Samsung's Mobile Fashion Statement

The Giorgio Armani P520 is handsome enough to make iPhone owners look twice, but it doesn't exactly put the "smart" in smartphone

"Looking for a phone that will inspire oohs, aahs, and, dare I say, a little envy?"

The Samsung Giorgio Armani P520
This phone has everything that defines ‘de rigueur’ in the design for mobile phones. It is a nonflip, nonslide ‘candy bar’ handset with its front surface as a screen covering the whole area. It is extremely small with the surface about the size of a credit card, and as thick as a pencil. Taking the design perspective like an Armani suit, the designs on the phone are minimal and elegantly understated. Also, there are only two buttons on the lower part of the front surface – the ‘call button’ and the ‘on/off button’. The 2.6 inch touch screen covers the rest of the functions including the dial pad and various menus, protected by the leather case that comes with the phone. Despite the simplicity of the phone, it does not fall behind in features, including a 3 mega pixel camera that also takes video. The video playback in impressive considering it is a mobile phone.

However,
Compared to a competitor, the iPhone, it lacks in the web surfing feature. The main noticeable problem is that there is a need to type in addresses, search words, user’s names etc but the P520 does not provide a fully expanded touch screen like the iPod. To type words, you need to double-tap or even triple-tap on the phone’s numeric touchpad. This creates a hassle for users, and it is also a observed fact that the P520’s web browser is awkward to navigate.

Overally:
Pros- A sleekly designed touch-screen device in an elegantly small package
Cons- Pricey; multitap text entry on a dialpad is a pain when Web surfing; not available in U.S. stores
Comment- Pricey; multitap text entry on a dialpad is a pain when Web surfing; not available in U.S. stores


Comment:
I think that if design envy is what you're after, this touch-screen device is worth getting your hands on. You may even see some lustful looks from iPhone owners.

Samsung's Mobile Fashion Statement
Business Week (.com)
March 5, 2008, by Catherine Holahan
#20600392
Entry_#14