Tech Drunk Staff 
Intro
The Samsung Wave II S8530 is the second of the Wave phone series designed and manufactured by Samsung, the South Korean phone maker. It boasts of feature upgrades and changes in regards to its predecessor, the original Wave S8500. A larger LCD screen in place of the AMOLED one, HDMI (TV Out), horizontal and vertical mode viewing, Bada 1.2 OS and so on are featured in this handset which are impressive, but not all of them could manage to captivate us. Here is an evaluation.
The Built
The Wave II more or less resembles the Wave S8500 in looks, still very smooth and handsome, despite the slight increase in dimension (4.88″ x 2.36″ x 0.46″) and weight (135g). The dark grey candy bar case rocks, and together with the same smooth scratch-resistant glass touchscreen is a real captivator. The enlarged 3.7 inch display and the horizontal or vertical mode of viewing the screen are just added delights. Wave II preserves the Wave design continuity, therefore, folks might find it either exciting, for giving them the same cool design with the supposed improvisations, or redundant for same.
The latest Bada 1.2 operating system powers this handset efficiently with the 1 GHz Cortex A8 Humming Bird processor and 512MB RAM (as was in S8500). The featured apps for games, e-books, utilities, health and lifestyle and more can be downloaded using the Samsung Apps. It also has an over-the-air software updates feature and the touchscreen is user friendly with the TouchWiz 3.0 user interface. The Wave II displays 16 million colors on its 480 x 800 pixels LCD touchscreen like S8500.
How about entertainment?
Take shots with the 5 MP camera that grabs images at 480 x 800 pixels resolution and 720p video recording at 30fps. The imaging features includes an LED flash, face detection feature, automatic focus, geo tagging image stabilization, touch focus, image editor etc., similar to its original version. The front camera will allow video calls and is perfect for self portraits.
The Wave II S8530 can play WMV, MPEG4, H263, H264, DivX and Xvid video formats. Options are also available when it comes to audio. You can play MP3, WAV, WMA and eAAC+ audio formats with this smartphone’s music player that also has an FM radio with a feature for recording. The 3.5mm audio jack provides a bonus output convenience. The phone features Java games, which can be downloaded more using the Samsung Apps.
Messaging?
Wave II scores when it comes to messaging with its Swype-like T9 Trace text input feature. With this, you can message by just gliding your finger over the letters of a word instead of typing each key. This method conveniently takes away a lot of punching (on the screen). It also has SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email and Palringo IM features so you can send text, images, videos and sound in the same message. Messaging is quick, easy and fun with this handset.
Connectivity, browsing and memory?
This phone supports both 2G (quad band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900) and 3G (HSDPA 900/ 2100) networks. Connecting with the 3G HSDPA, HSUPA, Bluetooth A2DP, USB v2.0, Wi-Fi, EDGE and GPRS integrated in this smartphone is convenient. It uses the WAP 2.0 XHTML and HTML allowing ease while you browse the web. The added feature in this handset’s connectivity is the HDMI (TV Out) function. Its 2GB internal storage memory can be expanded up to 32GB using microSD card to suit your space requirement.
So, what’s the problem?
The switch from AMOLED to LCD screen seems to be the main setback of Wave II. AMOLED’s display still stands unbeatable, even by the LCD super clear screen. Other loopholes worth pointing out includes menu key, unprotected camera lens, poor quality loud speaker sound, less apps in regards to the claimed ‘update’ and so on.
What else?
Other features and functions you will find in the Wave II includes a Second Camera, GPS navigation, Digital Compass, organiser, calendar, alarm clock, calculator, smart unlock, Samsung mobile navigator, accelerometer sensor, proximity sensor , handwriting recognition etc. Its Standard Li-ion 1500mAh battery gives a decent stand by time of up to 800h (2G) which is up to 600h (3G) and a talk time of up to 6h (2G), up to 8h 20min (3G).
To buy or not to buy?
The Samsung Wave II S8530 is priced around Rs. 19,000, which some might find it unworthy in comparison to Wave S8500 which is priced slightly lower. However, keep in mind that it has the latest Bada 1.2 OS, enlarged screen and the added messaging convenience along with the features of the Wave S8500 while you weigh them. With the above provided dissection, you should be able to judge for yourself by now – as to love it or leave it.
