Samsung i8510 INNOV8

The ample TFT display, abundant storage space, latest Symbian OS and the 8 megapixel camera all promise a nice ride. Multimedia and entertainment won't go unnoticed either, to make it as fun as it gets.

The INNOV8 has already got a star on the 8 megapixel boulevard and might as well be eyeing Symbian domination. Here it goes, but watch out 'cause this thing rides fast.

Key features:

-The most feature-loaded S60 handset to date ,

-2.8" 16M-color TFT display of QVGA resolution ,

-8 megapixel camera with mechanical shutter,

-automatic lens cover, dual PowerLED flash, digital image stabilizer,geotagging, auto panorama shot, face detection, smile detection, blink detection ,

-VGA video recording at 30fps and slow-motion video recording ,

-Symbian OS 9.3 with S60 3.2 UI,

-3G with HSDPA support ,

-Quad-band GSM, dual-band UMTS, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps ,

-128 MB RAM ,

-Wi-Fi with DLNA technology ,

-Built-in GPS with A-GPS functionality ,

-Massive 8/16GB internal memory,

-microSD card slot with microSDHC support ,

-Built-in accelerometer for UI auto-rotation ,

-3.5 mm audio jack ,

-TV out,

-Stereo FM Radio with RDS,

-Optical trackpad navigation ,

-USB and Bluetooth v2.0,

-Stereo speakers, Stereo Ringtones,

-DNSe audio technology,

-DivX support,

-ShoZu integration.

A few 8 megapixel cameraphones are already cornering the market and you should be well on top of things if you keep track. Samsung i8510, better known by its stage name INNOV8, was first to hit the shelves and still the only one to run on Symbian. A powerful OS for a powerful handset, we should add. You can tell we are struck by the INNOV8 charisma, but don't worry, you will soon be too.

Samsung INNOV8 boasts one of the most capable 8 megapixel cameras and so rightfully earned the most feature balanced cameraphone recommendation in our recent 8 megapixel camera shootout. We're now about to have a closer look though at another two contenders, which share INNOV8's form factor.

Sony Ericsson C905 is a monster of a feature phone, which has GPS and Wi-Fi too, but fails to keep up in terms of multimedia features and screen size, let alone video recording. The price margin between C905 and the 8GB version of the INNOV8 is so slim it makes the Samsung INNOV8 a dead easy pick for your multimedia needs.

Imaging prowess aside, there seem to be hardly any chinks in the INNOV8 armor its rivals can take advantage of and close the gap on Samsung's finest. The few weak spots are sheer size, price tag and probably the lack of an FM transmitter.

Frankly, we can't think of a real alternative in terms of size, as none of the more compact Symbians has a feature pack comparable to INNOV8's. Still, Nokia N79 and Nokia N85 might be considered, with bodies fitting every hand and specs to please most tastes.

Samsung's very own i7110 might also come into play here. All of those have FM transmitters but none of them is a match for INNOV8's 8 megapixel monster.

We're talking Samsung's supreme Symbian device so we guess we can't do without a respectful nod to the Nseries top brass. Nokia N96 is trying to offset the lower-res camera with DVB-H support in what are otherwise identical spec sheets, give or take. N96 though is so steeply priced it loses some competitive edge.

From a budget standpoint Nokia N95 8GB is the more likely alternative. It's more compact, it packs the same screen as the INNOV8 and covers most of the functionality, save for the optical trackpad and the 8 megapixel shooter.

Design and construction Samsung i8510 INNOV8 has very conservative styling and that seems the right approach to a device of such size. It won't turn heads but handling and ergonomics will be widely appreciated.

We do like the black casing, matt on the rear and brushed on the keypad. The sliding action is firm and smooth, the remarkably long slider run never a burden with the spring loaded case.

The display takes most of the front but leaves enough room for a neat navigation block beneath. Six keys are lined around a nicely sized and tactile D-pad.

Much like the Samsung G810, the INNOV8 has no labels on the Menu and Gallery key - the two silver knobs on the sides of the D-pad. However, you will get used to that in no time.

All the controls on the front panel are very user-friendly, offering great size and solid press. The D-pad center can be set to work as an optical trackpad letting you browse menus by finger sweeps. You can adjust its vertical and horizontal sensitivity to best suit your taste. The place where the optical trackpad really makes a difference is the web browser but we'll get to it in due time.

The left side of Samsung i8510 INNOV8 hosts the microUSB port, 3.5mm standard audio jack and the volume keys.

The volume rocker doubles as a zoom lever and its location may seem a questionable ergonomic solution. Not everyone will like zoom control at the bottom. We for one don't think it's such a big deal. The rocker is very tactile and responsive, and falls right where your left thumb is when holding the device up to take a picture.

At the very top of the left side is the lanyard eyelet. The good news is Samsung i8510 INNOV8 also uses the microUSB port for charging, which allows you to transfer data and recharge at the same time.

On the right we find the camera key, the microSD card slot and the camera mode switch. The latter is in charge of toggling between still camera, camcorder and the image gallery much like on a digicam.

