Review: Samsung Messenger Smartphone on Bell

 By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Samsung's GT-B7330 Windows 6.5 smartphone  AKA the Omnia Pro is a well-built, properly specced smartphone reminiscent of Palm’s Treo line  and RIM’s BlackBerry 9700. In terms of styling, it is conservative, a bit stodgy and clearly born and bred for the corporate world but is being pitched to text-happy tweeners and teenagers.

This is confirmed beyond the look-and-feel once you turn the phone on to be greeted by Microsoft Phone OS. This is the Windows Mobile 6.5 and while undeniably the latest and greatest version of Microsoft’s long-in-the-tooth Mobile OS, it still feels very traditionally corporate and familiarly dull.

The Samsung Messenger is currently available to Bell customers (Free on a three-year term or $299.95 without a contract). Rogers is expected to offer the phone as well. The OS that ships with the phone is the final OS and will not be upgradeable to the more touch-savvy Windows 7 Phone OS slated for release in the fall.

One thing that isn’t obvious from the photos is that the Samsung Messenger is an extremely pocketable, light and slim phone. We found its most important feature, the QWERTY keyboard, offered enough resistance and was easy enough to use but not as well designed as what you’d get from RIM or Palm.

That being said, we can see how expert texters would be able to master typing on the keyboard with enough practice. Texting and messaging aside, there’s a lot of tech crammed into this phone including Quad Band GSM capability, 3.5G data speeds, Wi-Fi, an FM radio with RDS, 3.2 Megapixel camera with video recording and GPS for good measure.

The device’s 2.6” display, combined with the 3.2 MP camera, creates an easier and more dynamic photo and video viewing experience for users, while the Windows Live Messenger platform and built in Social Networking functionality allow them to share images with their friends, Facebook or otherwise, in no time. Meanwhile, the expandable memory (up to 32 GB microSD) allows users to store nearly limitless multimedia files.

The Samsung Messenger comes with a healthy amount of usual, useful applications like a calculator, scheduler, the requisite Microsoft handouts such as Internet Explorer Mobile, Microsoft Mobile Office and all the tie-ins for exchange and ActiveSync.

Call quality was generally good and Bell’s signal was unfailing within the GTA. Battery life was extremely good especially for such a thin and supple phone.

You also get access to the Windows Marketplace for Mobile that offers downloadable apps at varied prices. Yes, there are a few hundred apps there and many of them are free but only a handful are really riveting.

So, what we’re saying is that the Samsung Messenger is a good phone, with a solid design and a lot of functionality but it is a little too serious and unentertaining for the desired tweens and teenage user market it is being sold to.  They, who actually seem to prefer more familiar Blackberries or messaging phones with full-sized slide out keyboards. Ironically, Microsoft seems to have ‘figured out’ generation text and has developed a whole product line just for them and it sure ain’t WinMo 5.6.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5