Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9164 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Samsung
• Dimensions: 4.25" h x .54" w x 2.15" l, .27 pounds

Customer Reviews

Change of mind time again!
Being a Nokia fan but also having owned several Samsungs in the past, I decided to upgrade to the Pixon from my old N95. My past Samsungs were a mixed bag - the D500 was excellent in it's time and almost flawless - whereas the U600 and G600 were deeply flawed from the outset. I've now had my Pixon two weeks and feel able to offer a review as there are none currently on here to help guide others.

The good points;

Okay I'll start with the looks of the phone. In a single word. Stunning. The large screen is beautiful and sharp while the case feels reassuringly solid and weighty. Mine is on T-Mobile so it's the silver version which I think looks and somehow feels even better than the normal black version. It doesn't come with a protective case however so I'd suggest investing an extra £10-£15 in getting a good quality leather case which makes the handset look more like a high class PDA.

It plays MP4, Divx and Xvid files so you'll be able to watch a wider range of movies than on many other phones, however do be warned about the short battery life. You'll need to be near a charger as I can't see you getting much more than a couple of hours out of the handset if you also using it for browsing, texts and calls. This may sound bad, but bear in mind that as well as playing a file on a 3.2" screen the device is also busy being a phone too, unlike standalone file players such as those by Apple and Archos.

The camera; well, this is really the centrepiece for the Pixon isn't it? I take a great amount of photos wherever I am, and my previous Samsung - the G600 - while shouting about its huge 5mp camera, sadly performed more like a sub-2mp effort with dire image quality and colours. However, I'm glad to say that the Pixon has an absolutely superb camera. It's not so good indoors but my outdoor shots are fantastic and much better than I would have expected. While it may not match my dedicated 8mp Fuji, it's still the best camera phone I've yet seen.

The MP3 player sounded good quality though as I still prefer to use my now ancient Creative, I haven't used it much.

The average points;

This is my first touch screen and while I'm now getting used to it, you still can't beat pressing tangible keys. The accelerometer, which rotates the screen to horizontal if you turn it sideways, does compensate though writing texts is still slower than normal. I guess I'll get faster tapping with the stylus as time goes on.

While it has Google Maps (GM) you can forget about using this as a SatNav replacement. GM will only pinpoint you to within 1,500 metres so if you find yourself a stranger in a strange land it's not gonna be much help to you unless you can quickly find a street name with the patience to then find it on the map!

The bad points;

The headphone socket is still Samsung's own proprietary connection rather than a 3.5mm jack socket. Why oh why Samsung? Do you not look at how other manufacturers are now incorporating 3.5mm jacks into their handsets or is it just sheer obstinateness in refusing to follow the latest market trends? To make matters worse, the charging point is also the same as the headphone socket so you can't charge and listen to the device at the same time, unlike many other handsets such as the latest Nokias, HTC's etc.

The poor web browser. Having been used to my N95, the browser on the Pixon is quite frankly rubbish. Maybe the more I use it the more I'll get used to it but it does put me off from even going there!

The battery life isn't great. Even when you're not playing video files this will still need charging every night which isn't good in the age of high standby hours.

The phonebook is probably the worst ever seen in a phone. You have to scroll through the list rather than being able to type in the first letter and go to those beginning with it. Annoying if you have fifty contacts, diabolical if you have several hundred.

Overall verdict. While it has its faults - pretty much par for the course with Samsung who seem completely incapable of ever building the ultimate gadget - I do like this phone very much. The camera alone is worth owning and complete with the multi video support it blows away the Nokia 5800 and most of the other competition for looks, flexibility and build quality.

Update 21st May 2009; well, I've now had time to get to grips with the phone so time for an update. Most of the phone works well and I do still quite like the handset but dear oh dear, you can tell this is a typical Samsung product. Great ideas, shocking execution.

Firstly, the multimedia messaging software is screwy. Sometimes, it will allow me to insert a photo into an MMS, other times it won't. There's no rhyme or reason to this and switching the phone off and on again usually solves the problem but it's still a problem that shouldn't exist.

