Samsung SGH-i780

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Samsung's mobile phones have traditionally been targeted at the mid- to high-end market. So when we found out that the new SGH-i780 will be priced at S$828, we were pleasantly surprised. This makes it one of the least expensive HSDPA-enabled Windows Mobile handhelds out there--other models with similar features like the HTC TyTN II and i-mate Ultimate 8502 retail for at least S$1,100. Given the Samsung's sleek design and accessible price tag, do we have a sure winner here? Well, that's what we intend to find out in this review.

Design

Samsung boasts of having some of the slimmest mobile phones in the world. The company has obviously applied its know-how to this i780 as it is a mere 12.9mm thick. That's even thinner than the incredibly compact HTC Touch which measures in at 13.9mm. That said, we were not as impressed with the design of the i780 as we were with the HTC Touch. Somehow, it just didn't have the "wow" factor--likely because it looks so much like the Samsung i600 smart phone which we have gotten very used to seeing.

The i780 (left) put beside the i600 smart phone.

The i780 has a large 320 x 320 display. This has 33 percent more pixels than the more common 320 x 240 QVGA screens found on Windows Mobile devices. The LCD takes up most of the front of the handheld, but still there is ample space for the QWERTY keypad. The keypad buttons are longish in shape and well-spaced out with good tactile feedback. It makes for very good thumb typing, as good as what you'd find on Treo and BlackBerry devices.

Instead of a regular directional pad, the i780 has what Samsung calls an optical joystick. We've seen this in other devices, an example being the Raon Digital Everun UMPC. It's essentially an optical trackpad which controls movement in place of a four-way button. In mouse mode, a pointer appears onscreen and can be navigated by moving your finger around the joystick. It can also be set to work like a four-way navigator. In that mode, swiping in a direction is like pressing a direction button on a regular D-pad. You do have to make multiple swipes to keep it moving though, which makes it less effective than a physical D-pad. Pressing down on this optical joystick selects highlighted items in either mode. All in all, it's a novel feature, but we don't see how it works better than a normal D-pad. On the other hand, we did really like the large Windows and OK keys on the left and right sides of the trackpad which made getting to programs and getting out of menus really simple.

Many of the buttons on the i780 perform two functions. For example, long-pressing the spacebar toggles the silent mode, while the hang-up button keylocks the device. While common in mobile phones, other PDA-phone manufacturers should take a page out of Samsung's book to include more such features. This can only make their devices more user-friendly. One quirk--the keylock does not affect the volume control, so it's possible for you to accidentally bring the phone out of silent mode, which could be embarrassing in a meeting. Let's hope Samsung fixes this bug in an update.

One shortcut button is found on the right side of the device. In camera mode, this acts as a shutter button. But if you just press it quickly, an onscreen console slides up from the bottom of the display, showing what music is playing in the background. This is great for those who use their PDA-phones as MP3 players as well.

Also on the right side are a microSD card slot and a single connector for syncing, charging and plugging in a wired headset. Like many of the current HTC products, there is no dedicated audio connector. It's worse for the i780 because the single connector fits only a proprietary Samsung jack--at least HTC uses the standard mini-USB one. This means you'll need an adapter (which is not included) if you'd prefer to use your own headphones. Having a second charge/sync cable will also cost more compared to the ubiquitous mini-USB ones.

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