As you already know, last Saturday I received a Samsung Wave. I’ve been playing with it for almost a week now, and I can honestly say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
Previously, I had conjured up the idea that the Wave was vastly inferior to other smartphones on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S or Nokia X6, but, after getting to grips with the phone I can honestly say that this isn’t true. There are so many unique features on this handset that it’s hard not to love it.
This handset is powered by Bada, meaning ‘ocean’ in Korean. This is an operating system which has been developed by Samsung and is unique to their smartphones. Like other mobile operating systems, Bada has access to its own applications in the form of Samsung Apps. However, it is clear that this is still very much in its infancy, as there is a lack of apps available to download, but this will soon change now that Samsung have announced the end of its Symbian support, paving the way for developers to flood the market with apps for Bada. The ultimate success of the Bada platform will depend largely on the amount of support from developers for this OS. My main concern in this area would be that many developers continue to be drawn to the Android and iOS platforms, as these handsets are more widely available, but hopefully this will change as more Bada powered handsets become available on the market.
Like most smartphones, this Bada handset has a maps and navigation feature, but, I found this to be quite difficult to use in Northern Ireland as the maps were quite poor for this area. In order to use the navigation feature, a memory card must be inserted, however, this item is not included as standard. It’s also hard to rival other OS navigation systems which are completely free, as the Bada system provides a free license for a mere 30 days. For someone with a sense of direction as hopeless as my own, this makes this particular application of little use, as it is not possible to download any form of map update that would cover the rural areas in Northern Ireland, which accounts for the majority of the country.
Aside from these tiny flaws, the overall usability of the phone can only be described as fantastic. The Super AMOLED screen is much clearer than that of other smartphones, and the capacitive touch screen is responsive and easy to use. When using the internet, the pinch to zoom feature is a definite plus, and allows for easy zooming into small print in websites. The TouchWiz interface is a handy feature, as it makes everything seem familiar to anyone who has used a Samsung handset before.
Due to the ultra sharp display, photo and HD video playback is stunning, as you will see later.
One of the main features of any handset I use is the SMS texting. For me, threaded messaging and conversation views were completely alien, and it was one aspect of the Wave handset that I absolutely loved. I don’t think I can see myself reverting back to the standard inbox and outbox message viewing any time soon. The SNS feature is a handy tool which allows your mobile contacts to be synced to their corresponding social networks. This permits easy access to telephone numbers, email addresses and any social networking updates. I briefly tried to use the email feature of the handset but I found the lack of a dedicated push email client to be a definite disadvantage.
The shortcuts and notifications bar made turning on the WiFi or reverting the phone to silent mode extremely easy, however, the widget bar could be improved by allowing user customisation. Personally I would have liked to see a Facebook app available as a widget, but hopefully this is something which will follow as Bada grows and improves.
For someone who is used to using a handset with a battery which barely lasts a day, this operating system provides a welcome change, by allowing two full days of extremely heavy use before the battery needs charging again.
Overall, I have enjoyed getting to know the Bada OS and feel that, although a relatively new platform, over time, it will definitely become one of the main contenders in the race to be the ultimate smartphone system. This is one Wave which could definitely sweep me away.
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