The Samsung Focus is arguably the hottest Windows 7 buzz at launch. It's slim, it's ablaze and it has Samsung's artlessly amazing Super AMOLED affectation that's the absolute acquaintance to Microsoft's blithely black asphalt interface. It has disposable storage, a aciculate camera and abounding speed. Like Samsung's Galaxy S Android smartphones (the Captivate on AT&T), Samsung seems to accept gotten the appropriate booze down that makes a smartphone desirable. The alone accessible complaint GW5000 Phone? Samsung loves appearance plastics that embrace artificial rather than try to adumbrate that actual beneath faux finishes and added affected surfaces. Don't get me wrong: we anticipate the Focus is an adorable buzz that doesn't attending cheap, and we like it just accomplished added than its slipperiness. But it doesn't accept the cachet of the Motorola Droid X or the HTC HD7 that attending like metal (even if they've got affluence of artificial too).
The Focus SGH-917 is offered by AT&T in the US, and it shares the aforementioned Microsoft-mandated basal specs as the blow of the barrage crowd: a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU (no Samsung Hummingbird here), 512 megs of RAM, 8 gigs of centralized storage, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash, GPS, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth and a GPS. At launch, Samsung is the alone Windows Buzz 7 architect to go with disposable storage. The phone's Super AMOLED affectation actually stands out a allotment of Windows Phones with accepted LCDs: it's abundant added blush saturated, alive and arresting outdoors.
There's a microSD agenda aperture beneath the aback cover, and you can admit a agenda up to 32 gigs for a absolute of 40 gigs of accumulator (minus a few gigs afterwards formatting). That's a able affairs point for the Focus, but there's a caveat: Microsoft didn't architectonics their new OS with disposable accumulator in mind. The OS formats centralized and microSD agenda anamnesis as one basic allotment or drive. That agency you'll allegation to architectonics the agenda and harder displace the buzz afterwards inserting a cast new card, and you'll allegation to harder displace (wipe out) the buzz if you ambition to advancement to a above agenda later. Moral of the story: alpha with a ample agenda and chase the instructions in the box on how to do the antecedent harder displace and architectonics or your buzz will be wonky.
The abbreviate adaptation is:
1. Architectonics the microSD agenda to FAT32 application a Windows computer.
2. Admit the microSD agenda into your Focus.
3. About-face on the Focus while captivation the aggregate down, camera and ability buttons. You'll see a admonishing triangle and an advantage to abolish the buzz and card.
You won't accept to do this afresh unless you adjudge to use a altered agenda in the phone. Don't put the agenda in a camera or addition buzz that may address files to the agenda or adapt the agenda structure. Really, don't do it.
Furthermore, Microsoft has appear a abutment certificate advertence that some cards may not be accordant and it doesn't artlessly abscess down to the acceleration chic amount printed on the card. We've activated our Focus with two 16 gig cards: a Sandisk chic 2 agenda and a Samsung chic 2 card, both of which plan accomplished with the phone. Note that chic 2 is a low acceleration appraisement and you can get faster rated chic 4 and 6 cards that ability not plan well. Microsoft accompaniment that accidental read/write operations per additional is important, and that appraisement isn't adumbrated by the chic rating. Microsoft intends to accredit cards in the future, so you'll apperceive which ones are "safe". That said, we've had no agitation with our frequently accessible non-cutting bend 16 gig cards.
Design
Some things are set in the anatomy blueprint for Windows Buzz 7 and you'll acquisition them on every phone: 3 foreground buttons for back, Windows Alpha (aka "home") and search. There accept to be a accouterments camera button, a 3.5mm stereo jack and of advance a USB anchorage for syncing and charging. The Focus has touch-sensitive buttons that are faintly masked in gray and are a bit harder to see, just as with the Galaxy S phones. Thankfully they're ample and there are alone 3 (in the aforementioned area on every Windows 7 phone), so you'll bethink area they are even if you can't see them in dim ablaze until you actuate their backlighting by affecting them.
The camera button is on the appropriate lower side, just area a camera button should be. With Windows Buzz 7, you allegation not alleviate the buzz to actuate the camera: columnist and authority the camera button and the buzz will deathwatch out of beddy-bye and alpha the camera app. This requires a continued abundant columnist that you apparently won't accidentally yield photos of the autogenous of your abridged or purse. Like the Galaxy S phones, the ability button is on the high appropriate ancillary diametrically against to the aggregate controls on the larboard side. This agency it's simple to hit the aggregate key if arresting the buzz with one duke to hit the ability key. The micro USB anchorage is up top, afresh like the Galaxy S line, and that's not awfully acceptable if you ambition to use the buzz via congenital earpiece while charging the phone.
The apostle is on the aback as is the camera and LED flash. The microSD agenda aperture lives beneath the aback awning next to the SIM agenda aperture and has a admonishing sticker that reminds you to apprehend the accepting started adviser afore inserting a agenda (we categorical the appropriate action above, but you should consistently apprehend those abrupt quick alpha guides afore application a new phone).
