Samsung keeps sending me phones I like. I’m still not 100% on board with their OS, but every phone they send is better an better. Recently, they sent out the Samsung Impression. Right out of the box, I turned it on to see the AMOLED screen and I was not let down. However, a phone is much more than it’s fancy-pants screen, so I reviewed the whole thing for you.
Seriously… Drool-worthy
When I pulled the phone out, before I even turned it on, I felt I was in for a treat. The form factor is nicely a bit small, but not too small, and the smoothed edges all over the place just look very clean and sleek. I turned the phone on and it instantly became the first phone I’ve reviewed that I made a point to show off to everyone in the office. What I was showing off was the AMOLED display. It’s a bit like experiencing HD for the first time. You don’t think there could be that much difference until you see it in person. After seeing for yourself, it’s clear that the technology is worthy of its praise. Like HD television, I won’t say that I’ll never own another product without this technology, but it’s certainly a selling point.
Other physical features
Other than the display, one of the most notable physical features of the Impression is the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The phone has a software keyboard, too, but a physical keyboard is much easier to type on if done well and this one is done pretty well. The buttons are the right size and it just feels right. On the bottom of the phone’s face are the Send, End, and Back buttons we’re all used to by now. It also has the volume buttons and camera shutter that most have as well as the ports to charge or dock the phone or plug in headphones.
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(Click here to see all the photos)
Like most of Samsung’s smart phones, this one is equipped with a decent camera that weighs in at 3.0 megapixels. The phone is very comfortable to hold and carry and the camera quality is great, as usual for Samsung. The design of the phone, over all, is great. I love how they put it together.
Software and ease of use
As I said at the start of the review, a phone should be more than it’s external appearance. I’ve also stated that I’m not a huge fan of the OS. I like to customize my phone with my choice of thousands of applications, and I haven’t seen that so much here. I do like the icon tray that can be hidden and everything seems very stable and clean, though. One thing I noticed right away is that the touch screen on the Impression was much more responsive than on other phones from varying brands. This was a big point-earner for me. If you’re going to be touching the screen as 90% of the operation of the phone, it should be smooth and responsive. The software was largely the same full suite of applications that Samsung normally provides, along with feature-rich camera functionality, which is another thing I look forward to in Samsung phones.
Conclusions
While I’m still not completely on board with the OS, the Impression is by far the best phone I’ve reviewed in a while. For the money, it’s a great smart phone that promises to provide a better looking picture than any of your friends’ phones while taking crisp photos and video, giving you a full keyboard and responsive touch interface and looking pretty good to boot.
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