Fi enabled, but still rumored S3650W and - finally - out came the M5650 Lindy. Not to mention the several handsets that don't exactly follow the same design outline but have the same naming in certain regions - Samsung B3313 Corby Mate, Samsung CorbyPlus B3410 and Samsung C3510 Corby Pop.

Samsung M5650 Lindy official photos

The Samsung Lindy however inherits all the traditions of the original - neat and friendly plasticky design, rich social integration, modern interface with the optional cartoonish graphics on top and the most important thing - a capacitive touchscreen with an affordable price. But like all the other new members of the family, the Lindy tries to break out of the clone syndrome by offering its own special powers. Wi-Fi connectivity, 3.5 mm audio jack and dedicated music keys put it well above the basic Corby.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE, UMTS 900/2100, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• 2.8" capacitive TFT touchscreen of QVGA resolution, 256K colors
• 50 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 8GB)
• 3 megapixel camera with smile detection, QVGA video @ 15fps
• Secondary video-call camera
• Dedicated music controls on the front panel
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB v.2.0
• microUSB slot
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• DNSe and SRS sound effect
• Excellent audio reproduction
• FM radio with RDS
• Find Music recognition service
• TouchWiz and Cartoon UI
• Office document viewer
• Smart unlock
• Social networking integration with direct file uploads
• Quite reasonably priced for a full touch Wi-Fi enabled phone (around 160 euro)

Main disadvantages

• No accelerometer for screen auto rotation
• No on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• No smart dialing
• microSD slot under the battery cover
• Music controls only work on the homescreen

The Corby need not feel threatened: the intended markets are poles apart. The new features raise the M5650 above the rank and file and straight into the mid-range, while the Corby is very much an entry-level kiddie phone. Wi-Fi is welcome, but this is not the only upgrade that the Lindy offers over the Corby. It loves music and has dedicated media controls right up front, DNSe and SRS surround enhancements and the 3.5 mm audio jack of course. We nearly forgot the fast network data speeds. And then all of a sudden, the Lindy costs the same as the S3650 Corby did at launch.

So, we have to admit that Samsung have flooded the market with similar handsets. There's the Star, Star Wi-Fi, Star TV, the Corby bunch, the Diva and the Marvel. The Lindy looks set to lead in both features and design, but it's not like we haven't seen all this before. Will it succeed to stand out among so many siblings? And more importantly, can it stand up to the competition? The journey begins with design and ergonomics.

Samsung L700 Disadvantages

SamsSamsung L700 is a lower midrange fella and its main selling points are solid construction, metal body and fast 3G speeds. Before you frown at the shortish specs list do remember that it's not aiming high. It's set instead to address a chronic shortage of style in this price range.

We are yet to see what kind of difference Samsung L700 will make, but you can bet it's going to be a tough fight against some pretty popular handsets there already. When we pick cell phones to review we rarely go down to this market segment, but our experience tells us the L700 will probably win its share of content customers.

While certainly not the hottest looker there is, we rarely see such commendable build quality and freehanded use of metal in the competition. We hit the pedal to the metal without much further ado to see how the L700 handles the race track.

Key features

• Metallic body and solid construction
• Quad-band GSM support plus GPRS and EDGE
• UMTS 2100Mhz with video calls
• 2.1" display with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels
• 2 megapixel fixed focus camera with LED flash
• microSD card slot (up to 8GB)
• Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP)
• FM radio with RDS
• Office document viewer
• Smart dialing
• ShoZu integration (direct image and video uploads)
• Basic Google integration

Main disadvantages

• Relatively low display resolution
• Trimmed down user interface as compared to Samsung seniors
• Video recording tops out at QCIF resolution
• Poor web browser

There's a handful of paintjobs for Samsung L700 but, knowing how things work, we doubt it all of them will see the mass market. Samsung usually sell the more interesting color versions to large retail chains or carriers so they can benefit from exclusivity.

Samsung L700 in various colors: grayish brown • lilac violet • noir black • rose pink • charcoal gray

Our review deals with the garden variety, a.k.a. Titan Silver. A pre-release unit it is, so bear in mind that some of the stuff in this review may be subject to change before the actual handsets start shipping.

Samsung L700 is heading full tilt to some tough and fierce competition at a starting retail price of around 150 euro (220 US dollars). That kind of cash opens up plenty of choice of similarly equipped devices. Of course, we do expect the price to start leveling off by Christmas.

First off, there are Sony Ericsson W660 (about 140 euro) and Sony Ericsson K530 (about 110 euro). These two are practically identical and match the L700 to the smallest detail, except for the metal casing, slightly slimmer waistline and quad-band functionality. However we must note that the M2 memory cards they use are also slightly more expensive than the microSD variety the L700 supports.