The Samsung Focus is actual abutting in admeasurement to the Samsung Captivate, and it's acutely abate than the HTC HD7. It's 2 ounces lighter than the ample HTC Surround and it's thinner too aback the Focus has no slider mechanism. At launch, this is the lightest and thinnest Windows 7 phone. The looks? We adulation the way the buzz looks and the aback has a sculpted attending and pinstripe arrangement in the appearance artificial that lends a blow of class. The foreground is apple-pie and modern, and like abounding blow awning phones is evocative of the iPhone 3GS. The Focus feels solid and the beeline abandon advice accumulate it in duke admitting glossy plastics.
Phone and Data
The Samsung Focus SGH-i917 has actual acceptable alarm superior and solid reception. In actuality it has bigger accession than boilerplate a allotment of Samsung's GSM phones and manages added confined and bigger alarm superior than our iPhone 4 (yes, confined aren't a accurate altitude but they're all we accept on iOS 4 and Windows Buzz 7). Samsung's new babble abridgement technology works able-bodied and we transmitted little accomplishments babble if in malls, parking lots and big box stores. Alarm recipients commented on how bright and loud we sounded, and we acclaimed acceptable aggregate and actual acceptable admission articulation quality.
The buzz has alarm history, a ample on-screen dialer, contacts affiliation with the dialer and a speakerphone. You can use articulation command (standard to Windows Buzz 7) to admit a call, and the buzz works with Bluetooth headsets and car kits including A2DP stereo headsets.
3G download speeds are good, and web browsing speeds are acceptable but not as fast as the iPhone and the quicker Android smartphones yet. The Focus is a cloister bandage GSM apple buzz with 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps on AT&T's 850/1900MHz bands and FZ-G5i 2100MHz for Europe and locations of Asia. There's no official tethering affection on Windows Buzz 7 yet, but some able association on the Net accept already apparent how to accredit USB tethering on the Focus.
As with added Windows 7 phones, the web browser handles abounding HTML sites well, does account and mural approach browsing and it has the fastest pinch-zoom on the planet. The belvedere doesn't yet abutment HTML5 or Beam 10.1, and we achievement to see that soon, lest Windows Phones lag abaft Android and the iPhone for too long.
Windows Buzz 7 and Software
This is acutely a analysis of the Samsung Focus rather than Windows Buzz 7. That said, this is a cast new OS, so we'll awning the basics.
Windows Buzz 7 isn't at all like above-mentioned Microsoft adaptable operating systems begin on smartphones and handhelds. There is actually annihilation in accepted in agreement of user interface and ambition market. Windows Buzz 7 has added in accepted with the iPhone than Windows Adaptable of old, and it bears no affinity to Android. We don't beggarly that Microsoft affected the iPhone's attending and feel (though Microsoft is accepted to borrow abundantly at times from competitors). Rather, the buzz software is gorgeous, automatic and user friendly. The accessory lives in a sandboxed apple area apps appear from the Windows Buzz Marketplace and tunes accompany with Zune on the desktop. It's aswell customer aggressive rather than accumulated in agreement of features.
There's the accomplished Zune Amateur for music and video (totally sweet, actually like the Zune HD experience), there's XBOX Reside with some actual acceptable searching games, but no abutment for USB book alteration of annihilation above music and video. You'll use the Zune Windows desktop software to accompany music, photos and video to and from the phone, just as you'd use iTunes with an iPhone. Mac users, yes there's an OS X Windows Buzz 7 Connector app and it formed accomplished on my Mac to accompany non-DRM iTunes library music and video to and from the phone. You can even baddest alone playlists from your iTunes library for syncing. Shocking, ain't it?
The MS Office Adaptable apartment is able and attractive, and it does abutment SharePoint for you business types. But there's currently no USB loading of Office abstracts or PDFs. You can upload your photos to Microsoft's SkyDrive billow accumulator account but there's no way to get at Office files on SkyDrive abbreviate of emailing certificate URLs to the buzz or downloading docs from added websites. MS Exchange abutment is of advance actual robust, admitting Windows Buzz 7 doesn't yet abutment all Exchange behavior (the a lot of frequently acclimated are supported). The OS seems actual secure, and apps are vetted on the Marketplace. The drawback: that's the alone abode to get apps, not even accumulated apps can be installed-- book up one for the iPhone and BlackBerry. So Windows Buzz 7 is business-friendly in agreement of able-bodied MS Exchange abutment and aegis (it even has limited apple-pie and acquisition my buzz features), but it lacks appearance abundant business users crave.
The home awning is comprised of tiles and the UI is called "Metro". These tiles can be reside and accommodate advice on the amount of new emails and absent calls and circle images from your photo collection. Apps cover IE Adaptable (based on IE 7) and a absurd email applicant that looks even nicer than Android's. It supports POP3, IMAP and Exchange accounts as able-bodied as Hotmail and Google mail. Bing seek and maps are on board, as is MS Office Adaptable and OneNote (view PowerPoint files and view/create/edit Word, OneNote and Excel files).
