:: Mobile Phone Reviews ::

Samsung S8300 UltraTouch review:

Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch spec sheet: Classy touchscreen slider with an alphanumeric keypad Commendable build quality Quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA support 8 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, image stabilization, wide dynamic range and D1 video@30 fps 2.8" 16M color AMOLED touchscreen display with 400 x 240 pixel resolution Anti-scratch screen surface Accelerometer for screen auto rotate Proximity sensor for auto screen turn-off MicroSD card slot (up to 16 GB), 1 GB included Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support, Google Maps Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) DivX/XviD video support Stereo FM radio with RDS, FM recording Document viewer Photo Contact Smart dialing The Samsung S8300 takes over where the KF700 left off and attempts a huge leap forward. Just like the LG phone, the S8300 UltraTOUCH is a slick touchscreen slider with an alphanumeric keypad allowing users to experience the joy of having a touchscreen-equipped device without giving up the comfort of the traditional alphanumeric keypad. Usability-wise, there is hardly any replacement for hardware keys for typing text. Main disadvantages: User interface sometimes lags Slow initializing of large microSD cards Limited options for third-party GPS navigation software No virtual on-screen QWERTY keyboard Memory card isn't hot swappable No Wi-Fi connectivity Battery cover gets scratched easily Poor audio quality Now that caught us totally off guard. The audio quality of Samsung handsets is usually top-notch but the S8300 is an unexpected exception to this rule. Our guess is that this has something to do with the microUSB to 3.5mm adapter, which might as well be the weak link here. However since the phone is meant to be used with this adapter this is hardly too great consolation. The Samsung S8300 UltraTOUCH performs poorly in virtually every reading in our test, except for the total harmonic distortion which is acceptable. The frequency response graph suggests that the handset has its treble cut off for some unknown (and maybe again having to do something with the adapter) reason. The noise level, dynamic range and stereo crosstalk results are also way below the average we achieve in this test. Here is the table comparing the S8300 to some of the other handsets we have reviewed so you can see the difference. Camera is excellent The Samsung S8300 makes use of the same camera module as the Samsung M8800 Pixon but in reality we got even nicer results by the S8300 due to the enhanced image-processing algorithm. The Samsung S8300 is capable of taking photos with a maximum resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels. The videos recorded by the S8300 can go up to D1 (720x480 pixels) resolution at 30 fps, which still qualifies as pretty good even with the upcoming Samsung i8910, which can record in 720p HD. The camera also has a number of nice built-in features including the Samsung proprietary wide dynamic range option, the anti-shake digital image stabilization, geotagging, face detection, smile shot as well as viewfinder gridlines. The camera interface is nicely touch-optimized and is certainly one of the most comfortable camera interfaces on a touchscreen device so far. The only complaint is that the auto focus settings are not visible in the viewfinder but instead must be changed from the menu. For instance, we took a few shots of buildings before we realized the phone was in macro mode. Video recording can change the speed of time Video recording is among the best we've seen. It can record D1 video at 30 frames per second but unlike some phones where the video looks choppy even at 30 frames (some of the frames are interpolated so it's not really 30fps), this is flawless with excellent vibrant colors and unusually high levels of detail. S8300 is also capable of recording slow motion video shot in QVGA resolution at 120fps. The video quality is not very good however with a few artifacts visible. Connectivity lacks Wi-Fi The Samsung S8300 is a globetrotter with its quad-band GSM support, although the 3G coverage is not global - it supports just the 900/2100 bands. The phone supports HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps and EDGE for whenever there's no 3G coverage. Bluetooth is also present and comes with A2DP, which is as to be expected on such a high-end phone. The microUSB slot is also quite welcome and it's a lot more popular than the proprietary slot the Samsung M8800 Pixon came with. You can set up the phone to connect in mass storage mode or PC suite mode (or Media player) or to prompt each time it's connected to the computer. In mass storage mode it gives access to the memory card but not to the internal memory and you cannot use the phone while in this mode. Annoyingly, with S8300 it would often be impossible to access the memory card for a couple of minutes after connecting in mass storage mode. The web browser is very good and pages are easy to navigate thanks to the touchscreen. However, a major omission is WiFi, something that would have enabled the S8300 to stand its ground against most other touch phones. Instead, you have to settle for internet over 3G. Web browser has Flash The Samsung S8300, much like the Samsung Pixon, features a great web browser - NetFront 3.5, which makes web surfing a really enjoyable experience. Except for a few minor problems here and there, the browser is truly worth the praise, and an added bonus is that is also packs basic Flash support (without video). The web browser renders pages well in both portrait and landscape modes. The browser switches between both modes seamlessly when you rotate the handset to and from the landscape position. The available fullscreen mode coupled with a little zooming makes the most of the 2.8" WQVGA display. You can zoom in and out using the volume keys, which is quite handy. Even at minimum zoom text remains readable enough for you to find what you're looking for and it fits most web pages in landscape mode. Zooming in and out is quite fast. Games Typical for Samsung recently, the S8300 only offers a bunch of trial games. Entertaining though they might be, they can only keep you occupied for a short while and the full versions have to be bought for a small fee. Since Samsung didn't bother putting really playable games in the handset, we don't see the need to get into any detail about the demos offered. GPS, Java Application Samsung S8300 comes with a built-in GPS receiver. But the Samsung Mobile Navigator (a rebranded Route66 product) that we saw in the beta is gone. In its place is some minor Google integration via Google Maps. It doesn't offer voice-guided navigation but this is as high as Java applications go. Since S8300 it's not a smartphone, you're stuck with Google Maps even if you're willing to pay for a GPS navigation service unless Samsung offer that Samsung Mobile Navigator as an option. Overall Conclusion: The Samsung S8300 is an excellent looking device with novel design and if we are to pinpoint a stand-out feature, that has to be the camera. Still photographs are among the best, videos are excellent and we were left with nothing but positive impressions of it. The rest was a mixed bag. TouchWiz is a nice touch interfaces and offers a lot of functionality. However, the hardware really struggles at times to run the software. Plus the LG S-class UI that is already on the market is better and more fluid. Other than that everything about the S8300 is spot on - the AMOLED display is stunning, the browser is as good as it gets on feature phones (flash support is quite rare) while the music and video players perform superbly. There's even a document viewer. But the slow hardware hampers the overall experience, and the lack of Wi-Fi means no chance to use free internet from public hotspots. We could live with not having full-version games, but the decision to take away the navigation software removes what could have been one of the phone's greatest assets. Competition-wise, if it's a point & shoot camera with telephony you're after, you should have a look at our 8 megapixel shootout. The contenders there are all aging gracefully, and their prices are falling. Rating Against Price: *** A '3 Star'.