Another
Slider
It may look like every other Samsung slider, but the new Z400 will delight fans of the D500 and D600 with its 3G speeds and new-look silver finish. But will it impress us?
Another Samsung, another slider, another day. Perhaps the malaise emanating from 3G is a bit harsh, but one look at the new Z400 and our hearts sink.
After the delicious touch-sensitive E900 and the slimline D800 we were hoping that Samsung had broken from its creative straitjacket. But for the Z400, the Korean manufacturer has reverted to type, still hawking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ design ethos we’ve seen on umpteen Samsung sliders before – the E800, D500, D600, E370, the Z320i… the list goes on. It’s a shame Samsung couldn’t conjure up a fresh approach.
So familiarity breeds contempt? Not so fast. Handle the Z400 and it reaffirms what makes the majority of Samsung’s mid to high-end phones special. Quality build, slick spring-assisted slide action, stunning screen and a nice feature set. In fact, the Z400 is essentially the award-winning D600 rigged with 3G capabilities – a phone we’ve been hankering after for some time.
And you can tell this phone is heading for the big time when everyone but T-Mobile has signed up the Z400. Even 3 has hooked up with Samsung for the first time, such are the high hopes for this 3G handset.
The Z400 is, unbelievably, just a shade slimmer and lighter than the D600, and considering it’s now amped-up with 3G capabilities it is impressive. In fact, if you’re a D600 convert then the Z400 offers nothing remotely different in terms of user interface and handling.
But you will notice a few differences, the most obvious being a front-loaded VGA camera lens for video calling, a far brighter and more defined display and slicker graphic icons. It’s also refreshing to see this handset arrive in a chrome finish, instead of Samsung’s signature black glaze, at least giving it some semblance of a unique personality.
Our review sample was Vodafone flavoured so we set about downloading and streaming content from the Live! portal. The Z500 coped well streaming and buffering Vodafone’s Mobile TV as we snacked on Sky Sports News and music videos on MTV. Picture quality was watchable, although we advise you to hook up the supplied headphones to experience the audio; the built-in speaker didn’t project the sound at all well.
Downloaded videos and music are both accessed via the built-in media player and again Samsung fails to deliver when it comes to audio quality. It’s been well documented in the annals of 3G that Samsung’s built-in music players fall way behind in the quality stakes when compared to the Sony Ericsson Walkman and Nokia Xpress music ranges, and the Z400 doesn’t change this perception. With average in-ear headphones supplied, with a proprietary multi-pin connector, no way of hooking up your 3.5mm jack headphones and little in the way of sound equaliser enhancements or bass, the Z400 sounds flat and lacks dynamics.
With A2DP (Advanced
Audio Distribution Profile) you can wirelessly hook-up over Bluetooth with
a pair of compatible stereo headphones and you’ll find the fidelity
performance notched up another level. However, with no room to manoeuvre or
adapt the audio, the Z400 just sounds one-dimensional.
You can create playlists on the fly and shuffle and repeat songs but this
is as rudimentary as the player gets. If you’re looking to use the Z400
as a music player then we advise you invest in an optional 1GB microSD card
because the 30MB of internal memory won’t hold a bean.
Unlike the D600, the camera is perched on the inside of the front fascia instead of the far back cover. Samsung has clearly learnt from its mistakes regarding the lens position on the D600. This handling faux pas saw your finger frequently flirt with the lens but there are no such worries with the Z400.
Unfortunately, the two-megapixel camera is unsophisticated compared to fellow competitors. There is no auto-focus or flash on the Z400 but considering the restrictions, the pictures appear respectable for this level, displaying true colour representation and strong focus. Understandably, without the flash, it does struggle in low light but you can manually set the ISO light sensitivity setting to compensate. The higher settings (400 and 800) are ideal for indoor environments while we advise 200 for overcast conditions.
Despite video calling becoming something of a marginal activity, the front camera allows two-way chats. We made a call to an LG U890 and found the conversation quality mixed. Symptoms included digital drag and some choppy buffering – but you could still hold a conversation providing you used the supplied headphones to hear the other person’s voice.
To attract the business crowd, Samsung has included Picsel document viewer software, inherent in the D600 and P300. It allows you to view Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and email attachments, and the joypad and side volume switch help navigate and zoom into the pages. Although it works well, keen observing is restricted by the small screen. Also, if you guzzle the 3G content on offer it can drain the battery, so for moderate use you’re looking at two to three days.
Look beyond the lack of originality in the design and you’re still faced with another decent Samsung handset that’s poised to challenge similar 3G tinkers like Sony Ericsson’s K610i and V630i and Nokia’s 6280. It may hit the buffers when it comes to digital music playback but its other attributes more than revive its chances, making it a very capable 3G practitioner.
This review covers the above mobile phone only and does not address the performance of any 3G Network. The score is based on a 3G mobile phone checklist.
Copyright : You are advised that this material is the copyright of www.3G.co.uk and is our own personal view only. (C) All rights reserved 2005. Whist every care has been taken in the preparation of this review, the author nor 3G.co.uk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information it contains, or consequence arising from it.
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