Samsung INNOV8 Review

Samsung INNOV8 has been at the centre of attention for some time, being marketed as a stunning cell phone with advanced camera features beyond the existing offerings by other cell phone manufacturers. Besides being equipped with advanced camera features, the INNOV8 serves its primary function well with good call quality and reception, and in addition, offers expanded features through its robust operating system. It's almost like a mobile netbook.

Weighing 4.8 ounces, this phone comes off as a sturdy device which sits firmly on your palm. Like most Samsung phones, this one too has a slider that moves upwards. What you notice at first glance is the 2.8 inch 16M color display (QVGA resolution of 240X320 Pixels), above which are the video calls camera and a light sensor that allows the phone to automatically adjust screen brightness. The display has a mirrored look which doesn't really cause problems when reading off the screen in bright sunlight, though sunlight legibility is something Nokia still excels at. The accelerometer helps change the display orientation from portrait to landscape when the phone's rotated.

The Symbian OS S60, (3rd Edition),UI comes with the feature pack 2. Browsing the internet is a pleasurable experience with the pages fitting the screen and looking much the same as they do on a PC. Since Samsung also adds its own graphic themes, customers can choose between those and the Symbian ones on offer. The interface menus are the only screen that can't be rotated.

Coming back to the star feature of this mobile phone - the camera! The 8MP shooter can take pictures in seven resolutions, right from the 8MP (3,264 X 2,448) to QVGA (320X240). The camera comes with four color effects, bright and white balance controls, 8x zoom, a self-timer, a mosaic shot mode, exposure metering, nine fun frames (only when using the lowest resolution), 12 "scene" settings that can be chosen based on the shooting conditions available (they include: portrait, landscape, sports, indoor, beach, sunset, dawn, autumn colors, waves and snow, night, fireworks and text. Other great features will be the anti shake, smile shot and blink detection mode. In addition, there is a built in smart reader which allows users to store business cards digitally via its camera. After taking the 1st snapshot, the camera will proceed to capture 7 more photos while you pan it. This takes place automatically and results in some great pics.

And if you take pictures you'll naturally want to save them. The Samsung INNOV8 comes packed with 16GB internal storage and provides further memory storage via a microSD card slot which supports capacity up to 32GB!

If you're impressed already may we remind you that you've only heard half the good news about this impressive phone!


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Sam Lee is a mobile enthusiast and runs the popular website Cellular Deals. For more Samsung phone reviews and recommendations, go to => http://www.cellular-deals.com/tag/samsung-cell-phone/