Roadtest: Samsung SGH-i780 Windows Mobile Phone

There is much hype and hullabaloo about the Apple iPhone right now. You'd think that it was the first mobile phone ever invented, or the one with the most features/functionality, or the best design....

So much so, in fact, that I almost postponed this blog post. I really don't want my report about what is a great device be eclipsed by the marketing hype of the latest Gen Y (probably Gen C actually) idol. As you can see though, I'm not too worried. Those that drool after the Apple toy are unlikely to be swayed by my thoughts, and those that use and love Windows mobile devices, are probably watching the latest frenzy with mild bemusement.

So onto my new Samsung.

Form Factor

Of course, despite advice to the contrary, we do "judge a book by it's cover" and first impressions tend to make lasting impact. With the i780, this is no exception. The phone's size is great , thin and light, not noticeably larger than the Blackjack predecessor. Easily pocketable, and that in your shirt pocket.

I found the keyboard a little more fiddly than the HTC TyTN II, but eminently more useable. That's because it's just, well, there. I'm a big believer in not mixing moving parts with electronic devices wherever possible. This device has the right balance between functionality of a full QWERTY keyboard, and form factor. Whether posting to my Twitter feed during the Imagine Cup finals, or triaging my email in a Parisian Cab, I found the Samsung to be responsive.

Another great design feature, that made huge impact on my recent travels, is the screen. At 320 x 320, the screen displays just the right amount of information. Resolution is something which people tend to neglect at their peril. E.g. the Palm Treo 750W (Note: Not the new 850W) has a 240 x 240 square screen. It's roughly the same size as the Samsung, but shows only 2/3 the information. Resolution was my biggest frustration with that device. You just had to scroll too often when reading email, or browsing the web. Not so on the i780.

To be honest I was a little unsure about the square screen initially, based on my experience with the Palm. But whether working with email, PowerPoint, the web, the camera (video and photo), or mapping, I found the screen catered for all my needs and more.

Is this form factor ideal? Probably not, or at least probably not for everyone. But I really enjoyed travelling with the phone, big enough to be really useful, small enough to fit in my jeans pocket.

Features

I've long been a detractor of the converged devices. Mainly because of the inevitable compromise to fully featured devices, but also because of the risk of having "all your eggs in one basket." Of course the problem with not using a converged device means you're carrying multiple devices (all with their own sync and power requirements), and inevitably you just can't justify some. So whilst you may have a camera and an MP3 player with you, you'd have to forego a GPS, and camcorder. Either that, or be Inspector Gadget (yes, I've suffered that accusation in the past)

The Samsung, though, delivers admirably on the promise of many devices in one.

3G Phone

Of course it is first and foremost a phone. Over the last two months I've used the phone in Malaysia, Switzerland, Spain, France, and of course Australia. I'd usually switch the radio stack back on (2 clicks from the main screen) whilst we were taxi-ing to the gate at a given airport, and before the plane stopped, I'd be connected to the local 3G network. Not once did I have to fiddle about with network band settings as with previous phones. Whereas Australian colleagues had issues sending and/or receiving SMS texts, or phone-calls overseas, the i780 just worked. Seamlessly.

Media Player

Being a Windows Mobile phone, means the i780 comes with Windows Media Player as standard. A really neat feature, however is the media button on the side of the phone. A quick press and a mini Media Player taskbar pops up along the bottom of the screen. Very nice! Quick, easy control, without having to exit from whatever you're using the phone for at the time.

With the huge onboard memory, not to mention the MicroSDHC slot, it's easy to leave the iPod/Zune/MP3 player at home and just go with the Samsung.

Camera

I do like the camera too. At only 2MPx, it's on the light side of current phone camera's, but the images it takes are sharp and vibrant. Also, the camera comes with (digital) zoom, which works better than most I've used in the past. No, it wouldn't replace my Canon EOS DSLR. I did miss having a flash, and there is too much lag for candid shots, but it's great for those times when you just want to make a note of something and post it to the web (e.g. to Twitpic or Live Spaces)

Camcorder

I absolutely love the camcorder. Like the camera you simply hold the media button down for a couple of seconds, and the phone is ready to record. It only records video at QVGA (320 x 240) at 10fps in 3GP format. But for vidblogging without needing to bring a separate camcorder, it fits into a "needs must adequacy" niche.

The phone takes MicroSDHC cards (these currently range up to 16GB), which is ideal for video recording, photo storage, and synching music. With the external memory, it's very simple to pop the card out, and pop it straight into the laptop for editing or uploading without the need for cables.

Much of my recent vidblogging has been in events with a lot of ambient noise, especially crowd noise (like the Smackdown "HooHa") and the onboard mic really does not cope well with that. But for quick interviews, no problems.

GPS

With a GPS system built into my car, one would imagine there not being much use for a GPS on my phone. Yet there have been a number of times I've used this bit of kit. In Spain, in Paris, and most recently when directing a cabbie to Coatsy's place.

