First 60 minutes with Samsung SGH-i600

It has been quite a while since I had last the honour of testing a device that is not yet at the Czech market. Today, I have on my table a new smartphone manufactured by Samsung. It is called SGH-i600 and in the following paragraphs, I would like to sum up briefly my first impressions. Among the main advantages of the phone belong the top-quality communicative options, including WiFi and the current hit called HSDPA, beautiful display, clear sound and wide range of software equipment. I must not forget to warn you, though: because it is a pre-production unit, some of the features may be different in the final version. Therefore, take the information stated here with reservations.

Notice: This article is not a review. The device in question was not subject to thorough testing and careful disclosure of possible weaknesses. This article describes just first impressions that are mostly positive. Therefore, it is not an objective report, but a totally subjective description of a brand new device, filled with uncritical admiration of and wild enthusiasm for its new functions and properties. It is basically a more amusing form of a press release or a description on the web site, it is my NO MEANS a classic review. If, for some reason, you are not satisfied with this form, you should wait for a proper report.

At the first sight of the black body of the device, it is clear that the fashion of phones as thin as possible has firmly rooted even in the field of Windows Mobile. Even when the remaining two dimensions are quite large, even too large for a smart phone, (59 x 113 millimeters), the thickness of mere 11,8 millimeters must be interesting for almost anyone. And when also the weight is taken in account, which does not exceed 100 grams (with the smallest reserve possible), the result is a very interesting and practical device. From the point of view of design, Samsung is not extravagant – the black colour makes the device look smaller. Moreover, a combination of a navigation button and a set of programmable and system buttons, together with a turning button at the side, ensure easy and quick control with one hand only. At the side of the device, two elastic caps are placed – the first protects the data and synchronization connector that serves to connecting the headphones as well (unfortunately, as is infamously usual with Samsung, the connector is a special one), the second slot serves to inserting a microSD card.

An integrated keyboard consists of 37 buttons in 4 rows and most of them have two different functions. The primary function is activated by pressing the button once, the secondary function is activated by pressing at the same time (or before) a “Fn” button an the button in question. For easier work in a dark environment, all buttons are backlighted white. Unlike the keyboard with SGH-i320, the buttons are only slightly oval in shape; the “tipped” shape did not really work. Most buttons are black, only the 10 buttons that form a kind of a “numeric keyboard” are grey. The numbers are available as secondary functions, but an intelligent system makes it possible to use them directly when appropriate (e.g. when dialing numbers). Thanks to relatively large spaces between the buttons, I had no difficulties writing on the keyboard. There were also almost no typing errors, although one must naturally get used to the keyboard.

The description of technical properties can begin with nothing else than a description of a phone module. In addition to the today’s standard combination of voice and data services (GSM/GPRS/EDGE), it offers also quick UMTS and the quickest HSDPA connection. Of course, there was no time for an exhaustive testing, I was not given a USB cable with the device, but the connection to Internet via Bluetooth was really quite swift. Another convenient feature is that you can see in the status bar, which transmission technology is being used at the moment. Therefore, among others, it shows 3G (UMTS) or H (HSDPA). A good-quality loudspeaker is necessary for a good telephoning. This requirement is met by both loudspeakers – the system one and the one for loud reproduction. Both are sufficiently loud and offer a sound output of a sufficient quality.

A display with a diagonal of 2,3" (58 millimeters) is another excellent part of the device. It is flat oriented, its resolution is 320x240 pixels and it is capable of displaying 65 thousand of colours at once. Thanks to missing touch screen (It is a smartphone that I am describing, do not forget about that), the colours are very bright and intensive, and have a much better viewing angle in comparison with Pocket PCs. The backlight may be set on five levels, ensuring good visibility in all lighting conditions. An integrated Bluetooth and WiFi module form an integral part of this Samsung device. I’ve tried both and there were no problems at all with any of them. Even though the Bluetooth is controlled by a Microsoft application, thanks to Samsung extensions, it is possible – among other – to print directly via the printer using Bluetooth module. There is not much to say about WiFi - it supports all current standards and it connected to my AP at the first try. The following half-hour reading of iDnes (news site) went without any problems.

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The options of bonus applications directly in the ROM are exquisite, too. At the welcome screen, I was attracted by a robust plug-in that offered a quick access to all important information – mail, calendar, contacts, photos, songs or profiles. Among other larger applications belong RSS channel reader, pictures and documents viewer (format DOC, XLS, PDF, PPT, TXT, JPEG, PNG and several other), called Picsel Viewer, Podcast for listening to news broadcasted in sound or in picture, or VoiceAssist for voice control of the device. Last but not least, I must not forget about small utilities such as task manager, calculator, stopwatch, units and currency converter and universal time.

The main processing capacity is managed by a TI OMAP1710 processor, which appears as decent and sufficient. When MP3 songs were played in the background, the device was a lot lazier, but it was still possible to use it without any constraints. The data and applications can be stored on a 128MB FlashROM (there is about 55MB at the user’s disposal), for running the applications, Samsung offers 64MB RAM (45MB for the user). From this point of view, the device is more or less ordinary.

The performance of a small integrated camera is not exactly brilliant, but the camera is really quick and sufficient for a hasty record of some unexpected event. Technically, it is a 1,3 Megapixel with a simple controlling application, which is able to make pictures of up a size up to 1280 x 960 pixels. The camera itself is really very quick, taking the picture takes only a fraction of a second even when the highest resolution is used. Subsequently, a preview of the picture is displayed and you can choose whether you would like it to be saved in the memory or on a card (which takes a bit longer) or to be deleted. Despite the lower quality of pictures, it is possible to take decent pictures in a dark environment. For example – most other integrated cameras would not be able to take pictures in a lift. Moreover, the controlling application offers standard options of white balance or a quality of compression. Just for you to be able to decide for yourselves, I enclose the original pictures [2717KB] . There is a little video camera for video-phoning, but I did not test that.

The power supply is taken care of by a changeable Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 1000mAh. Due to a short time I had to test the device, it was not possible to test the durability otherwise than in normal operation. However, I dare say that it can handle at least two days of full operation. The only extension element is a microSD card slot, where a memory card with songs or video can be inserted. The option of setting (directly on the device) the USB to the USB mass storage mode and make the memory card of a computer accessible even when ActiveSync is not installed is also very convenient.

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According to unofficial information, this device should be in the Czech market in a few weeks and for an unspecified price. According to reactions of several of my friends and acquaintances, whom I showed the device, and according to my own experience, it is something we may look forward to. Some minor blemishes could be pointed out, but on the whole I find the device very interesting. All that we all can do now is to look forward to the large review, where I will deal with the device in much more detail.

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