AT&T has been the go to man for the launch of the Windows Phone 7 devices, and after all, except for T-Mobile, they are the only major company in the United States that sports a GSM network. Seeing Microsoft is trying to corner the global market, it only makes sense to target the GSM arena and pay little attention to the CDMA ring for the time being.
That said, the company, known for being the launching ground of the iPhone has added another Windows Phone 7 device to its stable. The Samsung Focus S 4G sports Windows Phone 7.5 Mango as the operating system as well as a lot of features we have seen on the Focus S distant cousin, the Galaxy S II. The performance we’ve observed and the ratings coming in certainly demonstrate that people are compelled to find out where to buy the Samsung Focus S 4G phone, and we’ve got just the answers!
Design and Features
To start the ball rolling, we have a single-core 1.4Ghz processor with a dedicated GPU, 512MB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. A 4.3-inch screen boasts Super AMOLED Plus technology along with Gorilla Glass protection. At back, we have an 8 megapixel camera that will gladly shoot 720p content at 29fps. Auto focus and LED flash are on board here. There is a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera that will be used for Skype and other video calling services.
Moving along, we have a quadband GSM radio, triband UMTS radio, HSDPA, HSDPA+, UMTS, HSUPA and EDGE data along with A-GPS. Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR radios as well as Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n with hotspots make their appearance as well. Last but not least, microUSB 2.0 and NFC are included.
Performance
If you should compare those specs to the competition, it doesn’t really bode well for the Focus S, but thankfully for Microsoft, they have done quite a bit of hardware optimization to make sure things perform smoothly.
Overall, our experience with the Focus S was positive. We liked the quick boot times, scrolling and super fluid animations and menus. Speaking of smoothness, the keyboard is excellent and one of the best we have tested on a mobile phone
Gaming is great on the Focus S and casual to hardcore mobile gamers should not be left out of the equation here. While we are on the topic of graphical performance, we will mention that while the overall usability of the phone is good, it did not stand out the graphical department. Thankfully, the inclusion of that Super AMOLED Plus screen did help things out a bit but we saw no blistering performance in gaming though it was not bad either.
Just like the HTC Titan, we have high praises for the camera module. With 8 megapixels, we noticed crisp and evenly saturated colors. Samsung did an excellent job with the inclusion of this 8 megapixel unit and we were impressed with what we could shoot with it. If you are wondering how the video recording works, well we can once again say we were pleased. We do wish image stabilization was included in this camera package as most the videos we shot were shaky. But other than that the quality was good and even the audio raised the bar of what we have come to expect from mobile phones.
Thanks to the single-core processor, with heavy usage, one should be easily able to pull a full days’ charge out of the Focus S. If you sip the battery juice, two days charge is very possible as the Focus S features stellar standby time.
Call quality was good. We won’t claim it was the best we have tested, but definitely decent. Visit the one click access we’ve provided to the best spots for where to purchase Samsung Focus S 4g.
Conclusion
In the end, our decision as to whether or not to recommend the Focus S is contingent on one thing only, and that is price. While AT&T is still carrying a hefty $199 price tag, select authorized retailers are offering the Samsung Focus S 4G as low as $19.99. The Focus S is smaller and more pocketable, which will definitely appeal to some people more than a 4.7-inch screen Titan device. The Focus S 4G is also less expensive. Should you chose the Focus S, you will find plenty to satisfy your cravings for productivity and entertainment. On the other hand, if you are looking for the Windows Phone experience with a bigger screen, we would opt for the Titan over the Focus S.