Mr Buckshot
March 18th, 2009, 07:22 PM
http://www.blueunplugged.com/dbimgs/Samsung_Pixon_99.jpg
So I went to see Watchmen with some friends, and one of them happened to be holding THIS nifty toy, and of course I demanded to check it out. Apparently, his relative from South Korea came to visit and brought this for him, so that explains why I haven't seen these in North American stores yet.
While I own neither the iPhone nor this Samsung Pixon M8800 (the exact name of this phone), I've played with enough iPhones at school to be able to make a comparison.
Screen:
The iPhone uses a 3.5" 480x320 screen while the Samsung uses a 3.2" 240x400 screen. Both are touch screens of course, no physical keypads here. Although the Samsung had a smaller screen, I was hard-pressed to find any real quality difference between the two. But what the Samsung had over the iPhone was the aspect ratio, which is more widescreen-movie-friendly.
Multimedia:
Can't quite remember the range of formats either device supports, but I do know the Samsung supports more video formats than the iPhone, including DivX. That means less time spent with those video conversion utilities when transferring videos to the phone. The audio formats though are about the same for both. As I don't have particularly sensitive ears, I can't judge which has better sound quality, but yeah they both sound loud and clear. Same thing for video playback - crystal clear, but the Samsung has the edge in the number of formats it supports out of the box.
The Samsung's camera really kills the iPhone's too. This is the main selling point of the Samsung - it's an 8.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and true optical zoom and real flash. Suffice to say, it took beautiful shots. The iPhone's 2.0-megapixel camera apparently produces worse image quality than the 2.0-megapixel camera in my Motorola RAZR V3X, probably because the optics are crappier. Also the iPhone lacks a flash on its camera. Granted, this is definitely the first phone I've seen since the Nokia N95 (5.0-MP) that can really substitute for a standalone camera. Video playback with the Samsung was excellent too, it even supports higher resolutions than my dad's Canon 7.1MP. And no, my friend did not try to pirate Watchmen using the camera.
And finally, the Samsung has expandable storage. w00t!
Key features:
The Samsung has wi-fi and GPS and Bluetooth. I didn't get to try out the wi-fi because there wasn't an access point at the theater, but when I go to my friend's house next time I'll be sure to check it out and update the review. As for the iPhone, it has the same features and I really liked its web browser. Let's see if the iPhone still holds top marks in mobile web browsing.
The Samsung also has far more hard buttons than the iPhone, making it more practical. I don't really like how the iPhone must use the screen for absolutely everything.
Extra programs:
I guess nothing can beat the iPhone's app store at the moment, but the Samsung is no slouch either. The GPS feature works pretty well (acquires satellites quickly outdoors), there are some fun touchscreen games (e.g. whack-a-mole), and of course all the basics like calculators, currency converters, etc.
Best part was, it cost my friend the equivalent of $650 Can while the iPhone would've cost the equivalent of $950. Unlocked and without carriers, of course.
So I went to see Watchmen with some friends, and one of them happened to be holding THIS nifty toy, and of course I demanded to check it out. Apparently, his relative from South Korea came to visit and brought this for him, so that explains why I haven't seen these in North American stores yet.
While I own neither the iPhone nor this Samsung Pixon M8800 (the exact name of this phone), I've played with enough iPhones at school to be able to make a comparison.
Screen:
The iPhone uses a 3.5" 480x320 screen while the Samsung uses a 3.2" 240x400 screen. Both are touch screens of course, no physical keypads here. Although the Samsung had a smaller screen, I was hard-pressed to find any real quality difference between the two. But what the Samsung had over the iPhone was the aspect ratio, which is more widescreen-movie-friendly.
Multimedia:
Can't quite remember the range of formats either device supports, but I do know the Samsung supports more video formats than the iPhone, including DivX. That means less time spent with those video conversion utilities when transferring videos to the phone. The audio formats though are about the same for both. As I don't have particularly sensitive ears, I can't judge which has better sound quality, but yeah they both sound loud and clear. Same thing for video playback - crystal clear, but the Samsung has the edge in the number of formats it supports out of the box.
The Samsung's camera really kills the iPhone's too. This is the main selling point of the Samsung - it's an 8.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and true optical zoom and real flash. Suffice to say, it took beautiful shots. The iPhone's 2.0-megapixel camera apparently produces worse image quality than the 2.0-megapixel camera in my Motorola RAZR V3X, probably because the optics are crappier. Also the iPhone lacks a flash on its camera. Granted, this is definitely the first phone I've seen since the Nokia N95 (5.0-MP) that can really substitute for a standalone camera. Video playback with the Samsung was excellent too, it even supports higher resolutions than my dad's Canon 7.1MP. And no, my friend did not try to pirate Watchmen using the camera.
And finally, the Samsung has expandable storage. w00t!
Key features:
The Samsung has wi-fi and GPS and Bluetooth. I didn't get to try out the wi-fi because there wasn't an access point at the theater, but when I go to my friend's house next time I'll be sure to check it out and update the review. As for the iPhone, it has the same features and I really liked its web browser. Let's see if the iPhone still holds top marks in mobile web browsing.
The Samsung also has far more hard buttons than the iPhone, making it more practical. I don't really like how the iPhone must use the screen for absolutely everything.
Extra programs:
I guess nothing can beat the iPhone's app store at the moment, but the Samsung is no slouch either. The GPS feature works pretty well (acquires satellites quickly outdoors), there are some fun touchscreen games (e.g. whack-a-mole), and of course all the basics like calculators, currency converters, etc.
Best part was, it cost my friend the equivalent of $650 Can while the iPhone would've cost the equivalent of $950. Unlocked and without carriers, of course.