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Dial-a-Phone review of Samsung U900 Soul
Samsung has built a reputation for releasing very good-looking mobile phones, so when the first shots of the flagship Samsung Soul were spotted, it was the design rather than its features which were critiqued first. With the Soul, Samsung's reputation remains intact, for it's a really, really attractive model due mainly to the full metal bodywork finished in a bright, almost polished, silver.
But the Soul goes deeper than just looks, for that initially glossed over feature list is even more impressive than its packaging. Pop the slider and on the reverse of the handset sits the lens for Samsung's 5 megapixel camera alongside the obligatory tiny mirror and flash unit. The camera has an autofocus and the ability to take video, plus two features more often found on actual digital cameras instead of camera phones; face recognition software and image stabilisation.
The U900 Soul also has a touchscreen, but it's used as a replacement to the more traditional D-pad and works like this: Entering a particular menu option, let's say the camera, the selectable icons on the touchscreen change to icons specifically for that feature, for example to change resolution, enable macro or to switch to video. Exit from the camera and the icons return to navigation keys so you can flit around the screen. Apart from the changing icons, there is also a central confirmation key and alongside the touchscreen are two soft keys and the standard call and call end keys.
With touchscreens being the latest trend and something of an acquired taste, it's nice to see Samsung doing there best to lessen the impact on the new user. First is the inclusion of haptics, where the phone gives a small vibration when you have hit the key and secondly is a sensitivity adjustment. On its lowest setting you have to prod it like you would a regular key, but on its maximum all it takes is a feather-light stroke to activate it.
The menus are as clear and concise as you would expect and work on the grid of selectable icons format which will be familiar to any experienced Samsung user, while being simple to learn for the newcomer. For anyone wanting to take the personalisation of their phone to the level above simple ringtone and wallpaper changes, the U900 allows almost complete control on how the operating system looks, allowing you to change the background colours, the icons and the menu style and animations for displaying dialed numbers; making your U900 Soul uniquely yours.
The list of features on this incredible phone continues with 3G and HSDPA connectivity, a document viewer, an FM RDS radio, a media player for MP3 and video and 100MB of internal memory plus the option to increase this with a MicroSD card up to 6GB in size. There really has been very little left out of the U900, with only the fact it's a tri rather than quad band system and that the camera still doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Sony Ericsson's top end CyberShot models.
Samsung have even managed to keep the weight down to a very reasonable 112 grams and although the footprint of the phone is sizeable, it's still only 12.9mm thick! In the U900 Soul you have everything; a massive megapixel camera, HSDPA, a touchscreen and tons of versatility all in one of the finest looking handsets released in a while.
If you're interested in an independent review of this phone, check out the Samsung U900 Soul Review on Recommended Buys.
Samsung U900 Soul specs and features
- 5 Megapixel Camera
- Tri-band
- 3G, EDGE and GPRS technology
- HSDPA for super fast access
- 128 MB Memory
- microSD Card Slot (TransFlash)
- FM radio and MP3 player
- Dimensions 105 x 49.5 x 12.9 mm
- Weight: 112 grams