Samsung G800 Review

Look and feel

The Samsung G800 is not a big phone and its footprint is actually almost exactly the same as the hugely popular Samsung U600. However, it is a lot thicker, simply because it houses a top notch camera with 3x optical zoom.

The phone boasts a very smart stainless steel finish together with a top-notch 2.4 inch phone display. The G800 can accommodate such a large screen because it's a slider, and - judged by its spring assisted slide mechanism - a very good one at that. The keypad offers large well spaced keys and, mercifully, there are only a few short cut keys on the phone's fascia.

Ease of use

The phone boasts Samsung's proprietary operating system, which is icon based and very easy to navigate. Holding the phone with both hands in camera mode, the shutter key sits just beneath your right index finger while the zoom control sits just to the left of the shutter key. The camera feels really balanced to hold and all camera controls can be accessed using the phone's joypad and softkeys. There are a fair few settings and controls to familiarise yourself with, but once you've mastered navigation of the camera icons that sit on the right hand side of the viewfinder, you'll be well away.

Features

The Samsung G800 boasts one of the most impressive feature sets on the market. There's the five megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom and xenon flash, HSDPA data speeds, a good music player, RSS feed readers and a very capable internet browser. If we were being picky we could point out the lack of Wi-fi or GPS.

Performance

Aside from the disappointing battery and a few niggles with the RSS feeder, the G800 performed beautifully. The camera is fabulous and the 3x optical zoom makes a huge difference. As does the xenion flash, which is way more powerful than the LED flashes on previous Samsung models.

Battery life

The one disappointing aspect of the G800 is the quality of the battery. If you're only using the phone it's not a problem, but with these features on offer, that's highly unlikely.