Next up in the QVGA segment are the similarly equipped Sony Ericsson G502 (about 130 euro) and Sony Ericsson K660 (about 150 euro). They still don't offer quad-band GSM support, but top the L700 with HSDPA and higher-res screens. The Sony Ericsson G502 even takes a go at the slim girth and just misses it by less than a millimeter. The Sony Ericsson K770 Cyber-shot (about 150 euro) also offers similar specs and price tag but impresses with a much better 3 megapixel autofocus camera.

The Nokia offer in this segment is without doubt the now elderly and 3G-less Nokia 6300 (about 110 euro) and Nokia 3120 classic (about 130 euro). Nokia 6300 has a similar design and is slimmer. The QVGA display resolution is also a plus. The Nokia 3120 classic however matches the L700 with quad-band GSM functionality and slim silhouette and too outpaces it with the higher-res QVGA screen. Still, the 3120 classic is way too plastic to stand up to the full-metal jacket of Samsung L700.

If you really dig the metallic body of Samsung L700, you may go ahead and check out the slightly more expensive Sony Ericsson W890 (about 210 euro) and Samsung U800 Soul b (about 240 euro), which offer slimmer profile, HSDPA, higher-res screens and 3 megapixel cameras. Having taken the step up to that price bracket, you might as well have a look at the Nokia E51 (about 180 euro) - a Symbian smartphone with excellent build quality and Wi-Fi.

But enough on other phones - let's not steal the show from Samsung L700. The shiny brushed steel surface and excellent ergonomics are a short jump away.

ung L700 review: Cool as Metal

Samsung I9010 Galaxy S Giorgio Armani Disadvantages

Introduction

It’s not the suit that makes a man and it’s certainly not a big fat logo that makes a phone. To be honest, the last thing Android needs to boost its credit with users is a big designer name. But for a change, this is one of the rare examples when a smartphone is not being eclipsed by a fashion phone.

Samsung I9010 Galaxy S Giorgio Armani official photos

What we have here is a limited edition fashion item – there’s no doubt about that. But it’s got a better purpose than blind you with bling. The phone has it all: impressive hardware, commanding looks and excellent build. The important thing though is you don’t care if it’s the Galaxy S or Armani taking credit.

Super specs combined with beautiful finish, a dazzling Super AMOLED display in an impressively thin package – a combination like that simply cannot go wrong. The Galaxy S line has long been committed to delivering high performance. With the Armani touch, looks and build quality are catching up. You can have anything you want as long as you are willing to pay the price. The Samsung I9010 Galaxy S Giorgio Armani is anything but cheap.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4" 16M-color Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
• Android OS v2.2 with TouchWiz launcher
• 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird platform; 512 MB of RAM
• 5 MP autofocus camera with face, smile and blink detection
• 720p HD video recording at 30fps with continuous autofocus
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
• 9.9mm slim
• Excellent build quality
• Full Flash support for the web browser
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• 1650 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Great audio quality
• Document editor
• Swype text input
• Access to the official Android app repository and Samsung Apps repository

Main disadvantages

• Pricey
• No flash for the camera
• No dedicated camera key
• Average loudspeaker performance
• No FM radio

Samsung didn’t need perhaps Italian craftsmen working on the I9010 Galaxy S – they already had the design tested on the AT&T Captivate. However, someone at Armani must have had a say on the choice of materials: the appearance and hand feel are first class – being subtle is no small part of that by the way. That’s another – surprising – point in favor.

Samsung I9010 Galaxy S Giorgio Armani views

Anyway, contrary to the stereotypes about designer phones, the Galaxy S Armani doesn’t boil down to a logo – or lack thereof. What’s important here is that you are getting an all-inclusive deal: a full-featured smartphone with the latest technology available and an exquisite fashion item. Whether the logo implies Armani-approved or Armani-designed is irrelevant – as long as the phone has the looks and the brains.

Now let’s get past the exquisite packaging and see the Armani droid in its full glory. Join us after the break.

Samsung I8000 Omnia II Disadvantages

Samsung's top tier of Omnia devices is populated by some seriously heavy-hitters - first the 720p video recording Omnia HD and now the Omnia II - with its best-in-the-business display, WM 6.5, zippy processor and preloaded software galore, it will certainly win the hearts and minds of Windows Mobile fans.

