AT A GLANCE
- Wi-Fi enabled
- 5MP camera with LED flash
- GPS support
- Runs on Samsung's bada OS
- Multi-tasking capability
I've always been a bit apprehensive about phones with touch screens. I prefer the tactility of a traditional keypad, with the raised buttons enabling my thumb to tap out SMS messages with mutant-like alacrity. After using some handsets that were more jab-screen than touch screen, I wasn't particularly keen on trying anything else from the genre.
And then I met the Samsung Wave.
And it's ruined me for all other handsets.
The touch screen on this thing is amazing, requiring only casual, almost featherlike fingering. Tapping once launches an application or menu, tapping and holding for two seconds will pop-up an option list and double tapping allows for quick zooming in or out of photos or websites.
Pan by tapping and dragging with your finger to select items and you can drag and drop by simply tapping and holding onto an item before dragging with the finger to move. My favourite action is the area zoom and this is accomplished by placing two fingers on the screen and pulling them apart to zoom in or pulling them towards each other to zoom out. According to the manual, the Samsung Wave's touch screen has a layer that detects small electrical charges emitted by the human body. Using a stylus or a pen will not get a reaction from the screen.
The Wave offers multi-tasking capability and you can see what apps are active by holding down the menu key.
There are two features on the Wave that makes me think that someone down at Samsung must have had South African gadget girls in mind when putting down the specs for the Wave.
The first is the mobile tracker, which effectively sends out an SMS alert, to numbers you've pre-determined in the settings, whenever a new SIM card is inserted into the handset. A nice foil for thieving so-and-so's.
The second is the fake call feature which is real handy for getting out of meetings or awkward social encounters (read: blind dates/set-ups). Once configured, all you need to do is hold the volume key down in idle mode and your phone will ring quite authentically, complete with caller ID, caller image and even a pre-recorded voice if you're really pedantic about your theatrics.
The Wave's multimedia capabilities are top-notch, with solid camera performance and HD video recording. There's a music-player that is compatible with multiple formats and you can even record off of the FM radio-player.
The handset comes built in with social media apps for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. While they are fine for browsing and quick updates, some functionality is lacking. I found that the Twitter app doesn't seem to allow you to see at first glance who's been re-tweeted and I would have liked some sort of picture to twitter integration.
Apart from those little niggles, there's not much else I can fault the Wave on.
Great styling, slick functionality and solid performance; this is a phone I would seriously consider for my next up-grade.
Turn ons:
- Responsive touch screen
- Crisp screen quality
- No hangtime on the bada OS
- Useful apps (and lots of free ones too) in the Samsung App store
- Good battery performance
Turn offs:
- The accelerometer is quite sensitive, and if you're checking your phone in bed, you may find yourself playing flip-the-phone to correct the screen orientation.
- Handwriting recognition input could use some work
- Built-in social media apps could use some more functionality
