Samsung U800 "Soul b" Preview
(Soulb / SGH-U800)
Discontinued
29th May 2008
The Samsung U800 "Soul
b", or as Samsung insist on spelling it, the
Soulb is the third phone to bear
the "Soul" brand after the original U900
and G400
clamshell. But unlike the previous "Soul"
phones, the U800 Soul b is a much more conventional
mainstream handset.
Two
significant things missing in the Soul b are the 5 megapixel
camera of the Soul U900 and G400, and the Soul U900's
interesting touchpad. Unfortunately, they are two of
the best features of the original Soul.. so what we
are left with on the Soul b is a stylish brushed
metal case and the Soul's attractive user
interface.
On the back of the U800 Soul b is a
3 megapixel camera with a flash, but we don't know if
it has autofocus. On the front is a fairly standard
2" 240 x 320 pixel display. Internal memory is
an impressive 1GB, and this can be expanded using a
microSD card. This is an HSDPA phone with maximum download
speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps, and the U800 Soul also has
a document viewer, an FM radio and of course a multimedia
player and Bluetooth.
At just 89 grams in weight and only
9.9mm in thickness, you can forgive the Soul b for missing
out some of the features of the other two Soul handsets.
But we can't help but feel underwhelmed by the whole
thing. Yes, it looks nice, yes the user interface is
likely to be pretty good. But there isn't an awful lot
to differentiate the Soul b from other offerings, notably
the Nokia
6500 Classic.
It's not cheap either - the suggested
retail price is €350 (around £280) SIM Free. Considering
that you can get the 6500 for around €250 (£200)
then we think that Samsung are asking too much for the
SGH-U800. Most contract customers will get it for free
though, so perhaps the pricing is not so important.
Samsung say that the U800 Soulb
will be available from June 2008 onwards in Germany
and certain other regions, possibly as a Vodafone exclusive.
Black and silver variants have been announced, with
the possibility of other colours at a later date.
|
Samsung
U800 Soul b (Soulb
/ SGH_U800) at a glance
|
Available:
|
Q2/3
2008
|
Network:
|
GSM
900 / 1800 / 1900 + UMTS
2100
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
|
Screen:
|
240
x 320 pixels
|
Camera:
|
3
megapixels (main)
|
Size:
|
Lightweight
monoblock 111 x 46 x
10mm / 89 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
|
GPS:
|
No
|
Battery
life:
|
Not
specified
|
|
|