The Marketplace is area you'll download chargeless and paid apps (there are about 1,000 titles as of this autograph and we apprehend the amount to acceleration quickly). The accepted suspects from iTunes and the Android Bazaar are here: Netflix alive cine player, Weather Channel, Weather Bug, AP News, BBC News and Kindle is coming. There are aswell affluence of boner apps including added assemblage converters than anyone would ambition to consider. XBOX Reside is your gaming hub and there's a photo viewer, calculator and alarms chip into the OS as able-bodied as an accomplished Facebook applicant that's a allotment of the People hub.
What's missing at launch? There's no archetype and paste, admitting that should be advancing anon via an update. Alone the congenital apps can multi-task. There's no accumulation accumulator mode. Aback 3rd affair apps can't multi-task, there's no accomplishments afterlight for Twitter, and amateur don't consistently save accompaniment if you're in the average of a akin and avenue the app or about-face off the phone. You can accompany over WiFi with a Windows desktop but there's no Bluetooth book transfer.
Multimedia and Camera
The Zune amateur looks every bit as acceptable as it does on the Zune HD, in actuality it's better. It makes iTunes on the iPhone attending a bit anachronous and it actually assault abroad even custom music and media players on Android. The side-scrolling panorama appearance is abounding with eye candy, anthology art and advantageous being like a history of what you've afresh played. The music amateur can run in the accomplishments and the lock awning has admission to playback controls. You'll get your songs and videos assimilate the accessory application the Zune desktop software on Windows or the Mac account on OS X (a chargeless download from Microsoft). You don't accept to buy Zune music, admitting it's harder to abide the Zune Pass plan: for $15/month you get cable music (download and beck all that you ambition as continued as your Pass plan is active) and you get to download and accumulate 10 mostly DRM-free songs anniversary month. You can use the Zune desktop amateur to rip songs from CDs and acceptation tunes already on your harder drive. Aswell on-board and accepted for Windows Buzz 7 is an FM radio that uses the included stereo earbud angle as the antenna. Like the Zune, you can accompany up playback controls by hitting a aggregate key if the buzz is in the beddy-bye screen.
The video amateur is capable, and if your video isn't in a Zune player-friendly architectonics like MPEG4, the desktop app will catechumen it for you. The congenital rear-firing apostle sounds decidedly abounding for a buzz and there's affluence of volume. That said, the HTC Surround with its slide-out apostle bar, is appreciably louder (it can calmly ample a baby allowance with sound), and a bit fuller if Dolby Adaptable is on.
Like the Galaxy S phones, the Focus has a solid 5 megapixel camera that focuses bound (much added bound than the HTC HD7 and quicker than the HTC Surround) and takes sharp, bright shots. The Samsung can't attempt with the Nokia N8 (few phones can) for video and photo quality, but it is one of the bigger cameras on the US market. The LED beam helps with low ablaze shots and accepted autofocus and macro focus modes. The Focus can shoot 720p video that's not actually as acceptable as the iPhone 4, but it's bigger than the Surround and abounding added phones on AT&T.
Battery Activity and GPS
The Samsung Focus ships with a 1500 mAh Lithium Ion battery, and that's added accommodation than the HD7 and Surround which accept 1230 mAh batteries. Those added milliamps and the added power-frugal Super AMOLED affectation accomplish for best runtimes. The aboriginal gen Snapdragon CPU isn't shy about application ability and the Focus still requires nightly charging with abstinent to abundant use, but it will accomplish it through the day in a lot of cases. With ablaze use, it can go two canicule on a charge.
Despite troubles with the Galaxy S GPS, the Focus has no problems and it in actuality uses a altered chipset. The GPS works with both Bing Maps and AT&T Navigator powered by TeleNav. Bing Maps offers accomplished POIs and digital angle while the $10/month Navigator offers announced i9+4GS turn-by-turn directions.
Conclusion
The Samsung Focus is our admired Windows 7 Buzz barrage device. The Dell Venue Pro ability action some austere antagonism but it's not accessible as of this autograph and is destined for T-Mobile rather than AT&T. The Focus has an actually admirable 4" Super AMOLED display, and the antagonism actually fades in comparison. It's aswell added acute to touch, even added acute than the iPhone 4. The Focus is adorable and absolutely built, admitting it doesn't adumbrate its plastics. We adulation the user-accessible microSD agenda slot, admitting it's a affliction that one accept to chase austere procedures to change cards acknowledgment to Microsoft's software design. Still, it's nice to alpha out with 40 gigs of absolute accumulator if you go with a 32 gig card. Finally, the camera takes actual nice shots and has fast autofocus, decidedly outdoors.
Pro: Admirable affectation that stands out from the crowd. Attractive, abbreviate and light. Acceptable performance, actual acceptable camera and solid array life. Alone Windows 7 buzz with a user-accessible microSD agenda slot.
Con: Piano appearance plastics are glace and won't address to the metal and bendable blow apparent crowd. Accept to harder displace and apple-pie the buzz if you ambition to advancement microSD cards (due to Windows Buzz 7 architecture, not a Samsung flaw).