Category — Consumer Electronics

The Samsung Focus is a Windows-powered smartphone running on AT&T’s 3G network. It uses Samsung’s popular combo of their 1GHz processor and 4-inch Super AMOLED display to provide a lightening fast speeds matched by equally impressive graphics. On paper, the phone is well equipped by today’s standards. It comes packed with 8GB of memory, which is expandable via microSD card, captures video in 720p HD, and features built in turn-by-turn navigation. There’s a lot to like about the Focus, but does it make sense to go with Windows Phone OS over the competition? Read on to find out.

Main Features and specifications:

• Windows Phone OS
• 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display; WVGA resolution (480 x 800)
• 1GHz processor
• On-screen keyboard
• 8GB internal storage; expandable via microSD memory card
• 5MP camera with LED flash
• 720p HD video recording
• Xbox LIVE
• Includes stereo headset with in-line controls

The Good
Windows Phone OS: Windows Phone OS is colorful, fun to interact with, and felt very fast on the Focus. It’s a unique change of pace from the onslaught of Android and iOS powered devices that have flooded the market over the last few years. The home screen buttons do take up more room than Android and iOS icons, but the common activities are all there, front and center. We especially enjoyed the daily briefing functionality, which aggregates weather, news, and stocks. The animations are also a nice touch and really add depth to the OS. The main issues we had with Windows Phone were the lack of available (and free) apps and limited custom settings.

Design: Samsung has been designing cell phones for many years now. Their experience and expertise is very apparent in the Focus. Its design reminded us of a luxury automobile, with a wide top and flared base, chrome-colored accents, and dark colored finish. The wake/sleep button is located on the upper right-hand side. This took some time to get used to, but after a week or so, it felt natural. In a strange, but surprisingly practical move, Samsung moved the covered charging port to the top of the phone – next to the headset jack. The volume up/down rocker is located on the left side and could use a bit more space between the up and down buttons. The only other downfall to the design is the curved back, which makes typing more difficult than it should be when the phone is laying flat on a table.

AMOLED Display: The vibrant 4-inch display is one of the first things you will notice about this phone. Its colors are super saturated and the contrast is outstanding. It can even be seen in sunlight. Not much can be improved here.

Camera: The 5 megapixel camera will be more than adequate for most users. It’s easy to use, the controls are well laid out and the physical shutter button was a nice touch. There are a wide array of creative controls, ranging from white balance to saturation to dynamic range control. Video recording is done in 720p at 30 frames per second. There were some annoyances with the camera, one of which was the flash control resetting every time the app was exited. The other was the front touch buttons getting accidentally activated while trying to frame a shot.

Included Headphones: The included headphones are high quality noise-isolating earbuds with an in-line mic, volume control and call answer/end button. We like when manufacturers include headphones with their phones, and these high quality buds were a welcome change from the standard, off-the-shelf fare.

The Bad
Build quality: Samsung did an exceptional job at designing the Focus. Its sleek black front, backlit touch-sensitive buttons and pinstriped grey backing excel in both the boardroom and the nightclub. However, there is not a single piece of metal to be found on the outside of this handset. This isn’t to say the Focus isn’t a durable smartphone, it just doesn’t feel like a high quality device.

Not enough granular control of settings: We searched high and low, but could not find a way to change basic settings, such as touch-button and network status bar timeouts. The large calendar icon that takes up one-quarter of the screen was unable to be resized and compared to other smartphones of this caliber, the number of controls in the settings panel was limited. It’s the little things like this which really bring home the fact that this is a new OS. This isn’t to say these minor issues won’t be addressed in future releases and updates, but they notch the phone down a few steps at present.

Lack of Apps: Let’s face it, these days, it’s all about the apps. With hundreds of thousands of apps in both Apple’s App Store and Android’s Market, Windows Phone has a way to go before it can compete on that level. At the time of testing the number of apps in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace was less than 10,000. Favorites like Pandora Radio, Words with Friends, eBay and TweetDeck are nowhere to be found.

