Samsung Memoir Review: Display, Interface, PIM, Software and Connectivity

The Samsung Memoir has a large 3.1 inch touchscreen display that exhibits 262k colors at a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels. The screen is not only good looking but bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight. It still can't compete with some of the popular models like the iPhone but there is no flickering and images/videos can be watched with utmost clarity. However, it disappoints occasionally by not responding properly to the finger touch. With the physical keyboard missing, the virtual QWERTY keyboard is not that responsive to touch and you might not feel very comfortable while typing.

The devices interface based on Samsung’s much hyped TouchWiz user interface and includes other third-party software.

The interface is decent and quite good looking with widgets represented by colorful icons that can be scrolled up and down with the touch of a finger. However, the sidebar is placed on the left-hand side of the screen and that sometimes becomes uncomfortable to use. This is followed by an easily accessible menu at the bottom of the screen.

I faced some minor problems here also because the screen failed to respond to finger touches as expected. The widgets are overcrowded and things became worse because occasionally the touchscreen failed to respond properly and I ended up selecting the wrong icons while opening an application on many occassions.. This issue however can be avoided by putting the least number of widgets on the screen. This is a common problem with all phones having touchscreen UI's and I guess we just has to live with it until a more powerful interface is developed.

The Memoir also has an impressive phonebook that supports caller groups and can store 1000 contacts at the same time.

It is highly customizable with a lot of options when it comes to saving a contact. The phonebook for example is supported by features that include picture ID and ring ID and the user can save multiple numbers per contract. The phone organizer also comes loaded with personal productivity tools like alarm, calendar, calculated, To Do, stopwatch, converter, timer and much more. Finally it comes preloaded with a few interesting games and supports Java. It also has pre-installed messaging clients like AIM, ICQ, Windows live and Yahoo. While you will also find very useful software from Nuance that enables you to handle voice dialing on the phone.

The Samsung Memoir is a quad-band GSM device with dual-band UMTS support. It supports 3G over the global networks and other connection abilities include EDGE and class 10 GPRS technology. It also features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support and a USB port to go with it. While also offering inbuilt GPS that supports A-GPS navigation but it is a shame that it does not include a Wi-Fi. Other connectivity options include a Proprietary and TV-out port along with PC synchronization. It also has a full HTML browser and you can also download Opera Mini to enjoy complete Internet browsing. 3G connected easily for me on the device with no real issues and the GPS hardware connected in less than 30 seconds which is always a plus on mobile based GPS configurations. Overall I had no real issues with the devices connectivity although WiFi is sorely missed.

The Samsung Memoir can boast of a beautiful and large touchscreen that displays crystal clear images and videos but fails to impress more deeply when it comes to responsiveness to finger touch. The user interface is also quite good looking but it also has the same problem that occasionally leads to irritating and uncomfortable browsing of phone applications. The phonebook is definitely quite impressive and the phone has some great productivity tools along with a few interesting games. Finally it includes almost all the available connectivity options minus WiFi. Overall, the phone has loads of useful software and connectivity options but would have done a lot better with an improved and responsive user interface.