Samsung Soul^b

By Damian Koh
Jun 3, 2008

I've had embarrassing moments when I've pronounced words incorrectly. Needless to say, I saw it coming when I joked that the latest Samsung candy bar--the Soul^b--was called "soap" with a slight hint of "b" at the end. According to the Korea chaebol, the Soul^b is pronounced as "soul bi". "Soulb" is wrong. So are "soul bar", "soul to the power of b" and "soul bee". Frankly, if you really can't be bothered, just call it the U800.

The biggest appeal of the Soul^b is its lean form factor. When it comes to ultraslim phones, Samsung sets the bar. So even though there were earlier models that were thinner than the Soul^b, it is still considered very slim in terms of size. There's always this worry that we may break the phone if it is too thin, but we think the 9.9mm Soul^b should cut it nicely, given our experience.

Like the Soul, the Soul^b has a metallic body, so that's another plus. But the biggest difference compared with its predecessor is the missing touch-sensitive control panel. We won't say we will miss the touchpad terribly even though it is pretty innovative and we found it quite useful on certain occasions. Nonetheless, there will be still be a market for the conventional directional pad and that's where the Soul^b stands to gain.

Our first thought of this Samsung was its resemblance with the Nokia 6500 classic. So inevitably, we'll need to compare the two. At a glance, the Soul^b trounces the 6500 classic in nearly all aspects. From HSDPA to a 3-megapixel camera, microSD expansion card slot, video call capabilities and a 3.5mm audio jack. What's left to know is whether the camera module supports autofocus (our guess is not), Bluetooth stereo and if it's a proprietary connecter port instead of mini-USB.

To put it simply, at this point in time, there's no way the 6500 classic can compete with the Soul^b in terms of specifications. What's left to fight over will be the usability of the keypad, the software it is running on (Samsung has failed in its choice of software before) and the price.

According to the press release, the Soul^b will be available in five shades: Soul Grey, Platinum Silver, Metallic Black, Soul Pink and Amethyst Violet, so choices of colors are aplenty. The phone will debut in Germany this month before making its way to Asia right after. Besides the 6500 classic, other models in the ultraslim category include the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and the Sony Ericsson W880i.

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