Should I buy one?
There’s no question that Windows Phone OS is destined to become a true competitor in the smartphone battlefield. Samsung’s Focus does an excellent job at supporting the OS and looks good while doing so. As far as hardware is concerned, the Focus is spot on with what a modern day smartphone should be. However, the lack of included apps and overall refinement raise questions as to what can really be gained by going “Windows” rather than iPhone or Android.

Brought to you by Amazon and Guinness.

What you are about to read is a real time review of the HD555 Open-Aire Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling from Sennheiser. I’m writing this in real time, because I thought it would be more entertaining. I mean, when it comes to headphones, its such a objective review from the get go, why not make it more fun. So here we go.

8:21PM – Just poured myself a Guinness, have to get those creative juices flowing. God damn, Guinness is so good.

8:23 – Just took the 555′s out of the shipping box. Looks like normal Sennheiser packaging, except for the little rip tag that says “Pull up to unlock” What? This is cool.

8:24 – I pulled up the tag, it the box folds open like a french door refrigerator. It looks like overly complicated packaging at first glance, but it really isn’t. I like it. You just pull the plastic “shell” off the headphones and you have got access to the goods.

8:27 – The headphones are pretty badass. They have a large plastic headband that almost looks like it should be soft plastic, but it isn’t. It reads SENNHEISER in large print. The ear cushions are velour. Very soft. Sennheiser says you can wear glasses with them on. I don’t have glasses, but I’m sure these countless hours of staring at LCD’s will soon do them in.

8:30 – I just inspected the cord. Looks like it is not removable like it is in other models. I’m not a fan of this. Damage the cord and you’re done. Boo.

8:31 – Ok enough of this, time to put these badboys on.

8:32 – Ok a little tight, but not uncomfortable.

8:33 – Plugging them in to my Yamaha receiver.

8:34 – Time to find some tunes. I’m drawn to the album, Black Light by Groove Armada – but I don’t know it all that well. Going to seek out something as sonically delightful, but more well known to me.

8:38 – Just pressed play on a track called “Shakedown” by Maximum Balloon. This is Andrew Sitek’s new band/side project. This is the guy from TV on the Radio. This album is solid. Check it out.

8:42 – My ears are being showered by the multilayered, synth-laden, R&B infused, downtempo beats of Sitek. This guy is great.

8:44 – The track is nearing its end. There is a sonic brilliance and fullness that is just unmatched by lesser cans. I’m about done with my Guinness.

8:45 – Intermission. Filling my glass. Be back soon.

8:52 – That took longer than expected. 555′s are back on.

8:54 – Time for a little Cee Lo Green. I think “Fuck You,” is in order. This song is hilarious. Although it is getting a little old now.

8:55 – Now, I should have technically zeroed out my EQ. Let me do that.

8:56 – So my EQ is now set to 0 dB for both bass and treble. Yamaha has done away with the “Loudness” setting, because lets be honest, that’s a bit lowbrow.

8:57 – Actually, I don’t know why they did away with it, but I have been a strictly Yamaha shop for some time now. And believe it or not (You’re not going to believe this) It was a fellow co-worker at Best Buy, back in 2003 who swayed me away from a Sony A/V receiver to Yamaha – and boy am I glad he did. I was such a noob when it came to home audio.

8:59 – So Fuck You ended. The next song that came on was Always Loved A Film, by Underworld. This is off their new CD entitled “Barking.” It’s pretty great. The headphones are still tight. I’m taking them off right now and going to see if I can stretch them or something.

9:03 – These things are really all plastic. There is no metal in their construction, except for the screws. An overnight stretching session will be in order if I really want to change their shape.

9:05 – I just started a track by the Radio Dept. called “Heaven’s on Fire.” You can instantly hear so much more of the song than when listening with lesser equipment. It’s just a beautiful thing to be able to treat your ears to such sonic bliss. This is how recorded music was meant to be heard.

