Apr 23, 2008

Samsung i550 powered by Symbian platform

Lately, we've seen a myriad of SAMSUNG mobile phones powered by the Symbian platform in the race to produce a mobile device that merges both simplicity and productivity. The SAMSUNG i550 seems intent on that purpose and is designed as a Symbian powerhouse that could give its competitors a run for their money.

Sliding Doors:

Out of the box, the i550W gives a slightly lacklustre impression due to its plastic build. Nonetheless, this is the reason why it's only 109g, which bodes well for consumers with a penchant for lighter phones. On the display front, SAMSUNG is definitely generous, delivering a 2.6" TFT screen with 262k colours while supporting a standard resolution of 240 x 320 pixels.

Moving downwards, we had a slight grouse with the i550W's keypad design. Like the Nokia's N82, the individual numeric keys are too thin for effective typing, though it does have a greater degree of traction for a better tactile feel as opposed to the N82's smoother keys. We also found the trackball sensitivity to be lacking compared to the Blackberry Pearl series. Besides the standard Call and End button, there are two user assigned shortcut keys and four dedicated shortcuts for the Main Menu, Web Browser, GPS and Multimedia.