It's no secret that the Samsung Omnia II has the HTC Touch Diamond2 in its sights. The Omnia II has several advantages, not the least of which is the amazing 3.7" AMOLED WVGA display. For the acronym-allergic - WVGA means 480 x 800 pixels resolution, which several years ago might have been considered acceptable for a computer monitor. That resolution is not so uncommon today, the exciting part here is "AMOLED" - active matrix organic LED. Or in plain English - brilliant picture quality.

It doesn't end there - the 800MHz CPU is one of the speediest around and the available capacities of up to 16GB built-in memory and up to 32GB external storage via microSD card offer more than enough memory expansion. There's Wi-Fi and GPS, the autofocus camera shoots 5MP stills and D1 video at 30fps and has dual-LED flash, there's DivX playback out of the box and HSDPA and HSUPA push the phone to great wireless speeds.

We can spend a lot of time talking about the features of the Omnia II but here they are in a bullet list, which should be easier to read.

Key features:

• 3.7-inch 65K-color resistive AMOLED touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
• Windows Mobile 6.5 with TouchWiz UI 2.0 and Media Gate 3D
• Samsung S3C6410 800MHz processor; HW Graphic Accelerator
• 256MB RAM
• 5 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, geotagging, face detection, smile shot, image stabilizer, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR)
• Records video in D1@30fps, QVGA slow-mo video recording
• Tri-band 3G with HSDPA (7.2Mbps) and HSUPA (5.76 Mbps) support
• Quad-band GSM support
• Smart dialing
• Wi-Fi with DLNA technology
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality
• 2/8/16GB internal memory
• microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth and USB v2.0
• 3.5mm standard audio jack
• TV-out functionality
• DNSe audio technology and SRS sound effect
• DivX/XviD video playback
• Proximity sensor for screen auto turn-off and ambient light sensor
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic UI rotation, turn-to-mute and motion-based gaming
• Office document editor
• Full Flash support in the web browser

Main disadvantages:

• No xenon flash
• No camera lens cover
• 65K color limitation of display results in banding in color gradients
• microSD slot is under the back cover
• Browser has issues with Flash support

The Omnia II sample used for this review runs Windows Mobile 6.5, while the units that are currently available on the market run Windows Mobile 6.1. Those however will be eligible for a free upgrade to ver. 6.5 as soon as Micorsoft release the final build of the new OS (rumored late September or early October). All Omnia II units that will ship after that will run the Windows Mobile 6.5 out of the box.

UPDATE 29 Aug: There seems to be a lot of commotion in various forums, our comments section included, about the actual CPU speed of the Omnia II - 667MHz or 800MHz. Samsung official specs seem to deliver some contradictory information and you should rest assured we will be contacting Samsung directly to clear up the issue.

All that being said, it’s just numbers we’re talking here. If you think that calling it 667MHz makes Omnia II a worse performer, you’re wrong. The clock rate of a processor is only useful for providing comparisons between computer chips in the same processor family and generation and is hardly useful for direct comparison between competing mobile platforms. But we digress.

Our point here is that no matter what the actual MHz number is, at no point did we judge the Samsung Omnia II by its pure clock rate. Instead we quite more value the real-life impressions of our experienced reviewers and we’ve hardly drawn any conclusions based on the pure processor spec sheet. And neither should you – no matter if it is 667MHz or 800MHz we’re talking about in this particular case, the Omnia II remains a leading performer among smartphones this year.

Now that we've taken that off our chest, jump to the next page while you catch your breath after reading that long specs list. We continue with the Omni

a II doing a 360 pirouette and then look at the hardware side of this multimedia Goliath.

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD Disadvantages

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD preview

The world's first 720p HD video recording on a mobile phone was top of our list of trend-setting features revealed at this year's MWC in Barcelona. But even if you take HD from the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD you will still have enough skill and guts to go around. It's Symbian-powered, it's touch-controlled, it's a monster of a cameraphone. For all we know, a device like that is always worth another look.

So, here's the deal. We're not just taking another look at the Samsung Omnia HD, we hope it's a closer, and more revealing look. A second preview is a rare honor but then, the Samsung Omnia HD is a rare piece of technology.

The Omnia HD is getting closer to release and the new unit we have is much different than the real early bird we checked out back in February. It's been a while, so here's what Samsung have been up to with the Omnia HD.

