Samsung Beat DJ (M7600)

• Handset
• 960 mAh Li-Ion battery
• 4 Gb microSD memory card (size varies by region)
• Charger
• Wired stereo-headset with a 3.5mm socket
• User Guide

While this article is more of a preview of the Samsung Beat DJ, it’s safe to say that it won’t change much by the time it hits the shelves.

Positioning

As it stands today, Samsung’s portfolio has three flagship phones – the S8300 Ultra Touch, Beat DJ and Omnia HD. It’s pretty clear what role each phone plays – the S8300 offers all state-of-the-art technologies in the slider-type design and is more or less aimed at the mass market, the Beat DJ is a true jukebox and a reaction to the latest efforts of Nokia and Sony Ericsson on this field, while the latter is the ultimate imaging-centric device. Interestingly, there are worlds of difference between these three handsets in terms of style, pricing, positioning and other characteristics, so there is no point in assessing the extent to which they will interact on the market. However when it comes to hardware, things don’t seem to be as simple – the S8300 and M7600 are based on the same platform, and what’s more their technical specifications are nearly identical, bar the latter’s music department. So, having thrown in an enhanced music player, along with a pair of top-notch speakers and unconventional forms, Samsung have come up with one of the finest music-playing phones out there. But while its sound quality is superb, the question is whether it will be enough to win over the average consumer’s heart. Samsung already have vast experience with phones of this type and caliber, nevertheless one after another these offerings failed to conquer the market. The reason was that consumers saw no connection between “Samsung” and “top-quality sonic experience”, thus most of their music-minded solutions were welcomed mainly by people in the know. Unfortunately, the same will hold true for the Beat DJ.

One thing of note about the M7600 is that it’s set to hit the market along with another music-focused phone, the M6710, also known as the Beat Disc that comes in a different casing and with a couple of downgrades, plus it won’t be available on most markets. I suppose this review will cover both devices, since the only major difference between them lies in design.

Samsung Beat Disc (M6710):

Samsung Beat Disc Beat DJ (M7600):

We won’t even bother explaining what audience Samsung targets the M7600 at – the way it’s positioned is extremely questionable and for the most part has got nothing to do with reality. In my opinion, they’d be much better off focusing on 15-25 y.o. men who aren’t afraid to seem different, plus value substance over style. In other words, they shouldn’t be worried about sounding ridiculous when claiming that a Samsung-branded phone offers better music quality than a player from Apple. It does, so why would they need to keep mum on that. We’ll get back to this issue a bit later, though, and for now let’s continue to examine the Beat DJ’s target audience. It won’t see many young women among its users, although the shape it comes in is pretty offbeat (and at the same time it’s exactly the reason why adults will shy away from the Beat DJ).

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Design, Size, Controls

The Beat DJ’s design stands out among other music-playing phones, and is actually its greatest weakness as well, since these quirky shapes can easily put many off. All in all, the Beat DJ has got a very unique style, and while some claim that it reminds them of the Sony Myle, in my mind it bears some resemblance to the Motorola v80.

The first thing that goes though your mind when you grasp the Beat DJ is that it’s pretty big, although it’s more of an illusion – in reality it measures 111x51x14 mm and weights 100 g, so it’s not cumbersome at all. Most users won’t run into any difficulties regarding the Beat DJ’s size, and will certainly appreciate the ability to carry it on a lanyard.

Source : http://www.mobile-review.com

Nokia E55

• Nokia E55
• Charger (AC-10)
• Nokia Charger Adapter CA-146C
• 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery (BP-4L)
• Nokia Stereo headset HS-48
• USB data cable (CA-101)
• 2 GB microSD memory card
• User Guide
• Nokia PC Suite (v7.2) (on microSD memory card)

Services enabled in the phone:

• Files on Ovi, 60-day subscription with 1GB of disk space at your disposal
• Maps, 10 one-day licenses, valid for 3 months from the day of purchase
• Nokia Messaging, life-time subscription

Positioning

Frankly speaking, as it stands today, the Nokia E55’s future appears to be extremely vague at best. And the reason for that is not tough competition on the outside; in fact the E55 will be eaten up by Nokia’s very own Eseries models that are either on their way to the market or already available. The idea behind the Nokia E55 is pretty simple – a pocketable phone with a focus on calling features, long battery life and a semiQWERTY-keyboard. All in all, it’s more of a link connecting the Nokia E51 and Nokia E63. But that’s not all, the E55 also complements the Nokia E63 in the way of thumbboard type, making Nokia’s business-savvy line-up complete in this respect. At the same time, the very existence of this phone opens a Pandora box for Nokia, since with the arrival of the Nokia 6700 there’ll be more than one option to choose from as far as their phones with emphasis on calling features go.

However, the Nokia E55 will appeal to avid texters who, for some reason, can’t handle conventional QWERTY keypads. Needless to say, this niche is so narrow that it’s not even worth considering. Plus, the E55’s localization will be quite problematic for many regions because of its keypad setup. That’s why it won’t be available in Russia, along with all phones of this type. By and large, Nokia needs to equip their semiQWERTY solutions with touch-sensitive displays, but that’s not something we should expect in 2009.

Further complicating things for the Nokia E55 is the soon-to-be-announced replacement for the E51 that will retail at the 265-275 Euro price point, allowing the original E51 to stay in the market with its current price tag, yet ruining the E55’s last chance for success. So at the end of the day Nokia has got another carrier-tailored solution on their hands that will be distributed in select regions. In essence, that’s the only way it’ll survive, although had it not had such an array of alternatives in Nokia’s own portfolio, it would’ve been quite a success.