Secondly, the inability to adequately view a photo is also dire with no hold mode. Nudge the handset slightly and every photo in your library will cascade past at an increasing speed. Awful. Sometimes the ability to view your pictures in a slideshow is there, other times the option has disappeared. It's all a bit random really even though my firmware is up to date.

For a handset that's as much a camera as it is a phone, the picture software is terrible and Samsung really do need to raise their level if I'm ever going to buy another of their phones in the future. Don't get me wrong, it's still a nice phone but at times I just want to throw it at the wall!

I loved the D500 but then came the disastrous U600. I should have learnt after the shoddy G600 but following two botched Samsungs, I still didn't learn for the Pixon. Will I ever learn just to stick to Nokias from now on?

GREAT CAMERA... BUT WHAT ELSE?
I purchased one my pixon last saturday, i thought the camera was great, i also thought i would be able to completely customise the phone, make it feel a bit more personal. like i say the camera is great without a doubt, the camera alone would get 4 stars but the rest of the phone is what (for me) brings it down and loses those extra stars. its bland and boring. you cant change the theme or download any software to change the theme, also found the phone to be a little unresponsive a couple of times. but thats rare. it is usually very responsive and easy to use, the touch sesitivity is something that needs getting used to if it is your first touch screen phone, the sound isn't great but good enough or hearing your phone when someone is calling. the call speaker (ear speaker) itself which is very good.

+ 2 stars for the excellent camera and pic/video software, easiness to use, in text keyboards and general responsiveness of the software.

- the 3 other stars for bland and bleak menus, trial games (rather than full versions), rubbish internet browser, stupidly sensitive (when it comes to scrolling, needs a scroll bar which would be better), bad media browser, widgets (good idea, not for me i just find them annoying).

good phone no doubt, if you just want a great camera. but i feel its the only selling point for me. the rest is boring and bland.

Poor Phone with a great camera
Like the previous reviewers I think there is a lot wrong with this phone considering it is marketed as in competition with the iPhone.
I received mine in Jan 09 through Orange and the hatred grows the longer i use it.

Good: Great camera for taking photos outdoors and lovely solid metal body. I also like the big screen which makes the buttons on screen a nice size..thats it!

Bad: The contacts menu is a joke trying to get a name as it only allows you to scroll through the names by way of a slide tab on the left hand side of the screen which is not easy when holding in your right hand as you stretch your thumb across and it blocks your view. I have over a hundred contacts and getting to someone at the end of the alphabet takes ages (In comparison my partner has just got the Nokia 5800 touch screen with a similar method but the tab is on the right side of the screen which is easier to use and also allows you access by bringing up an alphabetical keyboard to type in the first letter and take you straight to where you want).
Texts - why is there a button directly under the 'space' button to change the language? Stupid!! I keep hitting it accidently when i am trying to add a space and it infuriates me having to keep changing the language back to English. Also you have to wait till the text has been sent before you can do something else on the phone. My Nokia would come straight out and send it in the background. Not a problem if sending 1 text but put it down and go make a cuppa if sending a group text.

On top of this the battery needs charging every day or sooner after a few calls, not having a standard head phone socket, poor signal coverage (my old Nokia 6300 knocked spots of this for signal cover) and i'm constantly walking around trying to get more bars up, web browser is slow and not helped by always having a poor signal (and why doesn't it have WiFi?), the stylus attaches to the phone by a dangling chord (why wasn't it incorporated into the body?!!) and the menu for searching photos isn't good. Too many buttons round the outside (i'm always turning something on or off every time i pick this up), the handbook had very little in it and support info on Samsungs website is non existant.

I got this as soon as it came out and there wasn't many reviews around to check it out. I now have to wait till July 2010 to change this phone but seriously considering just buying another and throwing this in a drawer. This definately is not a rival to the iphone (Apple must be laughing their socks off) and Samsung need to make huge changes to get anywhere near!!