Samsung S8500 Wave review: Hello, world!

01 June 2010
Smartphone for the masses or feature phone of the future? Samsung would gladly have it either way. The question rather is, will the Bada OS keep up the pace of its debut device. We’ve been following the new smart platform since its first. Update: Samsung Dive overview added...

Sort by:

  • a
  • anon
  • KTi
  • 05 Jun 2010

Anonymous, 04 Jun 2010Guys has any of you Wave users tried browsing with it? How ... moreYes, it supports flash.

    • a
    • anon
    • KTi
    • 05 Jun 2010

    Sam, 04 Jun 2010Hi guys, I have to agree the phone looks amazing. I don'... moreYes, browser supports geolocation. Its based on webkit, same as Iphone and Android. So its as good if not better

      • a
      • alex
      • ph@
      • 05 Jun 2010

      PaulPaul, I'd like to ask you couple of questions m8!!
      1. How's onboard gps navigation? Can you steel use it if u don't buy licence? I mean are you able to use it without the turn by turn guide and voice?
      2. Can browser properly display flash? From youtube not mobile version, or vimeo?
      3. Can you use google maps? Because in one video I saw there was a widget on one of the home screens with Google on it, there were Gmail and Google Maps signs.
      4. How's picture quality in doors? Or in a lets say not so sunny day?
      Please someone answer these questions, because I can't try the phone in my country just yet and I really wanna buy it, though these questions are bothering me.
      Regards!!

        • N
        • Neil
        • nCh
        • 05 Jun 2010

        paulpaul , 05 Jun 2010i got my wave through post yesterday and been playing with ... moreThanks PaulPaul for your review...

        I too am interested in the questions posed by Anonuymous below.. awaiting your reply :)...

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • tAU
          • 05 Jun 2010

          Hey PaulPaul,

          Thanks for review.

          SatNav and Maps apparently are not the best - and expensive. Is there app for better navigation? (google maps etc.)
          Also, have you seen apps for VPN and SSH clients?

          And one last thing. What have you found that you are a little dissapointed with (if anything)??

          Thanks.

            • p
            • paulpaul
            • 3pb
            • 05 Jun 2010

            i got my wave through post yesterday and been playing with it ever since....pretty much figured out everything theres to know about it...and my impression after a day and half would be like

            1. very sold build. metal body, battery cover. feels thinner than it actually is in pocket.
            2. simply amazing display, ve to see it to belive it
            3. very simple yet fast, intuitive and user friendly operation system
            4. doesnt take more than 20 mins to master it
            5. plays divx, mp4, mkv files right out of box
            6. eats 720p hd movies for breakfast, plays with ease (just drag and drop ur existing movies, it wont even break a sweat and i hate converting videos anyway)
            7. lightning fast browser, supports java, flash. browsing internet is a breeze. just pop in a local store and check out for yourself
            8. mine came with 10 preloaded games, downloaded dungeon hunter (131.22 MB) game from bada aps store and its better than psp games. trust me on this one.
            9. camera rocks, even though LED flash, but its really bright, took a pix in pitch black yesterday and auto-focus lock time was amazingly fast, pic to pic time was little over a sec.....and thats in pitch black.
            10. media/music player cant get any better, simply amazing, lots of animation/transition eye candy type of things through out interface. when i connected my JBL headphones to the s8500, i couldnt belive my EARs....the best portable music player i ve ever had. just put some tunes on and check out for urself (again from local store)
            11. bada apps store growing by every day, just woke up an hour ago and went to apps store first thing and found 6 or 7 new apps since last night 2:30 am GMT...there r almost 150 aps at the moment (UK) a week after aps store gone alive.
            12. waiting for Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X on wave, which ll hit aps store by next week (161MB)....now thats a beast...in terms of size and quality.

            well thats my summery...some people might find it otherwise....but thats just me talking about my new phone....

            my flat mate has a X10 for more than 2 months now and hasnt found a dedicated divx/xvid/mkv player on apps store yet, that plays standard definition videos (forget HD content). now thats a real shame for android, a market with around 100,000 apps. u might ask, among all those apps surely 1 of them can play above mentioned videos, well i hate to break it to u, there isnt one. by any means that doesnt mean there wouldnt be 1 in the future, but not yet!!!

            dont get me wrong, i do love android, my previous phone was an android device and i like the amount of apps available and if i ve enough money, ill buy another android with my eyes closed. Now android didnt get here over night, it took them almost 2 years to get to where they are just now, and the real question is, would u allow bada the same amount of time to get to a respectable place in terms of no of apps?

            anyway 1 last thing before i takeoff, if u guys ve any question about wave s8500, please do through at me, ill try my best to answer them.

            cheers

              • N
              • Neil
              • nCh
              • 05 Jun 2010

              guys, does this phone come with google maps?

              else do we have the option to install it on the phone?
              thanks

                • J
                • Jade
                • nbE
                • 05 Jun 2010

                inferno, 04 Jun 2010I got this phone today and I noticed that the design and bu... moreThat was the point what i want to write here....

