Review: Samsung Soul U900 Review: Would you Sell Your Own Soul to Get One?

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Overview
The Samsung Soul, code named as the U900, is the latest mobile phone released by Samsung. It is more specifically aimed at any devilish soul who is looking for a mobile phone with oodles of style and charisma. With touch screen control, a slim slider design, HSDPA mobile broadband, a 5 mega-pixel camera, at face value you could definitely see it's worth its hefty price tag. So enough said, let's have a little closer look at this irresistible phone and find out whether it is really worth selling our souls to the devil to get one!

The Soul follows suit from its 'Ultra' series of size zero handsets, to create a slick slider in a metallic case that gives a classy but not 'in your face' look. It also looks as though the Soul has also considered practicality when designing this phone, with rubberised black plastic on the sides to ensure that if anyone get their greasy mitts on your phone then there is no harm in it slipping out of their hands.

So let's talk features. Well, with a 5 mega pixel camera, which includes auto focus, flash, image stabilisation, latest face detection technology and the benefits from optical Zoom to offer better quality images, this is a great phone to take with you on your memorable nights outs…just remember to make them memorable enough to take the phone out to actually take some pics!

With a 'Bang and Olufsen' in-built ICE sound amplifier, I think the name says it all as the sound quality is excellent. Featuring HSDPA, this is also a great phone for surfing, with maximum speeds of 7.2Mbps, that's if you're a Vodafone customer in central London or at major airports.

There is 100mb of in-built memory which isn't bad, though I thought it was a shame it didn't come with a memory card. However, if you do want to shell out for a memory card it does take micro SD cards.
I also like the options to personalise the phone. You can change the colour of the touch pad, the menu colours, the writing colour etc., which is simple and fun to use and if your best friend is know to be a bit of a copy cat and loves to get the same phones as you then you needn't worry as you'll be able to incorporate completely different styles.

This popular slide phone has a touch sensitive control pad that changes depending on what menu you are on. For example, when you are on the home page, the keys are short cuts for texting and contacts etc, however when you go to the main menu they are directional keys, up down left right, and when you are on the camera they are camera settings. Personally I found using these buttons tricky and found myself sending a few blank texts – oops! I also found that the call volume was quite low and I kept having to ask the caller to repeat themselves. On the upsides there were some improvements from the days of the E900 as the cancel button is no longer touch sensitive and there is vibration feedback so you know when you have pressed a button.

One thing that I was disappointed with the Samsung Soul was its lack of quirky features, which is absolutely crucial to survive in a world, where if a new mobile phone doesn't cut it then it is thrown into the 'unwanted pile'. For example, Samsung Souls main competitor the LG Secret, offers unique features, such as its tempered glass screen, which is able to withstand a good old battering without hardly a scratch (trust me our Gaj-it team have tested it!).

The Secret also adds a little fun to mobile phone usage through their Wii style games which sadly the Soul does not offer. Fancy a game of darts? With a flick of the wrist you could be throwing darts or shaking the magic ball or even fishing. The accelerometer that makes playing these hands on games possible also means the phone will adjust the screen in certain areas, to make sure it's the right way round. For example, in the photo viewer it will make sure that the pictures are always the right way round. What I personally like is that you can set the maze game as the back ground, so whilst waiting for your bus you can have a quick play without the faff of opening up your games. For a more indepth review of the LG Secret check out Gaj’s review on it here.

The Gaj-It verdict

Design: 9/10
Usability: 8/10
Features: 8/10
Value: 9/10

We Say

Now the Pope may have words with us if we said that you should sell your soul to the devil to get one, but if you're always on the look-out for a classy but understated mobile phone, with bags of features (maybe not all the quirky ones you could find in the LG Secret), to keep you occupied with, then I think it might be time for you to dig deep into them pockets and bag one before your conscious really starts playing up.

you can check out the Samsung Soul page here