Samsung Armani

Key features:

• Stylish looks and high-quality build
• 2.6 Inch TFT 262k Colour Touch Screen (240 x 320 Pixels)
• Bluetooth® Technology
• Wi-Fi Technology
• WAP 2.0 XHTML Browser
• 3 Megapixel Camera with Digital Zoom & Flash
• Music Player (MP3, AAC & AAC+)
• Small dimensions and compact "card" form factor
• Vibrating haptic response
• microSD memory card slot
• Office documents viewer
• Rich retail accessories

Main disadvantages:

• Slow interface response
• Slow memory card reading
• Awkward web browser controls
• No 3G support
• No camera auto focus

The model designation that hides behind the Samsung Armani name is actually Samsung P520. That alone may be enough of a hint that the Armani phone is an offshoot of the Samsung P-series. The Samsung Armani has inherited the same form factor and has the same size and weight as the Samsung P310 for example.

The Samsung Armani phone comes in two retail packages - standard and extended . The difference between the two is the Bluetooth headset in the bigger one.

The standard contents of the retail box are a hard leather case, charger, data cable, memory card, a wired stereo headset, soft pouch as an alternative to the leather case and, finally, a cleaning cloth.

All the contents of the box look really classy and are all Giorgio Armani branded. The user guide has the most exquisite covers we've seen, for example.

The Armani touch screen mobile phone will suit all fashion conscious users who want to stand out with their new sleek phone. Samsung have been inspired by the Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani when designing this stunning handset. The phone comes in a beautiful silver & black coloured casing which comes with a large high colour 2.6 Inch touch screen. The touch screen has a high screen resolution & provides the user with high quality touch screen controls. The Samsung Armani has a similar design to the LG KE850 Prada, LG KU990 Viewty & Apple iPhone which are also touch screen mobile phone which are proving to be popular with users of all ages. The user can access the QWERTY keyboard which is situated under the touch screen & can be easily slid out when needed by the user. The Armani phone is lightweight without feeling flimsy as it weighs 85 grams. The handset feels good to hold when using the touch screen as it measures 10.5mm in depth, 54.5mm in width & 87.5mm in length. The phone comes with sixty Mbytes of built in memory & with an expandable memory slot which allows the user to add a MicroSD™ memory card to suit the user's storage requirements.

The user can listen to music on the move with the built in music player & radio feature. The music player supports popular music formats which include MP3, AAC & AAC+ formats. The user can download ringing tones which can be heard in polyphonic or MP3 sound. The user can enjoy listening to their music over a wireless connection as the phone supports Bluetooth® with A2DP which allows the user to connect their Samsung Armani wirelessly to a set of Bluetooth® headphones. The Armani phone comes with easy to use imaging features, which allows the user to capture a quick snap whenever the user feels the need. The built in camera is a three megapixel digital camera feature which comes with a digital zoom & flash option. The user can capture, store & share their photos with friends & family. The user can download their photos onto their home or office computer for printing or sharing. The user can use the large touch screen display as the camera features viewfinder. The camera can record moving video footage as the Samsung Armani phone supports video recording capabilities. The user can playback, store, delete & edit their video recordings on their handset.

The phone comes with a caller identification feature which allows the user to assign a photo or image to a contact in the user's phone book. The user will see the chosen image or photo each time the contact calls which brings a fun element to this stylish handset. The user can download games to suit their gaming taste & the Samsung Armani comes with preloaded games ready & waiting to be enjoyed. The handsfree speaker phone feature allows the user to rest their Armani phone on their desk or table whilst taking a call over the phones built in speaker system which gives the user a handsfree calling experience. The user will find all the common day to day features on their new mobile phone which include a built in calendar, calculator, currency convertor & world clock. Messaging others has never been so easy as this well equipped fashion phone comes with all the messaging services a user could desire. The user can create, send, delete, manage & receive a selection of messages on their phone. The phone supports a mobile email service, SMS text messaging & MMS multimedia messaging service. The messaging services come with a predictive text feature which will predict the word the user has started to type, which will save the user time & effort when typing a message. The multimedia message better known as MMS messaging allows the user to share photos with other compatible MMS users & it is a quick way for the user to share their fun photos with others.

So, if we are to sum it up, the Samsung Armani phone comes with a well balanced set of features, be they not all exactly high-end. It's got a really refined design, it's compact, and there's that hard to resist aura of exclusivity about it. However, being so heavily underpowered and seriously overpriced, it will have a hard time turning into a success