Samsung i8910 Omnia HD at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/1900/2100 MHz, GPRS/EDGE class 12, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar
• Dimensions and weight: 123 x 58 x 12.9 mm, 144 g
• Display: 3.7-inch 16M color capacitive AMOLED touchscreen, 640 x 360 pixels
• Memory: 8/16GB integrated memory, hot-swappable microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
• CPU:ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor; Graphics HW Accelerator
• OS: Symbian S60 5th edition
• Still camera: 8 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face detection, smile shot, image stabilizer, Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), ISO 1600
• Video recording: HD 720p@24fps, 720x480@30fps, QVGA time-lapse and slow-mo video recording
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi with DLNA support, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, TV-out (SD content)
• Misc: Accelerometer for screen auto rotate and turn-to-mute, proximity sensor for auto screen turn-off, magnetometer for digital compass, handwriting recognition, FM radio with RDS, DivX/XviD video support, subtitles support, virtual 5.1 channel Dolby surround (on headphones), web browser with Flash video support, office document viewer, motion-based 3D games
• Battery: 1500 mAh battery

To get it straight, the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD (or just i8910 HD in select markets as of lately) hasn't lost a bit of its HD magic. The 720p video playback and recording are all intact and can be enjoyed in their full shine on the more mature device we're testing this time around.

The same goes for the 8-megapixel snapper that sports autofocus, digital image stabilization, geo-tagging, beside face, smile and blink detection. Along come the enormous 3.7" capacitive AMOLED touchscreen and the other goodies that complete the Omnia HD. Like the touch-optimized Symbian OS and TouchWiz 3D, WLAN support and built-in GPS.

Now, before you start wondering what the fuss is all about, we're focusing on the evolution of the Omnia HD. Other than the design and hardware changes, this preview is looking closer at the interface and the coexistence of Symbian and TouchWiz. Prepare for great video playing and plenty of video and still camera samples. We've tried to make it less talk, more action, so let's roll.

Samsung i780 Disadvantages

The Samsung "i" line of smartphones have taken quite a lot of different shapes and seen OS implementations ranging from Symbian to Windows Standard and Pro. There are, however, five birds of a feather that do stand out with QWERTY keyboards and uniform design. Samsung i320 was the pacemaker, followed shortly by Samsung i600. There are of course the US-oriented Blackjacks Samsung i607 and Samsung i617.

Now, the subject of our review Samsung i780 is in that bunch but not quite, being the only PocketPC in the lot. Other Windows Mobile Pro devices seem nowhere in sight for the near future, with the two most recent i-series announcements both running on Windows Standard. The QWERTY slider Samsung i640 has just been released, while the low-key Samsung i200 is still cooking.

The full-QWERTY Pocket PC Samsung i780 sure takes after its forerunners but is keen to bring to the table more processing power, 3.6 mbps HSDPA topped with WLAN support, and that square touchscreen display. This smartie is also a tad above the other fellows in terms of design, if you will.

Key features

• Unique dual mode touchpad navigation
• Built-in GPS with A-GPS support
• Large 2.55" 320x320 pixels TFT touchscreen display
• Good preloaded content
• Innovative home screen plug-in
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP
• HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
• Fast Marvell PXA3xx processor
• 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM (~ 150MB is user available)
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• 2 megapixel camera

Main disadvantages

• Unpopular display resolution creates poor compatibility with third-party software
• Camera has no autofocus, nor LED flash
• The num-pad is quite crammed

Samsung i780 sets a firm foot on the path trodden by Samsung i600, and brings a good set of hardware innovations and utilities. In brief, there's the dual mode optical joystick (or trackpad, if you prefer - seems Samsung haven't yet made up their mind either), the fast processor and 256MB ROM, built-in GPS with A-GPS support and a 2MP camera. On the software side, you get the homescreen sidebar (the Orange version only), Photo Slides, Mini Player, Contents manager, Java launcher, elaborate Wake-up alarm, etc.

Although we are mainly comparing it to the Samsung i600, there are another two Samsung QWERTY smartphones: the AT&T branded Samsung i607 BlackJack and Samsung i617 BlackJack II. Although meant for the American market, they both have quad-band support and will work worldwide too. While the i607 has only US HSDPA support, the i617 has tri-band HSDPA to make 3.6 mbps data transfers usable worldwide.

Samsung i780 is powered by a capable Marvell processor and has 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM. The user available onboard memory is about 150MB. Given those values, the superb performance of i780 is no surprise. Just as a reference point, we played a near VGA quality XviD movie (with no video conversions) and it ran flawlessly. The movie playback passed with flying colors with only a couple of dropped frames in a 5-minute video.

Samsung stays faithful to microSD (TransFlash) memory card support to enable memory expansion. The memory card is accessible as a Mass Storage device from your PC, so the phone can also be used as a portable drive. That's with a twist though, as you need the Samsung USB cable - there is no standard miniUSB slot on this baby.

Both phone memory and the memory card are also accessible over TCP/IP and ActiveSync protocols making picture copying, ringtones saving, etc. a piece of cake