                The middle key is at first not solid and
                feels like a mountain when u touch over the front surface of the wave
                the middle key is the reason why im not buying this phone....

                  • m
                  • mark
                  • nxn
                  • 05 Jun 2010

                  this has to be the closest you can get to the perfect convergence device yet. forget all the crap about about stats and think about real world usage. this works and works well

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • nxn
                    • 05 Jun 2010

                    Andrew, 04 Jun 2010So, this is EXACTLY the same phone as Galaxy S except small... morenone of the android phones support tv out. so, no it would not be the perfect phone. you can't beat having a portable dvd player in your pocket. bada is the way till meego

                      • M
                      • Mark
                      • nxn
                      • 05 Jun 2010

                      inferno, 04 Jun 2010I got this phone today and I noticed that the design and bu... morewith you on that. the middle key has a strange feel and is definitely not of the same build quality

                        • n
                        • narcolepsy
                        • wvP
                        • 05 Jun 2010

                        3 days till I get my hands on this baby. Samsung apps store is growing by the day. I think this platform is going to rock. Well done Samsung.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 0CA
                          • 05 Jun 2010

                          guys i've gotten this phone for a few days now and i tell u its amazing, looks and build wise surpass's the i phone (a friend of mine had the i phone while i had the wave and every1 liked mine better), then comes the os very fast and reponsive and the camera/video recording, my friends where all just blown away, never seen anything like this quaity outside of a dedicated video camera. Then app store is abit limited but this is expected to change with time. And some1 was asking about the web browser its comparable to the iphone if not better (one of my iphone buddies got so jealouse he said yea its just copying the iphone, to which i said thats right only doing it better lol, in summary thats what this phone is)

                            • s
                            • scoopyscoopy
                            • x$K
                            • 04 Jun 2010

                            I don't see through review like GSMArena else where much for Wave. I think Nokia or Apple might give them so much money to shut their mouths.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • Lce
                              • 04 Jun 2010

                              what biased review another site is giving..just because it has not the apple or htc logo!!

                              Please developers make some menu changes with more eye candy for that Super Amoled!!!

                              Does bada suport live wallpapers??

                                • i
                                • inferno
                                • 39x
                                • 04 Jun 2010

                                I got this phone today and I noticed that the design and build quality of the middle menu key is awful and doesn't much the rest of the phone. Also the black plastic material used at the bottom of the phone has a quite bad feel. Software wise is very fast, responsive with great screen and phone functions.

                                  • a
                                  • azu_ichi
                                  • 9BA
                                  • 04 Jun 2010

                                  Andrew, 04 Jun 2010So, this is EXACTLY the same phone as Galaxy S except small... moresorry dude, but I think you have been misinformed. this phone uses the long awaited (well, for some people) bada os. It wouldn't get any android roms... But yes it will get many bada roms update AND upgrade...

                                    • S
                                    • Sam
                                    • xmh
                                    • 04 Jun 2010

                                    Hi guys,

                                    I have to agree the phone looks amazing. I don't really need an overcomplicated smartphone and this appears to fit the bill. The tethering is a bonus too.

                                    The only thing putting me off is the current lack of apps (though hopefully that will change) and that Samsung is notorius for lack of updates.

                                    I just wanted to know, for those of you who already have the phone:
                                    - Does the browser support location, like on the iPhone and Android?
                                    - Does it have Cisco VPN support (would be nice)?
                                    - What is the browser like in general. I figure I'd be using web apps on this more than native ones and just wondered what browsing was like.

                                    Thanks

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • ph@
                                      • 04 Jun 2010

                                      Guys has any of you Wave users tried browsing with it? How are flash videos? Are you able to watch videos like gametrailers/gamersyde/gamespot or others? I'm about to buy it online and need some help

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • pwb
                                        • 04 Jun 2010

                                        Well i've had my wave for two days and it's pretty much beaten all expectations I had. It's extremely responsive, takes calls wonderfully and it's just amazing to look at. Was playing around with it outside in the sun and I could see what I was doing! I'm not a big app user though, so I can't really comment on that. Been texting like a demon though, it's so much fun.