Camera Phone Reviews

Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9

Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9 Press Release

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, once again redefines the mobile handset market with today’s launch of its brand new Ultra Edition II handsets. To make its debut, Samsung has chosen the 3GSM 2007, the world’s biggest mobile telecommunications conference, as the perfect platform to deliver its new vision for consumer mobile handsets.

Building on the runaway success of Samsung’s Ultra Edition range, launched in July 2006, the Samsung Ultra Edition II embodies the best of rapidly advancing technology, revolutionary mobile designs and must-have business and consumer desired multimedia functionality to create four of the slimmest, most powerful and best looking handsets in each form factor, including the uniquely and sleekly designed Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600), the crown jewel of the pack.

The Ultra Edition II portfolio consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700); a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300); and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100). Each of these designs offers advanced features such as 3 megapixel cameras, high-speed web connectivity, as well as extensive multimedia and audio capabilities. Proving that Samsung truly is at the heart of consumer needs, each of these handsets incorporates innovative consumer driven design elements to improve the user experience, including external multimedia navigation keys for ease of use and jewel inspired casing, which enhance both the experience and appearance of using these handsets.

“We believe that the Samsung Ultra Edition II range completely embodies everything that today’s consumers are seeking in a mobile in terms of unique design and flawless performance,” said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Network Business. “We believe that the striking looks, exclusive feel and slim design of these devices, combined with uncompromised performance and function, will make the Ultra Edition II range an instant attraction to business users, fashion conscious consumers and multimedia enthusiasts.”

The Ultra Edition II is slimmer and stronger than the first edition with advanced aspirational and elite design. Exclusive to the Ultra Edition II range, Samsung’s Optimized Power Usage Solution (OPUS) sets these handsets apart by guaranteeing maximum performance by increasing talk time by 10%, power saving by 30% and battery capacity by 10%. Samsung’s Smart Surface Mounting Technology (SSMT), which was initially developed for the Ultra Edition range, has also been an intrinsic design element for the Ultra Edition II handsets, reducing the number of required components, interference and noise made while ensuring that quality does not get sacrificed for good looks.

Samsung’s Ultra Edition II range also addresses the needs of the growing consumer segment, which expect mobile and music to come hand in hand. Each handset combines extensive music player capabilities with super sound quality and equipped with a digital power amp developed by Bang and Olufsen. All devices also feature a dedicated music interface to make navigation and listening easier with Quick PC Sync software installed to make the creation and selection of playlists as easy as possible.

Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700) - Stylish Sliders
Inspired by the shine and shimmer of the crown jewels, Samsung’s Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) exudes elegance and modern style, coming in a choice of colors which includes sapphire blue, garnet red, platinum metal and copper gold casing. The clever design of Samsung’s Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) includes a unique and stylish interface for the ultimate sophistication and usability. It also comes equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera encased in an ultra slim profile and boasting a 2.22” wide TFT LCD widescreen. For the feature watchers, Samsung’s Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700) offers a HSDPA 3.6 Mbps data transfer speed, video telephony functionality and auto focus in a slim 12.1mm case.

The Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300) is a modern clamshell phone designed for the fashion conscious, ultra modern consumer that craves a unique look, but without sacrificing anything in the form of style, lightness or functionality. Samsung’s Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300) is encased entirely in metal, providing a clean and pure image. It is also packed with an array of powerful technologies - 3 mega-pixel camera, TV-out capability, Bluetooth® technology and a 70MB memory.

Samsung Ultra Edition 10.9 (Samsung U600) Reviews

CNET UK reviews the Samsung U600 (Ultra Edition 10.9) and writes, "The U600's camera comes with autofocus and an LED photo light. Pictures came out well focused and suitable for small prints. Our only niggle is that there's no xenon flash, which would help the problem of the blue tinge created by the LED photo light. One of our favourite novelty camera features is the ability to take photos of business cards using the namecard recognition service. This nifty feature then magically inputs all the important information from the photo of the business card into your contact database."

Pocket-lint reviews the Samsung SGH-U600 and writes, "Picture quality whether its video or still photos is very good and easily equal to Sony Ericsson's K800 series, however the U600 doesn’t come with the same focus on design. ... With only quad band GSM support those looking for 3G connectivity will be disappointed, certainly considering that Sony Ericsson has managed it with its non sliding W880i Walkman handset which is equally as thin. That said, the U600 is a good strong handset from the Koreans, and one that most will be happy with in day-to-day use."

Trusted Reviews has a review of the Samsung SGH-U600 and writes, "The camera shoots stills at resolutions up to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels – that is 3.2 megapixels. It has some great points and one overriding problem. The problem is the slowness with which its autofocus kicks in. This is fine if you are shooting a non-moving object, or even the plants I used as sample images which were swaying in the breeze a little when I photographed them. But it is hopeless for shooting anything that can move at more than a snail’s pace. This is a great shame as the plus points are really strong. ... The SGH-U600 is a fairly accomplished phone. It certainly packs in lots of features. Samsung should have provided TV-out cables though and while the thin slider format is really appealing, the touch sensitive buttons are an absolute nuisance."

3G reviews the Samsung U600 and writes, "The main attributes of the camera are :
- 3.2 megapixels, Digital zoom x4, LED flash, autofocus, fullsize portrait/ landscape view, single / multi / Mosaic shot, white balance / ISO. A very impressive list indeed. The maximun resolution for the camera is 2048 x 1536 pixels. Of course, a xenon flash would produce better results than a basic LED flash but that’s Samsung’s call. The camera is a good example of what’s expected these days. The resultant photos were found to be more than adequate in the viewing and focus stakes. The brightness level was fine and the colours were natural looking."

MobileBurn reviews the Samsung U600 and writes, "Just like its predecessor, Samsung still managed to squeeze a decent 3.2 megapixel CMOS camera with autofocus lens and LED flash into this super slim phone. A self-portrait mirror is also in place in case you need it. According to our source, the camera module on U600 is different than that on the D900 (and the U700). In actual testing, we thought the difference in image quality was minimal, though we didn't have the 2 phones side by side to run tests. Night shots on the U600 are quite clean by phone standards, colors are accurate in bright daylight, and macro shots are still amongst the best in the mobile phone market."

Let's Go Mobile reviews the Samsung SGH-U600 and writes, "It has a good quality camera and makes sharp and clear photos, if you do not want to photograph fast-moving subjects or photograph under poor lighting conditions. It has a high quality MP3 player that allows you to enjoy listening to your music. Unfortunately you cannot use your favourite headphones, though; you have to use the Samsung headphones. The high-quality screen unfortunately has a reflecting coating which makes it impossible to recognize anything on the screen in direct sunlight. All in all the Samsung SGH-U600 is recommended."

CNET reviews the Samsung SGH-U600 and writes, "The 3.2-megapixel camera takes pictures in six resolutions, from 2,048x1,536 down to 320x240. Other features include a self timer, six color effects, 44 fun frames, a macro setting, multishot and mosaic shot modes, exposure metering, three image quality choices, brightness and white balance settings, an adjustable ISO, and a digital zoom. There's also a selection of camera sounds--or you can turn them off entirely. The camera menus were somewhat quirky. The U600 is unique among camera phones (but not standalone cameras) in that it shows its menus in landscape mode. That's not a minus at all, but it does require an adjustment. Also, some menu items are broken off into a separate area that requires a lot of clicks. Photo quality was quite good."