[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
The Samsung ATIV S smartphone has a 4.8”, 1280×720, Super AMOLED screen; a 1.5 GHz dual core CPU; 1 GiB RAM; 16 GiB of storage; an 8 Mpixel main camera; and a 1.2 Mpixel front camera. It runs the Windows Phone 8 operating system. Let’s take a closer look at this product.
The actual model of the phone we reviewed is the Samsung ATIV S I8750.
Figure 1 shows the small box of the Samsung ATIV S.
Figure 1: Box
Inside the box, we found the phone, a wall charger, USB cable, battery, earphones, spare rubber inserts for the earphones, and user manuals.
Figure 2: Contents of the box
Figure 3 reveals the front of the Samsung ATIV S. There is only one physical button (Windows Phone home button) at the bottom, the speakerphone at the top, and the front camera at its side.
Figure 3: The Samsung ATIV S
[nextpage title=”The Samsung ATIV S”]
The Samsung ATIV S uses a Qualcomm dual-core, 1.5 GHz, 1 MiB L2 cache, Snapdragon S4 processor, with an Adreno 225 GPU. The 4.8” screen has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
Figure 4 shows the back side of the device, with a plastic rear cover. You can see the 8.0 Mpixel camera with LED flash.
Figure 4: Back side
Figure 5 unveils the bottom of the ATIV S, where there is a microphone hole and a mini-USB connector.
Figure 5: Bottom side
At the right side of the phone, there are two buttons: the sleep/wake button and the camera shutter.
Figure 6: Right side
[nextpage title=”The Samsung ATIV S (Cont’d)”]
The left side of the Samsung ATIV S is shown in Figure 7. Here are two buttons for volume adjustment.
Figure 7: Left side
Figure 8 reveals the top of the phone. Here you can see the earphone connector and a second microphone opening.
Figure 8: Top side
Removing the rear cover of the ATIV S, you have access to the battery place, the Micro SIM slot, and to a slot that supports MicroSD memory cards up to 32 GiB. Figure 9 shows the device with its cover removed.
Figure 9: Rear cover removed
[nextpage title=”Using the ATIV S”]
Using the ATIV S is easy and intuitive, with smooth sliding of the menus and quick opening of the applications. The touchscreen responds quickly and precisely. The 4.8” AMOLED screen brings crispy and vivid images, and the 1280 x 720 resolution is excellent, bringing about 306 dpi pixel density.
The Windows Phone 8 is very similar, in usage, to the Windows Phone 7.8 found on older smartphones. It may not offer the same amount of available applications as the Android operating system, but the number is growing fast.
From the three mandatory buttons for Windows Phone, only the middle one (home) is a physical button. The return button (at the left) and the search button (that opens a Bing search screen, at the right) are touch-sensitive.
The main screen shows the tiles for the applications you choose to be there. You can remove or add applications on this screen, as well as choose the size (large, medium or small) for each dynamic tile.
Figures 10 and 11 show the Main screen as it looks after you turn on the phone for the first time; you can slide this main screen up and down to show more tiles.
Figure 10: Main screen
Figure 11: Main screen
Sliding the main screen to the left, you see the list (in alphabetical order) of all installed applications, as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12: List of applications
You can install new applications using the Store, which has thousands of applications and games available.
There is a nice addition, absent in previous versions of Windows Phone: the kid’s corner. It is a second main menu screen, where you can choose which applications will be available. We found if very useful for people who have kids and want to let them play with the phone without messing with your configurations or making calls.
Figure 13: Kid’s corner
The battery lasted about one day under moderate use, with some calls and a couple of hours of web browsing. According to Samsung, the battery lasts about 14 hours on 3G navigation. In standby, the battery can last about nine days.
The quality of the photos taken with the main 8.0 Mpixel camera is excellent, and it can record videos with full HD resolution and 30 fps. In addition, it has a front camera for Skype video calls.
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specifications for the Samsung ATIV S I8750 include:
- Dimensions: 2.8 x 5.4 x 0.34 inches (70.5 x 137.2 x 8.7 mm)
- Weight: 4.76 ounces (135 grams)
- Display: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (16 M colors), Corning Gorilla glass
- Screen: 4.8 inch; 720 x 1280
- Operating system: Windows Phone 8
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 1.5 GHz, dual core
- GPU: Adreno 225
- RAM: 1 GB
- Storage: 16 GiB
- Memory card slot: Yes, MicroSD, up to 32 GiB
- GPS: Yes
- FM Radio: Yes
- Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass, gyroscope, ambient light
- SIM slots: One micro-SIM
- Networks: GSM/UMTS, GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), HSPA+ 42 (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
- Bluetooth: Version 2.1 with A2DP, EDR
- Rear camera: 8 Mpixel
- Front camera: 1.2 Mpixel
- Flash: Yes
- Video capture rate: 1080p, 30 fps
- Music formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, MP3, WMA, AMR-NB
- Continuous talk time: Up to 885 minutes (14 hours and 15 minutes)
- Standby time: Up to 218 hours (nine days)
- Battery: 3.7 V, 2.300 mAh Li Ion
- Carrier in the U.S.: We found the phone being sold unattached to carriers
- More information: https://www.samsung.com/
- Average price in the U.S.*: USD 330.00
* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Samsung ATIV S is an excellent smartphone, although not as expensive as the market flagships. Its highlights are the big and bright HD screen, and the great camera.
It is light and thin, which makes it easy to carry, despite of the big frontal area.
The Samsung ATIV S is a good option if you are looking for a Windows Phone 8 smartphone.
Strong Points
- Easy, fast and smooth to use
- High resolution screen with vivid colors
- Excellent main camera
- Frontal camera for video callings
- Memory card slot
- Supports Micro SD card
- Light and thin
Weak Points
- Plastic rear cover
- No 4G support
- Windows Phone still does not offer the same amount of applications as Android
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