Samsung Jet (S8000) review

More a smart smartphone … Samsung does not hesitate to integrate its Jet in the prestigious category of the iPhone, Google Phone and BlackBerry. Marking, in the opinion of the Korean manufacturer, a new era in the evolution of mobile tactile, this device is powerful, fast, bright and stylish. But is this enough to reach the level of the stars of telephony? With its proprietary operating system, the Jet, despite a non-standard equipment, rather would rank in the category of high-end mobile. Our conclusions after testing this phone.

At first glance, with its black hull “glossy” Jet resembles any Samsung phone. Very quickly, it is clear that this is not yet another model of the manufacturer. The red glare of the hull rear, the materials used, quality of finishes, the originality of the menu key of cubic form, the brightness of the screen sublime are all elements that contribute to seduce the user and flatter the senses.

The ergonomics of Jet has been well studied. Small and lightweight, the device offers excellent grip. Admittedly, adding a memory card needed to search under the hood (hopefully not removing the battery). However, with 1.5 GB of internal memory available for storage with easy transfer via the USB port on a computer, most users do not necessarily feel the need to transfer except in a nightclub. For audio, Samsung has chosen a standard connector (3.5 mm jack) and delivers a hands-free headsets with intra-ear quality. The latter offers the possibility of managing their calls but not music tracks. Many shortcut buttons also facilitate the use of mobile as a key lock and a key picture, less banal, a key access to multimedia functions through a 3D cube that rotates the finger. Spectacular and practical! The virtual keyboard, which can be used in landscape for the Internet, email or SMS is particularly pleasant and includes predictive text input. Finally, the display of Jet now consists of 3 pages that can enrich widgets at will.

The mobile equipment is rich 5-megapixel sensor with LED flash, video recording in 720×480 pixels, DivX, FM Radio, GPS, 3.5 G and Wi-Fi, battery 1100 mAh, but more importantly, as a whole, good bill. The photos taken in low light are very accurate, and videos, even if one is not free of a blur. Many functions are also available to the amateur photographer (stabilizer trigger smile effects, geotagging, video editor, etc.). The sound of the player will meet sensitive ears and the speaker, if not ultrapuissant, issue a clear and pleasant. Among the options is the possibility to activate a 5.1 surround mode. The FM radio benefits, however, the RDS and can be saved in MP3 format (192 kbps).

The reader accepts video formats DivX and Xvid without having to go through a converter, with the advantage of a fluid reading and intense colors thanks to the AMOLED screen. This is truly the jewel of this phone with unparalleled brightness, a wider viewing angle and the advantage of consuming less than a TFT screen (up to 40% according to Samsung). Do not dream too much sunlight, we find the same kind of problem with a TFT screen! Last, but not equipped with a voice browser, the Jet has a GPS receiver and A-GPS and Google Maps to find his way.

The optimal functioning of all these functions, the Jet has a powerful processor at 800 Mhz. Better still, it allows a multi-use. It is possible to launch multiple applications (Web browsing, audio player, photo player, etc.) without derailing the mobile. A long press the menu button lets you view them (and quickly closed if necessary). With management-for-fun and effective, the ability to scroll through the applications of a finger slip on the screen. Navigating a finger from the first touch of Samsung models, significantly improved.

Jet has a new interface (TouchWizz 2.0) extremely fluid and responsive. The menu in the form of cube that is spinning on a touch screen and provides quick access to 6 major applications (photos, music, radio, video, Internet and games) is a perfect illustration. And if the device is not multipoint, the manufacturer has created a new browser, Dolfin, which is well adapted to tactile manipulation. In a touch of the screen, the user zooms in on the web page of your choice (up to 4x) and can explore up to 5 web pages simultaneously.
But not scalability applications foison

Samsung has expanded its Jet of all kinds of programs, from the simplest, a currency converter for example, more sophisticated, Exchange ActiveSync, the professional messaging Microsoft usually reserved for smartphones. No doubt the manufacturer want to address, with this wealth, lack of scalability of mobile, bound to its proprietary OS and the fact that the manufacturer does not provide a platform for downloading, type App Store. Jet wants to make what he hopes to be its flagship model year-end, Samsung has even added unlock and intelligent Motion Gate. The first permit, and it’s more practical to unlock the device by drawing the letter of its choice on the screen or go directly to one of the main functions. The second allows to perform certain actions (pause the player, for example) with a single movement: shaking the device or by tapping. And not too gadget that really works! However, the Jet is still a mobile emergency, which does not disappoint the user. Icing on the cake, its autonomy is very correct.
Verdict: Jet

The Jet is not a smartphone, but it offers the most power and possibilities. Gem thanks to its finish, its very ergonomic study, excellence in versatility and bright screen, it should definitely be one of the phones of the late star of the year.