If earlier Samsung communicators were subject to strict criticism - devices were given the image of "music boxes" in advance, but recently, in the eyes of buyers, the Corporation has risen to unprecedented heights. The vendor mastered the production of both communicators and interesting business-class devices, and got the hang of the release of new models - the company's range includes communicators with a hard disk (3 models with 3-, 4- and 8-gigabyte hard drives), with the ability to receive digital signals television and, of course, with large-sized photomatrix.
The Samsung D800 device belongs to the newest generation of the company's business communicators. Slim and easy-to-use sliders provide excellent functionality and can compete with the well-known RAZRs.
Appearance and usability
Sometimes the tests show products "off the shelf", in a complete set and branded packaging, and not in strict engineering design.
Packaging is important. Most of the electronics manufacturers have finally learned this rudimentary thing. A plastic translucent box with a cardboard box is now a rarity. The packaging style is obliged to emphasize the specifics of the design of any device. It comes as no surprise that the D800 comes in a chic, slim black box. Inside, the communicator itself is comfortably located, and nearby there is a charger, a battery, a wired stereo headset, a USB cable, a DISK with software and an electronic version of the software manual. Samsung PC Studio 3 turned out to be a convenient and fully functional utility for working with a phone. She even provides editing services for filmed videos, guides you in adding photographs and sound to them. It is also comfortable to use it to create call melodies. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of the ability to work with Russian file names (the error "too long file name" appears). Probably, such an unpleasant omission will be corrected very soon. There were no problems with synchronization. Everything functions as it should. The interface is intuitively clear, and detailed help will dispel any doubts.
The paper manual for the phone turned out to be very detailed, convenient and well-written. Even a beginner will overcome the learning of numerous features.
The headset is made with high quality. It can be deservedly called stereo headphones. Thus, we see the classic earbuds: rubberized around the speaker, a metal mesh touches the ear, but does not irritate it. It will not work to call them very comfortable, they try to fall out when moving. The right earphone connects to the left neck strap, and thanks to the clothespin is attached to the clothes. The microphone and the call acceptance key are located exactly in the neck area. Using the same key, it is possible to make a call to the last dialed number. In the player mode, the key value does not change (which is a pity, it would be very comfortable).
Discussions have arisen regarding the design of the tube itself. The male part of the population reacted to the device with interest, the design seemed at least decent and respectful. On the contrary, girls did not like such a stylish toy at first glance. Nevertheless, it was decided to recognize the "appearance" of the D800 as successful.
The top 1/2 of the phone is edged with a chrome strip. It goes well with a similar insert on the speaker and is located instead of the joystick to the "OK / i" key. The opposite of the matte black plastic of the case makes the device stand out.
The keyboard panel is located in a monolithic block at the bottom of the device. In sacrifice to design, Samsung developers have brought such an important parameter as usability. The buttons are not felt both on the numeric keypad and on the control.If you press the keys with the pads of your large fingers, then erroneous presses become very frequent. For a short time, it was not possible to get used to this feature of the device. Most likely, only after a personal acquaintance, anyone will make certain conclusions for themselves. Someone likes extra-key keys, someone on the contrary. If on the numeric keypad they are quite spaced apart and there is probably an opportunity to adapt to them, then as a replacement for the joystick they obviously lose in convenience. Often, instead of the arrows or together with them, all buttons that are located nearby are pressed. In particular, the undo button is often accidentally pressed. it is placed very close to the down arrow, which has separate parameters.
On both sides, at the level of the middle of the display, the camera call buttons (on the right) and volume control (on the left) are symmetrically located. They are made of black glossy plastic, but do not seem unnecessary, but, on the contrary, "dilute" the matte sides.
The backlight is light, LED. The "hang up" and "OK / i" keys are highlighted in red, the "receive" key - green. There is no backlight for the side buttons.
A finger rest is provided under the display. It is somewhat pointed at the top, for this reason the slider is comfortable to open and close. It would be much more practical to replace the "sharpness" with a rubber insert. In this case, the finger did not slip and did not dirty the display. However, slippage is very rare, and the display does not get dirty. The auto-finishing mechanism is rather tight, but you don't notice this for a couple of days.
