Channels

Samsung F700 Review – Let Battle Commence!

Author: Darren Evans | Date: 24/01/2008

Category: Cell Phones | Subscribe: | Share It:

Article Tags: Samsung F700, F700, Samsung, Mobile Phones, Cameraphones, Music Phones

With the much-trumpeted release of the iPhone, Apple had a piece of technology that divided opinion all across the industry. Though it is an undeniably intuitive bit of kit and is also highly desirable, the poor features and barely-average camera led many to believe (myself included) that it was simply over-hyped to the point where consumer’s vision was blurred by the euphoria.

Once the dust had settled on the release of the iPhone, the major players in the industry like Nokia and Sony Ericsson tried their hand at offering alternatives to the iPhone and to capitalise on its poor features, with varying degrees of success. With the release of the F700, Samsung have come up with the first mobile phone that can realistically be described as a viable alternative to the Apple juggernaut.

The data transfer speeds (particularly for music) are a major selling point thanks to the inclusion of HSDPA technology meaning transfer speeds go up to 3.6Mbps. As you would expect EDGE & GPRS are also present for when the 3G capabilities can’t be utilised.

An excellent 3.2” touchscreen display is included to make sure the appearance of the F700 is utterly dominated by the screen. Only two touch-sensitive buttons underneath the screen for calls are utilised to make the F700 appear very streamlined and sleek.

Somewhat strangely, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard has been incorporated making the F700 suddenly resemble a smartphone, though the on-board features don’t necessarily warrant this categorization. Its inclusion smacks of indecision on Samsung’s part and a possible refusal to commit to a full touch-screen device immediately. The likelihood is that the F700 isn’t meant to be a Samsung flagship model. It’s more likely being used to test out the Croix UI and if it proves to be successful with the customers, a further commitment is likely.

The recently announced F490 does seem to back up this theory as it still features the Croix interface, but has had the QWERTY keypad removed, making it a full touchpad device, showcasing a commitment to exclusively touchscreen UI’s by Samsung.

The UI isn’t really worth comparison with the iPhone, just like almost every other interface currently out. Basically the menu system used is a juiced-up version of the standard type seen in earlier models, most notably the G600. Whilst menu icons are interchangeable, this still falls way short of the groundbreaking UI from Apple’s otherwise flawed gadget.

Even though the music-based features are meant to be a main-selling point of the F700, the sad fact is that this does fall short of expectations. Samsung’s standard music-player seen in lower-end mobiles is still being utilised, as opposed to either a revamped version or a third-party app such as Real Player or Windows Media Player. Although the functionality of the Samsung own-brand software is adequate, it’s not at an appropriate level to warrant its inclusion in such a high-end device.

The 3.2MP camera (which according to early development rumours was meant to be 5MP) is just-above average. As the F700 isn’t being directly marketed as a cameraphone, this perhaps was to be expected, but it still is a decent performer, just not up to competing with the more focused feature phones that concentrate on this more. However, it is better than that of the iPhone and can take videos without third party software, so in that respect it is a success.

Though the F700 is seen by many as the first serious competitor to the iPhone, the reality is that it is far more diverse and offers a much-better all round package and increased versatility. My personal preference, if I had to choose between the two would be to go for the F700, simply because it offers a lot more value for money and while it is definitely not the previously mooted ‘iPhone killer’ it still has enough good points to make it stand out on its own merits without comparison.

Samsung F700 Review – Let Battle Commence! articles

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cell phones-articles/samsung-f700-review-let-battle-commence-314303.html

Channels

Category

Samsung F700 Review – Let Battle Commence!

Other Articles