Samsung G600 Review: Slide and Snap

Samsung G600 GSM

Samsung sets two contenders running for glory, with two 5 megapixel newcomers on the cameraphone market. The Samsung G600 was first to be announced, and had the mobile community astir. Featuring quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, a glamorous 2.2" 16M color TFT display and stereo Bluetooth, the Samsung G600 is easily a tempting all-around multimedia device. The stylish design, the choice of colors and the metallic touch add up to some really exquisite looks. You may as well have a soft spot for this baby already but we are here to make sure its appeal is more than skin-deep.

Samsung G600 official pictures

Key features

• Stylish design
• 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA video recording
• 16M color TFT display of QVGA (320x240 pixels) resolution
• Ambient light sensor for automatic brightness control
• Bluetooth with A2DP
• microSD memory card slot
• FM radio with recording capabilities
• TV out
• MS Office documents viewer
• Nice web browser
• Quick menu response and new menu structure
• The enclosed headset finally has a 3.5 mm audio jack
• Dynamic home screen
• Mobile Tracker application

Main disadvantages

• No 3G support
• Upper row of alphanumeric keys might be hard to reach
• New headset/charger jack incompatible with older accessories
• Xenon flash would've suited it better
• Shot-to-shot time on the slow side

Conclusion

We fear the Samsung G600 won't be able to snatch the best 5 megapixel slider recommendation off the heavyweight contenders in that form factor. However, Samsung have stirred up a really nice combination of features that would appeal to the tech savvy. Looking at the hardware side of it - it offers all the essentials and more: a quick processor, a nice 16M color TFT display, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio with recording capabilities, a TV-out port, and a 3.5 mm audio adapter combined with the highly alluring 5 megapixel camera. The G600 user interface is by far the most mature Samsung interface we've reviewed so far. The excellent web browser, the great music player, the office documents viewer and the snappy response will make users happy.

We admit it's not the perfect gadget - the lack of 3G will turn down many potential buyers, while the unoriginal design we've seen over and over again won't make it stand out in the crowd of Samsung sliders on the shop windows. We guess many of you are already fed up with Samsung's lack of imagination when it comes to slider phones.

No offence, we still find the G600 pleasant to the eye and great to hold in hand. It's a genuine multimedia gadget from head to toe. Adding to the fact that it's the most compact and most affordable 5 megapixel cameraphone to date, the Samsung G600 looks like a great pick for this year's holiday shopping.

(Read full review on GSMArena.com...)
Samsung G600 specification