Date: 2009-07-24 09:39:56 Created: 2009-07-21 07:34:55
So I got my hands on a Samsung SGH-i900. It is a touchscreen-only smartphone with a five megapixel camera, and it runs Windows mobile.
My lasting impression is along the lines of:
"Damn, this really is junk compared to the Iphone!"
... and that feeling just does not want to go away.
Everything feels slow, input feels unresponsive and things are hidden in so many unguessable menus that trying to get anything done feels like a chore.
You can click using your finger, but most targets are too small to hit with any reliability.
You can click with a stylus, but many targets are still annoyingly small, and precision and responsiveness still feel off.
Finally, you can navigate using a small touchpad-like area which controls a classic mouse pointer. The area also clicks.
This, sadly, feels like the best control option to me. With it, I do not click by accident, and I can adjust cursor position precisely enough (and without risking accidental clicks) before clicking. The touchpad is very small though, making click-and-drag-operations difficult.
Yes, there are click and drag operations. And scrollbars. It is all a lot like Windows, only cramped and with worse design.
However, there was one thing I was assuming the Samsung would do better than the Iphone: the camera. With an okay interface (which feels a lot snappier than the rest of the phone), those five megapixels, focus and plenty of mode settings I was assuming the results would kick the Iphone hands down. So I snapped a few comparison shots.
The Samsung is first for each shot, with the Iphone below. Both are resized, but otherwise completely unretouched.
I was surprised here, as the results look no better than the Iphone, neither in original size or when resized down to the above. Strange and disappointing, but not as disappointing as the Windows mobile experience in general. Even Symbian felt a lot better than this.
And I have to wonder, what would the results be if I had a Iphone 3GS to add to the mix?
If I ever thought I might get a Windows-based phone, I now know for sure that I will not.