Samsung-Wave-578

The release of Samsung Wave 578 adds to the list of low end phone running on the bada OS. While many would say the bada OS isn’t exactly going to make them choose this phone over any other phone the Samsung Wave 578 might just have the secret ingredient. The Near Field Communication (NFC) chip that comes with this phone could just be the answer to make heads turn its way.

Design
The Samsung Wave 578 comes with a design that’s meant for user comfort and ease of use. For instance, you will find the left and right sides of the front of the phone to be curvy and this simplifies the task of holding the phone and also the task of getting something done using the touch screen while ensuring the phone does not slip away from the hand at any time. Adding to this is tapered edges of the sides and the back thus adding to the comfort while holding the phone. On the left of the phone you will find the volume rocker. The power/lock button as well as the camera button is located on the right side of the Samsung Wave 578. These buttons are not only of the right size they are also easy to press. This phone comes with a 3.2 inch LCD screen with a resolution of only 240 x 400 pixels. This might be a downer for many but that’s probably what you are going to get on a cheap phone like this one. Turn the phone around and on the back sits a 3MP camera that’s not going to mesmerize you with its photos but it’s good that we have one.  At 4.25 x 2.16 x 0.49 inches, it’s one of the smallest and thinnest phones when compared with similar level phones like the Acer Liquid Mini and the LG Optimus One. Another nice thing about this phone is its weight as it only weighs less than 4 oz which means you will not feel it when it’s in your pocket.  In terms of design, we feel this phone has been designed reasonably well and will go well with the users.

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Features
The Samsung Wave 578 is powered by the bada 1.1 OS which is the same one used on the Samsung Wave 723. The easy to use calendar app is worth a mention here and some of the apps that came out of the box were the document viewer and the file browser. It has all the basic needs covered pretty well so no complains there. This is where we would like to say that the bada OS isn’t half bad and when it’s integrated with the TouchWiz UI makes it a pretty awesome experience. However, the fact that there are not as many apps on this OS as others in the market is something Samsung should think about. The cool thing we found was the virtual keyboard was pretty comfortable to use although some might think there is the issue of a small screen size. Well you can put that though away as the keyboard turned out to be really good even with the 3.2 inch screen that the Samsung Wave 578 sports.

So Samsung has decided to have only a 3.2 inch LCD screen on the Samsung Wave 578. It would not have been too much of an issue if the resolution was 320 x 480 pixels like most other smartphones with the same screen size, but this screen only has a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels. Piling on to this is the small range of viewing angles. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel as the screen on the Samsung Wave 578 is bright enough to be seen under bright conditions. 

Samsung Wave 578 comes with a 3MP camera in an age where 8MP cameras grace the smartphone industry. Although we stick to our principles that numbers don’t necessarily tell the true story, but this is too vast a difference to keep us from swaying away from that principle. The camera interface does provide some customization for your shooting and scene modes which is definitely welcome. The pictures taken lack details to such an extent that it affects the accurate color representation of the scenery. In the video recording department, the 15fps frame rate coupled with the 240 x 320 resolution isn’t going to get you anywhere either.

Moving on to the email client on this phone, just as the ones found on other bada smartphones, it’s equally great. It allows you to download up to 10MB per message.  The browser that comes with the Samsung Wave 578 is the basic Dolphin 2.0. However, we are sad to inform you that it does not support Flash. Nevertheless, it is good at both panning around as well as zooming. The phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth 3.0 among other connectivity options. As we had stressed in the beginning, the NFC is the highlight for this phone. As of now, the NFC app in the phone is capable or reading NFC tags that already have stored info in them. The app also allows you to create and exchange NFC tags. However, we are keen to find out what’s in store for the future of this NFC chip.

Speaking of performance, the earpiece on the Samsung Wave 578 is decent with only small issues as you go up to high volumes. It was also great to hear from the other end that they could hear us loud and clear.  This phone comes with a 1200mAh battery which is going to do just about enough for a low end phone like this.

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Pros and Cons
The fact that the Samsung Wave 578 comes with the NFC chip puts it one step above the rest. The design is also great as it’s so comfortable to hold.

However, Samsung could have done better with the screen resolution.

Conclusion
The Samsung Wave 578 is a cheap phone powered by the bada OS. It’s something to try out if you interested in the NFC chip, otherwise you can look elsewhere.

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