Samsung Armani

release date: November 2007
colours:
 
black and bronze
Samsung Armani

RATING

3.5 stars

Pros

  • Small and stylish
  • Light - 85 g
  • 2.6-inch touchscreen

Cons

  • No 3G
  • Tri-band only

SUMMARY

A fine looking fashion phone. Thin and the size of a credit card, it easily slips into a pocket. Average features.

Review

The Samsung Armani (P520) fashion phone. Hubba wubba. A very pretty, compact and light mobile phone with average features, the Samsung Armani's key features include a 2.6" haptic (vibrates to touch) touchscreen, EDGE, 3.2 megapixel camera with LED (no autofocus), music player and document viewers.

Decent phone. Some (many?) users don't like the texting interface and find the touch-screen interface a little sluggish to scroll. Yes, the touch screen isn't up to iPhone standard, but it's OK.

A tad pricey - you are of course paying extra for the Giorgio Armani brand name and the luxurious package contents - 2 soft leather pouches and a hard leather pouch included. The Samsung Armani is an average / decent Samsung phone tarted-up with the Armani brand.

Design

Some might say the Armani phone is "sexy". The Samsung Armani is titchy - it's a smidgeon larger than a credit card. It weighs just 85 g and it's a very thin 10.5 mm. This beauty easily slips into your pocket.

The Armani has a metal casing on the back and around the front, plastic top-back and around the sides. It fits snugly in the hand and feels solid.

Box contents: 2 soft leather pouches, a striped hard leather pouch, USB, 1 GB microSD memory card, user guide, cleaning cloth and earphones. A good start.

A quick tour of the phone surface:

Right: Multi-function jack, hold key (locks the touch screen) and the camera key.

Front: 2.6-inch haptic conductive touch-screen - it only detects fingertips. Beneath the screen is the dial key and power/menu exit/end key. Earpiece is above the screen.

Left: MicroSD memory card slot (supports up to 2 GB). A 1 GB card is included in the box. Beneath that is the volume rocker key.

Back: Camera lens with LED flash beneath.

Bottom: Battery cover lock (removing the battery cover is a cinch) and the microphone.

Top: Nothing on the top.

Interface: Easy-to-use. From the home screen access shortcuts, calendar, and the dialling screen. Calendar is displayed at the bottom - swipe your finger across the calendar to switch to the clock. Indicator icons are found at the top of the screen.

Scrolling isn't as smooth as it is on the Apple iPhone, and the icons don't have text beneath them - it can take a little while to get used to the interface.

Making a call: Simple. Tap the icon at top of screen to access the full-screen digit keypad. Once done, tap the dial key beneath the screen.

Features

3.2 MP Camera

2048 x 1536 pixel photos are possible. LED light for the flash. No autofocus. Plenty of camera options: shooting mode, picture size, shutter sound, picture quality, ISO (up to 400), exposure metering... Picture quality is fine for a camera phone.

Video capture: CIF (352 x 288) at 15 fps, QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) at 30 fps.

Music Player

Album art, playlists, filter tracks, sort tracks by album, artit, genre... Same options as other Samsung phones. Plug the provided earphones into the connector port. They sound OK. Loudspeaker isn't particularly loud. Good.

Web Browsing

No 3G, only EDGE, so browsing the Web and downloading files is SLOW. There's a NetFront Web browser - navigate by tapping the arrows or tapping your finger on the screen. Could be better.

Summary

The Samsung Armani is a fine looking fashion phone. Thin and the size of a credit card, it easily slips into a pocket. The Armani phone isn't bursting with features - it's pretty average. Buy the Samsung Armani for about £350 on PAYG or get it for "free" on a contract.

Samsung Armani Alternatives

LG Prada, Nokia 6500 Classic, Apple iPhone or any of the other latest fashion phones.

Features / Specifications

* confirm features at manufacturer's Web site.

Release Date
November 2007
Size
87.5 x 54.5 x 10.5 mm
3.4 x 2.1 x 0.4 inches
Weight
85 g
3 oz
Colours
 
black and bronze
Screen
  • 2.6-inch TFT
  • 240x320 pixels
  • 262144 colours
  • Touchscreen
  • Haptic feedback
Memory
  • 60 MB phone memory
  • microSD memory card (2 GB max)
Networks
  • Tri-band (GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz)
  • EDGE
Battery Life
  • Talk time: 6 hours
  • Standby time: 220 hours

In The Box

Samsung Armani Phone, 2 soft leather pouches, cleaning cloth, 1 hard leather pouch, battery, charger, USB cable, earphones, software, 1 GB memory card, user guide.

Connectivity

  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • USB 2.0

Camera

  • 3.2 MP Camera

  • features: LED light for the flash. No autofocus. Plenty of camera options: shooting mode, picture size, shutter sound, picture quality, ISO (up to 400), exposure metering

  • QVGA video resolution
  • 30 FPS video capture

Messaging

  • SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
  • Software QWERTY

Entertainment

  • Games: Photo puzzle

  • Music Player
  • Video Player

Internet

  • Netfront Web browser

Installed Applications

  • Mobile tracker
  • Document viewer
  • PIM: Calculator, converter, timer, calendar, stopwatch, image editor, image stamp, games, world clock
  • Voice recorder

Prices

Prices coming soon.