The top and bottom sides of the case are freed from connectors and buttons. The charger, headphones, USB-wire and TV-wire are connected to the interface port on the left of the device, above the "louder" key. The connector is closed with a convenient plug that merges with the design of the case. It is not removable, therefore it will not be lost.
The back side of the lower part is a monolithic matte block with some bulge upward. The top 1/2 after opening makes it possible to use the camera for photography and video. The microphone for such purposes is located slightly to the left of the chrome insert of the mirror and the camera. The material of the back side of the upper part is glossy black plastic (the side buttons are also made of the same plastic). It should be noted that this is only one soiled filling of the case.
The display is respectable at first glance. The increased resolution is immediately felt. The color shades are bright, however, slightly pale. It is forbidden to call them realistic and rich. The viewing angles are quite shallow horizontally and completely shallow vertically. When deviating, the halftones are inverted, the dark areas become dirty-dark with a glint. This is especially noticeable when viewing photographs. Despite all the shortcomings, the screen is comfortable to use, it does not irritate.
If we discard all subjective assessments, then the style, appearance, build quality can be assessed by giving the highest score: everything was done neatly, interestingly, and with high quality. All the latest fashion trends have been fulfilled: the display with QVGA-resolution is actually thin, the player mode and headphones are included, and all the necessary parameters. For complete happiness, just a flash and the help of memory cards (they are available in the older model D820) are not enough.
Options and menus Despite the increased display resolution, the main menu is still represented by a 3 by 3 matrix, and the submenu - as a list (6 items of the list are visible at the same time). The fonts are readable and large. Tooltips are often used to relieve the mindless of navigating menus. When you select a menu item, the tooltip reflects information about its contents. For example, the number of SMS in the "Inbox" folder, video footage in the corresponding folder, etc. Note that the menu is as comfortable and logically structured as possible. Everything that is needed is located in the root of the menu; it is also possible to assign utilities to the control arrow buttons.Moreover, in applications with a large number of options, the numeric keypad is also useful: the buttons are assigned to change options, modes and individual functions. For example, it is much more convenient and quicker to operate a camera, MP3 and video player. Working with files is well organized. From any utility that works with files, it is possible to transfer the latter using MMS, Bluetooth or e-mail. The parameters are located exactly where they are expected. Their software implementation is excellent. Complaints appeared only on the bonus features of the camera and photo editor. In order not to load with very primitive things like call log functions, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most entertaining features of the firmware and note its shortcomings. The MP3 player is easy to use and fully functional. The built-in EQ parameters (rock, ordinary, classical, jazz) have a positive effect on the playback quality. But the 3d sound mode adds an excessive number of echoes, however, not at all the sense of volume. It is possible to change the appearance of the player and the order of playback, visualization effects. With a photo memory of 82 megabytes, the creation of a number of playlists is hardly necessary, but the ability to play files in the background will come in handy. Lvl. the volume is more than sufficient. The sound quality is average (it is possible to compare with the quality of cheap speakers, but not enough). One way or another, due to the amount of photo memory, you won't be able to use the D800 as a player. To do this, you need to use the older model D820 with support for photo memory cards. It is possible to limit the video recording size for MMS or e-mail in the voice recorder. The longest video recording time is one hour. The recorder has poor sensitivity. The quality of the video recording of the voice is satisfactory only at very close distances. The photo editor caused ambiguous impressions. This is just a separate menu item from the photo manager. Each change in the picture entails a reduction of the resolution to 240 by 216 pixels, which makes the function of editing photographs an unnecessary thing. However, the image editing capabilities are commonplace. Java games shocked by their own simplicity and boringness. This is an ordinary arkanoid starship and a very simple logic game about a hungry rabbit. 