Introduction
The iPhone has opened the way for touch screens. Samsung had to replicate the same idea quickly. The Koreans thus came up with its mobile phone Armani, with elegance. Made from the famous Italian designer, the terminal setting an example of an exemplary finish, that can be controlled entirely by the fingers. Overall, it not only just looks good but embeds a photo sensor of 3.2 million pixels and an MP3 player, solidly backed by a 1 GB memory card. We will see now if the "Armani phone" can compete with the Apple mobile in our test?
Positive Points:
– Design templates and treated
– Correct photos
– Generous Package Delivery
– Suitable acoustic
– Good self
Bad points:
– Ergonomics of the touchscreen
– No 3G Connectivity
– High price
– No jack
– No FM radio
Package Contents
The box of the Samsung Armani is illustrated by its wealth. Fans of the Italian designer regain the brand symbol by delivering three cases. Fabric or leather, you choose according to your taste. Even the accessories can be stowed in a pocket. The accessories are typically like the game. There is also a small cloth to clean the screen with a clear tendency to store fingerprints: Touchscreen obliged! The mobile phone comes with a memory card to 1GB micro-SD format. A boon to store music, photos and video. Only glitch: the stereo kit lacks a standard jack that would have connected the headphones of your choice.
We will find the following accessories in the box:
– The Samsung Armani phone
– A charger
– A USB cable
– A stereo kit
– The manual
– An installation CD
– A 1 GB micro-SD memory card
– A cloth
– A cloth pouch for accessories
– A fabric pouch for mobile
– A leather case
Design of the Samsung Giorgio Armani
The design of the Samsung Armani phone begins even before they discovered the phone. Delivered in a black box, stamped with the logo of the designer, the phone immediately attracts anyone by its size. With less than 85 grams on the scales and an ultra slim profile of 9.9 mm, the Armani phone is one of the most compact phone in the market. In front is the touchscreen throne. It displays 262,000 colors in a standard resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. Fully touch screen, we can toggle on any menu of the display by our fingertip. It also enjoys VibeTonz technology, which causes a slight vibration when you touch the icons on the screen. To avoid inadvertent altering frequently, a side key can lock / unlock the screen. Under the latter, the answer / end key is to manage the communication part, simply similar like the iPhone. Mobile Luxury par excellence, the Samsung Armani has a finish to its high price (around £270). The materials are of exceptional strength. The black steel hull has a rare elegance. Despite their delicacy, the slices contain many features. In addition to the battery port, headset and memory card, there is a button dedicated to photography, a key to lock the screen and volume controls. Note that the latter can also navigate through menus and most often more intuitive than the scroll touch.
While Using
The Samsung Armani comes before everything by using the touch screen. It does not comes with a pen and sometimes we regret it. Indeed, the navigation is not always very intuitive. At the time of scrolling menu, a slip of the finger may even prove recalcitrant. Furthermore, the square in the center of the screen giving access to the shortcut to some applications is often subject to unintentional clicks.
For the rest, the Samsung Armani is a good phone. The sound during conversations is clear. Even in a noisy environment like a street, communications remain intelligible. The network grip is excellent. The device operates continuously on the Edge network and displays most of the time the maximum number of bars sensitivity. Less common among the Korean, autonomy is an odor of sanctity as the battery runs out after 4 to 5 days of regular use. Without using the Bluetooth and not hardly surfing the net, you can talk for weeks withour charging it.
The MP3 player
The Samsung Armani is capable of replacing your MP3 player. To this end it incorporates a MP3 player but is deadlocked on the FM radio. The interface allows the player settings for:
– Latest listened
– All
– Recently Played
– Most listened
– Albums
– Artists
– Genres
– Composers
– Playlists
The settings are as follows:
– Repeat Mode
– Shuffle
– Music in the background
– EQ (normal, classical, jazz, rock)
– 3D sound
The MP3 player looks a bit like the basic model for the latest Samsung devices. The interface allows a ranking according to several criteria to organize your playlists. The sound, convincing, can be changed via an equalizer. Basically, it contains only 4 preset profiles that do not sufficiently alter the tone. We regret that the equalizer is not adjustable while listening. Conversely, a 3D sound option gives a real depth to the sound, which gives pride to the vote and has a very little noise. With the stereo kit supplied, the record is nice but the earphones are not comfortable. Moreover, we regret the lack of remote control to control the MP3 player with the terminal in the pocket. Other absence: the jack that forces the user to use the earphones supplied with the unit. The Bluetooth stereo compatibility allows the connection for a compatible headset. Side storage, if the 8 GB iPhone is far from being achieved, Samsung is generous in embedding the original 1 GB micro-SD plus 60 MB of internal memory. It can store about 250 songs and satisfy most users.
Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, the Samsung Armani presents nothing unusual. USB connection and Bluetooth awaits you. It is compatible with Bluetooth stereo and thus allows the pairing of compatible audio enhancements: headphones or speakers. The exchange can also be done via memory card, especially since the procedure is simplified by the presence of a 1 GB micro-SD of origin. Network side, the Armani is limited to the Edge. If the correct grip allows network connections then the downloads are relatively fast, the reinforcement of 3G or WiFi would not have been refused.
The Camera – Photo
The Samsung Armani is equipped with a camera, 3.2 megapixel with autofocus and flash. The function used in landscape is activated via a dedicated button located on the edge of the terminal. The picture menu allows the following settings:
– Capture mode (single shot, burst, photograph mosaic)
– Size (2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 800 x 600 640 x 480 320 x 240)
– Quality (excellent, high, normal)
– Effects (no, greyscale, negative, sepia, antique, moonlight, fog)
– Frames
– White Balance (auto, tungsten, fluorescent, cloudy, sunny)
– Flash
– Timer
– ISO settings (Auto, 100, 200, 400)
– Exposure Index (matrix, center-weighted metering, spot)
– The shutter
– Its zoom
– Sound emitted by the change in exposure
– Default Storage
While one of the disappointments of the iPhone was the weakness of its camera, the Armani phone will not repeat the same mistake and acquires a 3.2 megapixel sensor with autofocus. The pictures are good and visible. The development, though rather slow (like the registration for that matter!) gives a real contrast to photos. First and second plans are separate. The colors are just despite a slight tendency to turn shades of magenta. Differences in light are quite well managed. Zoom and flash engaged, as usual, are rather disappointing. The zoom simply magnifies the pixels while LED lamp burns subjects too close or lack of power if you’re too far away. Finally, the camera from Samsung is suitable if the lighting conditions is correct. When it’s dark, you get the darker shots.
The Camera – Video
The settings of the video function are mostly similar to those of the picture except some more details like:
– Size (352 x 288 320 x 240 176 x 144 128 x 96)
– Audio Recording
– Recording mode (limit for MMS, full memory)
The mini movies made with the phone are far from convincing. The record is choppy and has most often a gap between sound and image. The video feature will be limited to sending MMS, as too often on laptops.
Menus
Call log
– Recent Contacts
– Missed Calls
– Calls made
– Received calls
– Messages sent
– Inbox
– Delete all
– Call Manager
Contacts
– Contact List
– Add a new contact (name, surname, mobile, home, office, fax, other, e-mail, picture, ringtone, group, birthday, notes)
– Group
– Abbreviated Dialing
– My card
– Personal Numbers
– Management
Browser
– Home
– Enter a URL
– Favorites
– Saved Pages
– History
– Browser Settings
– Streaming Settings
Messaging
– New message
– My Messages
– Models
– Delete all
– Settings
– Messages SOS
– Memory status
Managing Files
– Images
– Videos
– Music
– Sounds
– Other files
– Flash Memory
– Memory status
Bluetooth
– Activation
– My Device
– Visibility phone
– Phone name
– Secure Mode
– Bluetooth services
Application
– Voice memo
– Picture editor
– Vignette
– Games
– Time Zones
– Calculator
– Converter
– Timer
– Stopwatch
– Memo
– Operator Services
Settings
– Time and date
– Telephone
– Viewing
– Her
– Backlight
– Network services
– Security
– Login
– Memory status
– Reset
– Configuration Wizard
– Memory
– Reset
Conclusion
The iPhone still has a bright future ahead of it. If the Samsung Armani has an undeniable asset design, touch screen is proving far less ergonomic than the Apple mobile. Internet access is far from being optimized with a browser of the most basic and limited connectivity for the Edge phone. The Samsung Giorgio Armani phone comes with glorious multimedia and with compelling camera and an MP3 player fit, backed by a 1 GB memory card.
