Thursday, June 17, 2010

Samsung Wave S8500

Samsung's first bada phone - the Samsung Wave S8500 - is finally here. A few months ago we reviewed a prototype unit, which left us with rather high expectations for the final product. Now that it's here, we are ready to see what Samsung's latest and greatest creation has to offer. Being a full-featured mobile platform however, bada will inevitably face some pretty strong competition in the form of BlackBerry, webOS, Android and iPhone OS. Or will it? According to Samsung, bada is the easy to use type of OS, which will combine the greatness of having rich 3rd-party apps with a user-friendly interface that would appeal to every average Joe out there. So bada is not that much of an opponent to BlackBerry and Windows Phone, than it is to the iPhone, webOS and Android. Congrats, Samsung, you just painted some really tough future for yourself.
The manufacturer's vision is well-represented by its slogan "smartphone for everyone". Well, a bada smartphone for everyone is no doubt what every Samsung executive envisions, but as of now this is surely more of a dream than it is a reality. The question is if, eventually, some day, the bada-based smartphones would really become a part of the general customer's life, similarly to the iPhone now.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Samsung Champ: Featherweight touchscreen

Samsung's latest entry into the bargain touchscreen arena is the Champ. It's a compact phone with a 2.4-inch display, 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack.The Champ's memory can be expanded with microSD cards (up to 8GB).
You also get access to the Samsung apps store, where you can download java-based games and apps. The lack of 3G or Wi-Fi means that this could take a while.The Champ is due to hit the shops in June and will be available in black, brown, pink or white. No word on the price yet but you'll probably be able to pick up a Champ on pay-as-you-go and free on contracts.