Design, Size, Controls

As of today, the Nokia E55 comes in a choice of two colors – black and silver. Both look appealing, plus some carriers will get extra color schemes, such as red, blue and titan. While they’ve got a whole bunch of other colors in stock, the question is whether all of them will see release, and I have some serious doubts about that.

The phone is housed in a no-frills candybar design, measuring 116.5x49x9.9 mm – this combination of width and slimness makes the E55 quite a palm-friendly device. Interestingly, Nokia’s engineers had to trim the phone’s back cover in order to reach the required thickness, so when you actually examine it at first it appears to be made of strengthened plastic, but as it turns out, it’s fully metal, although considerably thinner than the battery cover of, say, the Nokia E71.

At the say time, they managed to keep the E55’s weight below 100 grams – it tipped our scales at just 95 grams.

Nokia E55 vs Nokia E51:

Nokia E55 vs Nokia E75:

Housed on the right-hand spine are the phone’s volume controls, separated by the dedicated voice button, further down is the camera shutter key. On the left there is a naked microUSB socket. The top end of the E55 features the power button along with 3.5 mm audio jack, while at the bottom there are the charger slot and lanyard eyelet.

Build quality was never an issue with the E55, however you’ll be better off not dropping it on hard surfaces – the battery cover latch leaves much to be desired.

Topping the display are the forward-facing video camera and ambient light sensor.

Display

The handset comes equipped with a 2.4-inch QVGA (240x320 pixels) display, capable of showing up to 16M colors, presenting you with quite a bright picture that remains visible in various environments (although it’s still inferior to some of Nokia’s very own latest-gen phones). All in all, the E55 packs in a likable screen that can accommodate up to 8 text and up to 3 service lines. In some modes, though, you may get up to 14 text lines. All fonts are sharp and easy to read.

Keypad

The E55’s keyboard sports quite sizable easy-to-handle buttons. While it’s called “semiQWERTY” all this really means is that these are regular keys with two rows of symbols engraved on them. Unlike the Sony Ericsson M600, the E55 doesn’t utilize the rocker-style setup, instead it requires you to push the same button twice to get to the other symbol. All keys are evenly lit in white.

Source : http://www.mobile-review.com

Sony Ericsson W508

• Handset
• 920 mAh Li-Ion Battery (BST-39)
• Charger
• 1 Gb M2 memory card
• Wired stereo-headset (HPM-64)
• Software CD
• Interchangeable front cover

Positioning

The Sony Ericsson W508 is meant to offer those who are looking for a music-minded folder-type phone with a relatively no-frills design exactly what they need – in other words, it’s not tailored for the youth, who normally go for models such as the Sony Ericsson W380, although some even go as far as claiming that the W508 comes in to replace the latter. However in reality there are no similarities between them, neither in terms of positioning, nor feature pack. So, perhaps this newcomer is supposed to carry some other phone’s heritage? As it turns out, the W508 is a stand-alone offering that was originally designed with one goal in mind – to beef up the phone maker’s portfolio, and its purpose hasn’t changed much since then. They opted not to cancel it, but the time frame they picked for its launch has led to some interesting consequences.

Sony Ericsson W380

Sony Ericsson W508

Effectively, Sony Ericsson has two slider-type phones similar to the W508 on offer – the W910 and the W595. In both cases the price is either equal or a bit lower (30 Euros or so) than that of the W508. And since spec-wise they are on a par with the W508, we get three models in one price bracket from the same manufacturer, which is way too many. Even though they differ in form-factor, the W910 will have an overwhelming advantage sales-wise, so the question is, when Sony Ericson are going to withdraw it in order to make way for their new models. And it’s a very difficult decision to make, ditching a popular solution that enjoys a very stable demand, as it’s almost for certain that all newcomers will see much smaller sales. That’s why Sony Ericsson are going to keep the W910 on the shelves as long as possible, which spells disaster for the W508’s potential market. In fact, the only things going for it now are its form-factor (for those who like it), and a 3.2 MP camera that trumps the old 2 MP unit found in the W910.

When they were only scheming the W508, Sony Ericsson assumed that their music-heavy flagship, the W980, would generate significant sales and become extremely cherished, but not everyone would be able to afford it. As a result, a less sophisticated offering, yet housed in a similar design, would really come in handy. Has the Sony Ericsson W980 triumphed, as they thought it would? As of now, it’s available for 347 Euros in Euroset, while its wholesale price is locked at 370 Euros, which, obviously, can not indicate that the W980 is anywhere near “wild success”, even though it’s a decent offering for its niche.

The bottom line is this: the W508 steps into the market at a price point higher than that of its two slider-type predecessors that happen to have very similar technical specifications among all other things, and associated with a not-so-hot music-minded flagship, so its chances for success are between slim and nil. As far as positioning goes, the W508 missed the market completely, offering a no-nonsense design for middle-aged men and partly the youth (18 to 35 year olds), while going for pretty much the same money as its more sharply positioned alternatives. So the only niche left for the W508 is comprised of clamshell buffs, who can’t imagine their phones being anything other than Sony Ericsson. Unfortunately for the W508, there aren’t many users who fit this description.

Source : http://www.mobile-review.com