behold Archive

  • Samsung Behold II review

    Samsung Behold II review

    Posted on November 30, 2009 | No Comments

    It was but a year ago that Samsung graced us with the original Behold. At the time it was more or less positioned to win the hearts of folks who wanted a luscious touchscreen but had no real truck with smartphones. So what do we have here? With the Behold II, the company has switched things up a bit: instead of a respectable feature phone, you not only get Android 1.5, but a 3.5mm headphone jack and WiFi as well. At least this shows that Sammy has been paying attention! Still, a couple questions come to mind: how does this one compare to the original? And how does it stack up as a Google Android device? Engadget has put her through the paces and our findings are sure to shock or surprise you (or maybe not). Continue reading below.

    Gallery: Samsung Behold II

    Continue reading Samsung Behold II review

    Samsung Behold II review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Review: Samsung Behold II

    Review: Samsung Behold II

    Posted on November 24, 2009 | No Comments
    Short Version: T-Mobile's 4th Android device has a lot going for it. 5.0 megapixel camera, all the smartphone basics, WiFi, 3G, GPS, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. But it feels kinda cheap, runs Android 1.5, and for $229.99? No thank you.

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  • Samsung Behold II hits T-Mobile on November 18th, unboxed today (now with video!)

    Samsung Behold II hits T-Mobile on November 18th, unboxed today (now with video!)

    Posted on November 12, 2009 | No Comments

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    Dubbing itself the "multimedia powerhouse" for T-Mobile's expansive Android lineup, the Samsung Behold II has just been confirmed for that rumored November 18th launch on T-Mobile (still no word on price, though we're hearing a predictable $200). The slate-style touchscreen handset has a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, and puts it to good use with a hearty skinning job on the part of Samsung, porting in most (but not all) of its TouchWiz UI -- unfortunately for us, that silly cube menu made the cut. Underneath is Android 1.5, and what seems to be a pretty standard processor.

    Hardware-wise there's really nothing to complain about on this phone. It's heavy, relatively thin (not iPhone-thin, but just fine), with solid materials and wonderfully tactile face buttons. The screen is everything you'd expect out of an AMOLED display, though high-resolution phones like the Droid dampen that enthusiasm somewhat. One wonderful Samsung addition to the traditional Android experience is a "real" camera button on the side, which can even register half-presses for focus. For someone who doesn't want a physical keyboard, but doesn't want their handset to feel like a toy (sorry, myTouch) there's plenty to love. However, we're more concerned about the software side of things. We're not morally opposed to Samsung adding in TouchWiz, but we are afraid of anything that has the potential to slow down the OS, and on first glance we'd say it's notably less responsive than stock Android. We'll of course be going further in-depth to see just how usable this iteration is, but let us just put this out on the table: a virtual 3D cube to launch media apps is no way "intuitive," "helpful" or "cool." OK, maybe it's kind of cool, but seriously Samsung, stop it. Check out our unboxing below.

    Update: We added some video after the break. Behold the cube!

    Continue reading Samsung Behold II hits T-Mobile on November 18th, unboxed today (now with video!)

    Samsung Behold II hits T-Mobile on November 18th, unboxed today (now with video!) originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Behold! The Samsung Behold II with Android

    Behold! The Samsung Behold II with Android

    Posted on October 5, 2009 | No Comments
    What do you get when you add Android to TouchWiz? WizDroid! Samsung's new Behold II is running a nicely modified version of Android with some unique UI improvements. We've known about this old girl for a few weeks now but it's finally been announced on T-Mo. No pricing or availability date.
    Following the success of its predecessor, the Samsung Behold®, the Behold II will be available exclusively from T-Mobile and is currently scheduled to launch before the start of the holidays. The sleek touch-screen phone is the first from T-Mobile USA to feature a 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, which provides crisper colors and wider viewing angles. In addition, the Behold II is equipped with Samsung’s innovative TouchWiz user interface, allowing easy customization with widgets located in a slide out tray on the left side of the home screen and providing one-touch access to a customer’s favorite and most commonly used features and applications. The Behold II offers three different home screens to drag and drop widgets onto the screen and organize the different workspaces with favorite widgets and application shortcuts. Samsung’s intuitive cube menu also provides quick access to six top multimedia features, including music, photos, videos, the Web, YouTube™ and Amazon MP3 for music downloads.

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