I've only ever used it with Live Search (a download for the Windows Mobile), but it works very quickly (full GPS with Quick Assist). In fact on Friday night, when calculating a route, I forgot the last time I'd used the GPS was in Paris, so my 10 556 mile route was calculated in about 15 seconds. :-)

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to geotag photos taken with the phone.

WiFi

Yep, the phone has WiFi too, although I have to say with 3G access, I rarely use WiFi on my phone much anymore. This is for 2 reasons:

1. Battery drain
2. Push email. Because the phone switches off WiFi when the screen is off to save on battery you lose push email (the assumption being that you'd be looking at the screen when wanting to be connected to a LAN)

However, when roaming overseas, or wanting to push big files around (say, uploading a video directly from the phone for instance) having WiF

i becomes paramount. 802.11bg on board. Nuff said.

Bluetooth

Nowadays it's almost passe to talk about Bluetooth, and nigh on impossible to find a phone without it. However, what is harder to find (even on "multimedia" branded phones) is one that supports A2DP, which the Samsung does. That means it's a simple thing to listen to your music, and video, in glorious stereo using a Bluetooth stereo headset.

My phone is paired with my car and my Jabra headset, and roams seamlessly between the two.

 Touchpad

This is the 2nd device I've come across with a touchpad (like a laptop) and a cursor. Like the HP iPaq 4700, fortunately, you can switch the function off, and use the touchpad in place of a D-pad. Why on earth you need a touchpad on a device with a Touch Screen I am yet to figure out. It's almost impossible to control the cursor with any accuracy or speed on a tiny little pad. And you can just tap on the screen anyway.

As a D-pad replacement, this little touchpad is one of the few letdowns with this device. You have to slide your finger over the pad in the direction you wish to navigate. Too softly and nothing happens, to quickly and you skip twice, and you never seem to know whether or not your swipe worked.

Interface connection

Like the Palm of previous generations (thankfully not the Palm Treo 850W) the Samsung has a proprietary interface connector. This is my biggest disappointment with the phone.

There is a reason for the "U" in "USB." The ability to connect any device to a computer. Whilst the proprietary cables are provided with the phone, being proprietary means that you have to carry them with you when you travel. It means that if you're at a friend's house and want to transfer something to or from the phone, you can't. It means that you can't charge it in the car without a special purchase.

Not only is the jack proprietary, but it's different to previous Samsung models too, which I found to my chagrin on a recent trip to Melbourne. I'd left my charger at home in Sydney, and no-one in the office had a charger I could use, despite all of the Blackjack owners.

To make matters worse the connector on the i780 is a "multi-jack" which means that it provides: Charging, synching, and audio/mic. What that means is that you can't listen to music whilst charging, or synching with the provided (wired) headset. It also means you have to use the Samsung headset, which is a real shame. The headset is fine, but if you want to use your own, say noise isolating headphones, you can't.

Interestingly the i780 does share its interface design with the upcoming i900 (the "Omnia"). However, where the "Omnia" comes with a lapel mic, into which you can plug a std 3.5mm stereo jack for headphones, the i780 comes with an integrated headset. The upshot is that I use the i780 predominantly with my Bluetooth Headset. Great for music and calls, terrible for videography. (I am looking forward to videoing on the i900 though)

Performance

Simply put, this phone rocks. It's certainly the best Windows Mobile I've had. The square screen means there's no need for reorientation, saving precious processor cycles for more important tasks. Phone calls, blogging, videoing, browsing the Net, email, navigating and playing media all work seamlessly. Many of them simultaneously.

Unlike previous devices, I rarely have to reboot the phone. If you do want to kill a couple of tasks, simply hold down the Ok button for a couple of seconds, and a task manager pops up. Easy to switch apps, and to free up memory if needed.

Where the device has had some criticism is with battery life. A dead giveaway here is that the phone comes with two batteries and an external charger. Whilst this is helpful, it isn't exactly confidence inspiring.

Usually, I charge the phone overnight, and get a full day out of it. My experience is that the battery life is manageable. Of all of the features I use, the one that drains the most power seems to be push email. On the previously mentioned trip to Melbourne, I managed to keep the phone alive for 2 days. I did have to control my email habit, changing from push to once every hour.

Summary

Overall, I love this phone. The touchpad and connectors are but mild annoyances. But compared to all the previous phones and PDA's I've owned, I'm impressed by the build quality, the performance, the functionality, and dare I say it in this gone crazy world of screen fetishes, it's form.

If you're looking for a fully functional phone, with a true GPS (+ quick assist), a great media player, proper tactile QWERTY keyboard, external memory, replaceable battery, decent camera and video (plus video call) capability, true 3G with HSDPA, in a small, light package; look no further than the Samsung iSGH-780.

R42