Samsung i550/i550w review: Low-key all-in-one

Symbian phonebooks rock

True to its Symbian nature, Samsung i550 is equipped with a phonebook with practically unlimited capabilities. The number of entries is only limited by the available memory, which means that you will have no problems even with thousands of contacts.

Contacts can be ordered by either first or last name, depending on the user's liking. Searching can be done by either scrolling through names, gradual typing of the desired contact or a combination of both. The phone will search in both first and last name fields, as well as additional names in those fields. This means that even if a contact has a really complicated name, you will have no problem finding it provided you remember at least a part of it.

The phonebook of Samsung i550 • contact details

While editing a contact, you can select from a huge number of preset fields, which you can repeat as many times as you like. There is no way any information about the contact will have to be left out. You can attach as many numbers as you like to each contact as well. Finally, if by some very rare chance, you happen to need a field that doesn't exist, you can always use one of the existing ones and simply rename it.

Editing a contact and some of the available fields

The Call log department has always been a Symbian strength. The Samsung i550 makes no exception, offering detailed information of all your communications for the past 30 days. It stores all the calls, messages and even data transfers for that period. You can also reduce the amount of saved data but it doesn't use up that much space so such a choice is unlikely.

Call log application

There is also a more convenient way to access your latest calls. Pressing the call key in standby brings up three tabs on the screen. Each of them holds up to 20 missed or received calls, or dialed numbers.

Messaging duly covered

People who send and receive lots of messages are likely to appreciate the S60 user interface. The messaging menu is really logically organized, which makes it a pleasure to work with.

"...The great email client won't surprise anyone who has ever used a Symbian powered phone. It supports POP3 and IMAP protocols and can download headers only, as well as the whole messages. There is also support for attachments, so with Samsung i550 you will have no trouble meeting almost any emailing requirement..."

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The SMS editor is a very intuitive and easy to use application. It has a counter of the characters left to the limit of 160. There is also an indicator in brackets showing the number of separate parts the message will be divided into for sending if that limit is exceeded. If you are exiting the message editor without having sent the message, the editor offers to either save it to the drafts folder or delete it.

Typing a message to Dexter

Naturally, a delivery report can be activated if the user prefers. The reports pop up on the standby screen, and are consequently saved in a separate folder in the messaging sub-menu. This is surely one of the most convenient ways of dealing with the delivery reports we have seen.

The MMS editor is almost identical to the one just described. The only noticeable difference is the added subject line and the option of inserting multimedia content.

MMS editor has an added line for subject

Finally, there is also an audio message editor. Every time we are reviewing a Symbian device we get to wonder if anyone is ever using this option. Well, it continues to be available so maybe there are such people after all. The editor can either record the message on the fly or use a previously recorded sound clip. Anyway, last time we checked audio messages were simply a type of MMS so it isn't actually worth the fuss.

Audio message composer

The great email client won't surprise anyone who has ever used a Symbian powered phone. It supports POP3 and IMAP protocols and can download headers only, as well as the whole messages. There is also support for attachments, so with Samsung i550 you will have no trouble meeting almost any emailing requirement.

Email client is great too • Attachments are also supported

The overall impression with the Samsung i550 messaging department is really positive. In terms of software users have all the reasons to forgive the keypad shortfalls. In addition, the email client is so good that it will hardly leave anyone disappointed. This of course was to be expected as Samsung i550 is meant to be a business device.