Samsung Wave GT-S8500 Review

hyp4mhz
Welcome to the 2010 Samsung Wave GT-S8500 mobile phone review. The Samsung Wave is a feature phone released in early-2010.  It is available to most networks including Optus, Virgin and Telstra's NextG. The Wave is a full touch screen phone with specifications that matches the top range models from other leading manufacturers but at about 2/3 their outright price tag.  The GT-S8500 is a relative bargain based on specifications. The Samsung Wave may not boast uni-body construction or exotic materials, just the usual metal and plastic but it is well made and does feel good in the hand.  It is solid and not slippery like other phones.  It looks and feels like a phone priced much more - so you will not be embarrassed to use it in front of anyone.  This one phone that looks better in real life than pictures! The screen is amazing to look at for the price range too! The OS menu system is a custom Samsung Bada version that works amazingly well for a non Android, iPhone etc.  It is just as good as an Android or iPhone easy and definitely easier than Nokia S60. We could get the hang of the phone in a short amount of time.  There are no lags and the speed excellent in the user interface. We also enjoyed the amazing video and music quality and options that the phone can play. The web browser included on the Samsung Wave is called Dolfin 2.0 which is based on the code used by other manufacturers and is FLASH compatible.  It is very well equipped to handle Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and what ever else you might want to so. We would have tried to load Farmville on Facebook but didn't have enough time to try. We don't think it would work anyway despite the 1Mhz CPU. We where impressed with the hardware that was packed into the Wave GT-S8500 and its impressive operating system. Top end hardware at a cheaper price. Of course not all is perfect.  The main problem is the Samsung App store there's not much to choose from and expensive. its also missing a few high end features like foward camera and the compass. You shouldn't need much though because it comes with apps for Facebook, Twitter, emails and so forth.  It can also run on screen widgets so you can keep up to date without running specific apps. The Wave is better than a number of the latest mobile phones we have tried.  It is better than the Sony Ericsson X8, the LG Optimus and even the Nokia N97 and the Mini. Conclusion We love the 2010 Samsung Wave S8500. The Wave may be over shadowed by the latest marketing spin and PR associated with Android based mobiles and the iPhone4 but in all honestly it works just as well.  So be different and give it a go you'll be very happy - we where. Specifications
  • Samsung Wave GT-S8500
  • Network Quad-band GSM 850/900/1800 /1900 MHz Dual-band UMTS 850/900/2100 MHz 3G HSDPA 7.2 3G HSUPA
  • Design Touch screen 118mm x 56mm x 10.9mm Weight 118 grams
  • Display/s 3.3inch 480 x 800 pixel TFT AMOLED
  • Camera 5MP main camera HD video at 720p resolution
  • Connectivity Wi-Fi USB Bluetooth V2
  • CPU 1GHz
  • Memory 2 GIG available to user Up to 32Gig MicroSD cards
  • Ring tones MP3, MMF, MIDI, Vibration
  • Features A-GPS SMS, MMS, WAP, IM, EMAIL JAVA MIDP 2.1 Speaker Phone/Hands free Customizable backgrounds Document Viewer (Picsel) Picture Viewer Voice memos Calender and organizer 400 Hrs Standby 300 Mins Talk Time 1500mAh Li-ion battery
  • Price history Less than $599 AUS 2010 (Outright)