Samsung SGH-i780

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Features

Just like in the i600, Samsung doesn't scrimp when it comes to connectivity features. It has HSDPA for high-speed cellular data transfers and tri-band GSM which supports EDGE. Standard ones like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also included, completing its arsenal of wireless radios.

There is also a chip found in the i780 for GPS navigation. The navigation software provided with the i780 is NAVFone PPC from Agis. In our review unit, the maps provided included Singapore and various Malaysian cities. Check with a local retailer for the bundle in your country. Because of the less common 320 x 320-resolution display, the application did not scale very well on the i780. In fact, both the menus and maps looked quite distorted as they were designed for a QVGA (320 x 240) display. Though you could still see the names of locations and figure out where you were, the mangled graphics were an eyesore. We downloaded MapKing 2007 and found the same issue. Users who have any indispensable third-party applications will do well to first check if those programs will run on the i780's square screen. There is a workaround by installing an application which allows you to scale the screen differently, but this is an additional step which may not be apparent to those not well-versed in Windows Mobile.

Getting a satellite lock took quite a long time using the i780. Once that was done, it did its job pretty well. The software also has turn-by-turn instructions, so getting to a destination was straightforward. There is an option in the settings to turn on Enhanced GPS, which is Samsung's way of describing a small data file you can download to help with the initial lock. This worked brilliantly with Google Maps, giving us a lock in just a few seconds even in a built-up area. Oddly, it didn't help the bundled software, NAVFone PPC, in speeding up its satellite lock-on. Do note that unlike its other GPS-enabled smart phone, the i550W, Samsung did not provide a car charger or holder with this handheld.

The Home screen on this PDA-phone comes with two custom rows. The first shows a large digital clock. The second is a tabbed interface for quick access to various items like wireless manager and some important settings. There is also an extra Task Manager application which appears as a pop-up at the base of the screen. Map this to a shortcut key and you can conveniently switch to any application running in the background or close them completely.

Many PDA-phones come with cameras that have 3-megapixel sensors, but the i780 lags behind with a 2-megapixel one. It doesn't come with autofocus or an LED for lighting up dark situations, either. We took a few shots and found images to be reasonably sharp for a camera-phone. Controls were a little finicky because of the optical sensor. We found ourselves zooming in and changing the brightness accidentally when the finger was placed in a ready-to-shoot position.

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