9:08 – “Conversation 16″ by The National. Seems a little muffled. I don’t remember it sounding like this. By the way, the National are awesome. If you can see them live, do it. So I’m a bit disappointed by this track. It sounds better in my car. There is this massively low bass line that just sends chills down my spine… but I can’t hear it now.

9:10 – Brought the EQ back up to +4 Bass and +4 Treble. Much better. These things need some help to really shine.

9:11 – Time for some hypnotizing soft guitar sounds of Erlend Oye. “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From.” Actually this is Kings of Convenience. The sound is warm and fills my head. Nice.

9:14 – For this last track, I think a little Brubeck is in order. Take Five? Why not.
Volume Up: -64dB
Oh, this is nice.
This album was recorded at a much lower record level than all the newer stuff. Turning the volume up even more.
The cymbals crashing over to the left and the subtle piano riff over to the right. The delicate balance of high versus low – the snare drum. Oh. This is great.

9:16 – I was just staring blankly at my display, just taking it all in. I love it when you can visualize music in your head. Like it is a painting in motion. I wish you could hear this.

9:17 – The sax just came in again. It sounds like its track is slightly off center, to the left. I wonder why they did that? Was it intentional?

9:18 – Take Five just ended. My god, that is music.

9:20 – Second Guinness is done. And so this is pseudo live-blog. Overall, I’m pleased with the Sennheiser 555′s. The highs are crisp, the lows are accurate – although a bit understated without the artificial enhancement brought on by the EQ.  A “real” audiophile may snub their nose at a sub-$100 set of cans… but For the price, you’re not going to find much better. They are definitely tight around my head though. I’m going to have to stretch them out over night on a stack of CDs or what not. And with that… happy listening.

Testing environment:
Yamaha HTR5640
MacBook Pro, optical output
320K MP3 encodes from CD, converted using iTunes

The other day I sank into the driver’s seat of my two-door, shoved the key into the ignition, and brought the machine to life. I quickly powered on my head unit – that’s audio enthusiast speak for car stereo – and began toggling through the sources. Like most fossil fuel burning Americans, I had a few options:

FM – Unlikely there will be anything worth listening to here, maybe NPR
HD radio – Sounds great, but it is still terrestrial radio
CDs – What are these again
iPod – Can only listen to the same albums so many times
Sat radio – My personal choice, but awful sound quality and uninspired DJ’s

A sad lot if you ask me. Yes I know, I’m being a tad unreasonable here. But there just has to be a better way – and there is. It’s called the Internet. And the device that makes it possible to connect to this magical network while traveling 75 MPH down the highway? You guessed it, the iPhone.

It is now possible to listen to any one of the 20,000+ Internet radio stations while on the move. Plus- Pandora, AOL Radio, Last FM…They’re all here too! There are even paid services, such as the recently launched MOG, which gives you the ability to stream all the albums in their database for $9.99/month. Also, by using one of the slick Internet radio apps (my app of choice is TuneIn Radio, $1.99) you can do neat tricks like pause live radio and record streams.

But wait, there’s more (that line never gets old). How’s the sound quality, you ask? Well, it blows satellite radio out of the water. A 64K, yes 64K AAC audio stream sounds better than most XM channels. A 128K MP3 stream sounds great. And a 192K stream, well let’s just say you won’t be longing for the days of compact disc.

Hang on now. It gets even better. If your car has A2DP Bluetooth, you won’t even have to connect any wires. Just start your car and within seconds your iPhone will automatically connect – the sound quality over the latest version of stereo Bluetooth is excellent.

Let’s have a little rundown:
Huge selection of Internet radio stations
Access to music services like Pandora and MOG
Sound quality that surpasses XM and FM
Ability to pause/record live radio

Awesome.

So there you have it, liberation from the oppression of traditional in-car audio entertainment…Just be sure to watch your data usage if you’re stuck on a capped plan!