5 minutes. enough to play enough 2 games. But it should be noted the rapid work of the java virtual machine: full-screen games loaded and functioned without brakes. The browser has been moved to the root filling of the menu. It supports the WAP 2.0 protocol and is as convenient and full-featured as most of the programs of this model. Surprisingly, the manufacturer ditched a web browser. It is frankly not enough for the completeness of the model. Creation and sending of messages was difficult only with the unusual keyboard. There is a possibility of gluing up to 12 SMS messages (1860 characters in total). The possibility of creating push messages is also curious. They are also called informational. Such messages appear immediately on the display, and not all communicators provide an opportunity to save them. The limit for e-mail messages is 300 KB. Surprisingly, however, the memory for messages received fixed sizes: 3 Megabytes each for MMS and e-mail, 200 SMS. As a rule, in today's communicators the memory is divided dynamically. The file manager provides a quick and convenient method to get to photos, videos, music and other files, conveys how much space the content covers. It is also possible to protect files from the file manager and transfer them using MMS, Bluetooth or e-mail. It's hard to say something fresh about the organizer: standard types of events (schedule, anniversary, reminder, tasks), typical viewing functions (day, week, month), the ability to sort and delete events.It should be noted, except that the ability to view all missed events with one click and emphasize the limit of 100 events of any type. A photo and video camera is available both by pressing a special button on the right side of the case, and in the menu. The effect parameters are the same for both modes: Black & White, Negative, Sepia, Embossed, Sketch, Orange, Water, Crimson Focus, Yellow Focus, Blue Focus. It is possible to set the timer for 3, 5 or 10 seconds, adjust the white balance (auto, indoors, incandescent lamp, fluorescent light, cloudy, sunny). Options for material quality, digital zoom sounds, and dimming are also available. The maximum video resolution is 352 by 288. Also available are 320 by 240 and 176 by 144. The file is compressed using the H.263 algorithm and placed in an MP4 container. The sound is compressed by the AMR codec. Video in the highest resolution and quality looks good on the communicator's display, but on a PC it looks, to put it mildly, indistinct. Even with jerky movements, there is no loss of photos or excessive pixelation. It is possible to create images with a resolution of 1280 by 1024, 640 by 480, 320 by 240, 240 by 216 and 160 by 120. Of the parameters unlike the video mode, we note the likelihood of setting the sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400 or auto. It is also possible to take pictures with a built-in frame, create collages in real time, but these wonderful options are available only for a resolution of 240 by 416. It's a pity. Matrix photography could bring a lot of fun photography. Applying color effects in conjunction with frames and matrix shooting will not work. It is possible to take 6, 9 or 15 photos with one click, however, all in the same brutally compressed resolution. Images are also slightly blurry. The camera even in standard lighting sets the shutter speed too fast, and the images visible on the display usually lag behind those seen by the photosensor and, of course, from the finished photograph by a couple of seconds. Only static photos come out normally. A pre-installed program for viewing a huge number of file formats becomes a very important advantage. In particular, office, graphic, text, etc. The nice thing is that the slow program does not completely slow down here. The options menu makes it possible to set a sound notification of various events (in particular, on opening the phone). The base of preset melodies is quite rich. With the possibility of installing MP3 for a call, there is no need for high-quality polyphony, however, as usual for Samsung, it sounds bright. The power of the vibration alert is average. It is practically not felt in the pocket of your clothes. The MP3 melody is heard loudly, the speaker chokes at the maximum level, however, when the volume level is lowered, the situation is corrected in terms of loudness and quality. Usually D800 comes with a total of 2 color themes. Both are very colorful and not everyone will like it. You cannot change them. But the font style changes when typing. Different people especially liked the "pen", which drew the pressed buttons on the "leaf". It is also possible to put an ordinary black font. It is possible to install an animated picture on the desktop and locate information records on it. The following utilities are completely ordinary. They need to be listed only to remind them of their existence: calculator, world clock, timer, alarm clock, converter of values and currencies, stopwatch and key management (or in other words called the password keeper). The applications also contain the operator's SIM menu. The possibility of video and photo output to the TV display remained unconsidered, however, the required wire was not found out in the standard configuration. Conclusion Samsung D800 - a functional and pleasant product. It is possible to safely advise it for purchase. The appearance and usability are excellent.I was very pleased with the convenient menu and the high speed of operation of the device. The communicator did not slow down either when working with video / music, or when opening large-resolution images. He was slightly suspended only by the work with the camera. The impressions after a number of days of diligent testing remained very positive. Some limits when working with photos and negative responses about the keyboard can be embarrassing. The latter will need to be checked personally by you in the F.ua online store !!!
