Samsung S8530 Wave II review: Riding the wave

19 November 2010
They shall come in wave upon wave. Or so it seemed in the beginning. Samsung certainly wanted a strong start for their own Bada OS and they had it. It is usual for sequels to be questioned and belittled. That’s one thing the Wave II doesn’t have to worry about. Update: Samsung Dive overview added...

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • sm@
  • 23 Nov 2010

Sails, 23 Nov 2010Its Clear Black Display. A new tech that is debuted on C6-0... moreits certainly great to see clear black being so successful,it'll mean phone companies not being so dependant on samsung for amoled/super amoleds. Clear black needs to be in much higher resolution though to be considered an equal competitor to samsungs super amoled which operated at 800x480. Nokia has needed to beef up its resolutions for some while and if it wants the clear black to compete this is gonna need to be addressed fast especially with the rumoured super amoled2 1000x600 resolution coming for the samsung flagship in early 2011.

    • S
    • Sails
    • nmP
    • 23 Nov 2010

    Anonymous, 23 Nov 2010Yep. Inferior technology (AMOLED compared to SuperAMOLED) a... moreIts Clear Black Display. A new tech that is debuted on C6-01. E7 is also going to have it. Main points against Super AMOLED:

    -Better outdoor readability
    -Better color reproduction
    -Full RGB sub pixels against the PenTile cheat on Super Amoled
    -The blacks are really black

    Super Amoled looks just a bit brighter inside, but the margin is pretty hard to notice. I would rather take CBD than Super AMOLED.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • ttc
      • 23 Nov 2010

      Sails, 22 Nov 2010Just get Nokia C6-01. The new CBD is gorgeous. Better than ... moreYep. Inferior technology (AMOLED compared to SuperAMOLED) and a lower resolution make for a better display. Thanks for briefing me.

        • F
        • FaceBook
        • T4d
        • 22 Nov 2010

        What? Native Facebook and Twitter clients offer similar functionality like iOS and Android?
        Did you try it out?
        They are crap compared to the clients on iOS devices.
        I sold my Wave coz I bought an iPhone 4. But that is the only reason.

        Wave is a very sexy device. And for the money very very good.

        Unfortunately Samsung focuses on Windows Phone 7 :(

          • S
          • Sails
          • nmV
          • 22 Nov 2010

          Anonymous, 21 Nov 2010The major selling point of the Wave was it's SuperAMOLED di... moreJust get Nokia C6-01. The new CBD is gorgeous. Better than Super AMOLED.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • ttc
            • 21 Nov 2010

            The major selling point of the Wave was it's SuperAMOLED display, not Bada. Therefore, no SuperAMOLED on Wave II = no success for Wave II.

              • m
              • mur
              • K2E
              • 21 Nov 2010


              the BADA OS,is it so much comfy to use like android in galaxy s ?


              Cause the embedded video shows some difficulty,I mean is it that much touch responsive?

                • I
                • Ian
                • 3QU
                • 21 Nov 2010

                tango, 20 Nov 20103000 apps in the app store? Not. Only 1500 in the UK store... moreYes, but they sum all the apps from all the countryes for the Wave I from all the countryes, In Spain we have 1625, in France is 1756. So 1625 + 130 from the french samsung apps + etc.

                  • N
                  • Neostar
                  • JCt
                  • 21 Nov 2010

                  Hey guys does the Samsung Wave have an app for Last.FM scrobbling?

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • vp1
                    • 21 Nov 2010

                    Anonymous, 19 Nov 2010 if samsung released this phone with s-amoled, it would st... moreRead the review again. Obviously the reason for this phone's production is totally lost on you.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • vp1
                      • 21 Nov 2010

                      [deleted post]Yeah right. Are you using Wifi?

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • vp1
                        • 21 Nov 2010

                        Thanks GSMArena for the review.
                        So S-AMOLED screens are still better than Super Clear LCD.

                        Another downside of bada OS both version 1.0 and 1.2: the phone can store only 1,300 messages. That's pretty low. You can save your messages on the memory card but it is still different than being able to view all your messages in Conversation mode no matter how old. Hope Samsung could fix this.

                          • w
                          • whitefont
                          • LAE
                          • 20 Nov 2010

                          did the wave s8500 get actualized to bada 1.2 in latin america? (excuse my english)

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • K7e
                            • 20 Nov 2010

                            for sure, most of the bashers here haven't touch the wave 1,

                            i was a nokia guy and always be, but when i own the wave 1, i considered it as my benchmark for ui touch experience, i know sum1 will bash again the touch wiz 3, but then again its better than symbian 3 UI. til nokia will released a speedy descent UI not just mediocre n8, ill go back to nokia...

                            but for now, only iphone 4, SGS and other 1 Gz snapdroid, and windows 7 are the touch phones that i could think of replacing wave 1, but their prices are too much for a single gadget...

                            fyi - samsung did released monthly fw updates for bada OS and soon will release bada 2 by Q1 2011, well technically its in the uk that they have monthly updates while in asia its still stuck to 1.0.2, but i got mine flashed to 1.2 at ease, but im not tech guy,

                              • t
                              • tango
                              • 0xy
                              • 20 Nov 2010

                              3000 apps in the app store? Not.
                              Only 1500 in the UK store (apps for other Bada models can't be used because of different screen res), and you can take at least 500 off that for themes and duplicate apps.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • t7P
                                • 20 Nov 2010

                                its improve images clarity very sharper compared to wave1, wave application and games direct to phone memory not in memory card? if wave2 is higher price than n8 ill go for n8.

                                  • K
                                  • Kidz
                                  • uH@
                                  • 20 Nov 2010

                                  LOL. Wave II is launched because of the SuperAMOLED crisis as mentioned. Samsung needs the SuperAMOLED for Galaxy S and WP7 phones.

                                  That is why Wave I production is stopped and Wave II is launched to relieve the bottleneck.

                                  Wave II is not meant to be an upgrade from Wave I. It is supposed to be equivalent.

                                    • r
                                    • rahul480
                                    • PZE
                                    • 20 Nov 2010

                                    I know that its confusing when both SAMOLED and SLCD are compared side by side. I am sure if we review this as an individual device, its still far bettter that other mobiles in the market.

                                    When is this beauty coming to india and what price? some wbsites say 429 Euro, some 300-350..Is anyone aware of the exact price.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • Kg%
                                      • 20 Nov 2010

                                      Anonymous, 19 Nov 2010 if samsung released this phone with s-amoled, it would st... morelol where have you been? there are tons of update on BADA already since its release

                                        • z
                                        • zima
                                        • 0Zf
                                        • 20 Nov 2010

                                        Samsung does need to promote Bada OS, but IMHO _not_ under "new flagship" - this OS was supposed to improve the capabilities of cheap, mass-produced Samsung Touchwiz phones / give them the status of smartphones.

                                        Instead - it's essentially on one (Wave -> Wave II hardly counts...) fairly niche device so far; more expensive, I believe, than even some Samsung Android handsets...