Samsung M8910 Pixon12 preview 2: Some sequels are better

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 360-degree view

The Samsung M8910 Pixon12 is yet another touchscreen device and its design is hardly revolutionary - you know, a big screen on the front and a few buttons below. This form factor doesn't really lend itself to much variation anyway. Still, we like the Pixon12 design quite more than the one of the original Pixon.

Design and construction

The Samsung M8910 Pixon12 front is quite sleek with black glass framing the display, while the surface around the buttons is made of a matte material that helps keep fingerprints away.

Size comparison: LG Arena / iPhone 3GS, LG Viewty Smart, Samsung Pixon12, Samsung Jet, Samsung S5230

The Pixon12 3.1-inch display is a bit bigger than the LG Arena screen, same as the S8000 Jet and a bit smaller than the original Pixon and the Apple iPhone 3GS. With a WVGA resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, the M8910 Pixon12 is quite as well on the forefront of the current mobile phone resolution.

The display is great

The resistive screen of the Samsung Pixon12 is sensitive enough. It reacts to even the slightest touch just as a capacitive screen does, with the added bonus that you can use anything you want to interact with it - stylus, pencil, nails, gloves, etc.

As big a screen as they could fit, beats the LG Arena's by 0.1"

There are three hardware buttons below the display - Call and End keys obviously and the center button. Now, the center button does not launch some 3D cube or something, it just opens or closes the main menu. Pressing it a bit longer starts the new task manager introduced with TouchWiz 2.0.

The buttons on the front are large and easy to hit

On the left side of the phone you get the microSD slot and the hardware Lock (or Hold) key. On the right side are the volume rocker (used for zoom in camera mode), the new small button for switching on or off the camera and the shutter key. All controls are easy to operate in both single and two-handed use scenarios.

The right side hosts the volume rocker, camera and shutter keys

The top houses the standard microUSB port with a protective cover. The phone charges off the microUSB port - just like most of its recent siblings - and is quite useful as you can leave the charger at home when traveling if you have a computer with you.

Even more than that, the lack of 3.5mm audio jack means the microUSB slot is used for the headphones. Luckily the supplied headset is in two pieces and there is a 3.5mm jack on the handsfree part so you can use your own headset. Since this is a brief preview only, we'll present our audio quality findings next week when the full-featured review will be ready.

The microUSB slot and the battery cover release key * the bottom side

As usual, the 12 megapixel wide camera lens is on the back of the device along with the xenon and Power LED flash. The camera has an automatic lens cover but there's a protective glass on top of it instead behind it as it was on the Samsung INNOV8. The glass of course is vulnerable to scratches and finger smudges.

The back of the Samsung Pixon12 hosts an incredibly handy grip, which makes the phone perfectly stable in the hand while taking images,but add some bulk along the way - much like as with the original Pixon.

The lack of stereo speakers on the Pixon12 is a shame as otherwise the device is a very capable portable media player.

The 12 megapixel monster in the pleasant company of the two flashes * the camera grip

So besides its size and look the Pixon12 is a pretty handy cameraphone and sits in the hand almost perfectly. And also thanks to the convinient grip, it's great for doubling as a digicam ready for a lot of shooting.

Samsung M8910 Pixon12 held in hand