The shutter key is remarkably soft and responsive, with a very distinct half press and full press. The camera mode switch is a bit rigid, the three stops less marked than we would've liked.

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 is equipped with a 2.8" 16M-color TFT LCD display of QVGA resolution. It managed to impress us with great brightness and contrast levels, contributing to excellent picture quality.

It isn't as impressive as the OLED screen on Nokia N85 but for an LCD the picture quality is excellent. Sunlight legibility is also notably improved over past Samsung handsets so we can hardly frown at the INNOV8 display.

Symbian in Samsung skin

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 runs on Symbian 9.3 with Series60 3rd Edition user interface and feature Pack 2 preinstalled. It is the same as what we found on the latest Nokia smartphones we reviewed - the N79 and N85 - the INNOV8 however offers somewhat less eye-candy.

The layout is quite familiar with status icons appearing on the top of the screen and soft key labels at the bottom. The i8510 INNOV8 also supports Active standby with two different layouts to pick from.

The screen can be organized in either vertical or horizontal tabs, which can then be scrolled with the D-pad. If active standby is disabled, the direction keys of the D-pad can also be assigned a shortcut of your choice.

Active standby or not, you can always change the shortcuts assigned to the two soft keys to best suit your needs.

Thanks to the built-in accelerometer Samsung i8510 INNOV8 enjoys screen auto rotation. However, for some reason Samsung have decided to disable Auto Pivot - the Samsung name for auto rotation - on the homescreen and in the main menu, so it only works in the applications and sub-menus.

At least they have kept the nice transition from one mode to another: the current screen smoothly zooms out, flips and then zooms back in.

Samsung claim the i8510 INNOV8 is powered by a single 330 MHz CPU with no hardware acceleration whatsoever. However, you won't know at all working with the phone as the entire UI is really responsive. You can hardly tell the difference between the INNOV8 and the Dual-CPU hardware graphic-accelerated Nokia N95 8GB in almost any scenario.

Rumor has it, the INNOV8 is actually running on a much faster CPU with HW graphics accelerator contrary to Samsung's claims. We can't comment on that, but the INNOV8 performance is commendable.

Things might be a little different if you run multiple heavy programs at the same time but the processing power of the INNOV8 is more than adequate for you usual everyday usage. We didn't experience any freezes or unexpected restarts either.

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 has 72MB of internal memory plus 8GB or 16GB of mass memory. Accessing files from the latter isn't any slower so you aren't likely to feel a difference. And running out of space to install your software is out of question. If however, by any rare chance, you happen to need more storage than the already available 8Gb or 16GB you can use the microSD card slot and expand your memory by another 16GB.

We also ran our traditional loudspeaker test on Samsung i8510 INNOV8. The handset performed impressively scoring an Excellent mark. Missing a call with the INNOV8 ringing volume set to the maximum is highly unlikely.

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 also features a dedicated editor for instant recording of audio messages. You can either record the message on the spot or use a pre-recorder sound clip from the phone memory.

Delivery reports pop up on the standby screen and are then saved in a separate folder in the messaging submenu.

When exiting the message editor without having sent the message, the editor prompts saving it to the Drafts folder or discarding it.

The email client is really nice, able to meet almost any emailing needs. Now, one thing Samsung i8510 INNOV8 lacks is the ultra easy email setup we came to know in recent Nokia phones. You have to enter every detail manually but that's basically all there is to complain about.

Multiple email accounts and various security protocols are supported, so you can bet almost any mail service (be it POP or IMAP) is set to run on the INNOV8.

The client can download headers only or entire messages, and can be set to automatically check mail at a given interval. A nice feature allows you to schedule sending email next time an internet connection is available.

There is also support for attachments, signatures and generally, you can hardly think of something major that the Samsung i8510 is missing.

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 has a nice picture gallery that can operate in both portrait and landscape modes, toggling between the two as easy as flipping the phone to its side. However it lacks the 3D rotating view that competing Nseries models boast.

Music player does it all

Barely surprising for a multimedia powerhouse, the music player of Samsung INNOV8 does its job with ease. With the huge number of supported formats you will hardly ever come across an audio file that the phone won't handle. Album art is also supported. There are also three visualization options, so the INNOV8 has it all covered.

Your music library is automatically sorted by artist, album, genre and composer and searching tracks by gradual typing is available. You can also create your own playlists in no time. The process of adding tracks to the library is as simple as choosing the refresh option. You won't need to do that if you upload the music via the proprietary Samsung PC Suite application.

The player comes with a massive count of equalizer presets. There are seventeen of them and new ones can be added in a matter of seconds. Quite naturally, the player can also be minimized to play in the background. In this case a tab appears on the standby screen indicating the currently running track.

The FM radio on Samsung i8510 INNOV8 has a neat and simple interface and can automatically scan and save the available stations in your area. It also has RDS support and is capable of FM recording.

Naturally, radio playback through the speakerphone is also available but you still need the headphones plugged to act as an antenna.

Ringtone quality is great

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 went out of our Ringtone quality test with flying colors, effortlessly scoring the pass marks on every reading and even excelling at some. We simply cannot overlook the outstanding noise level, stereo crosstalk and dynamic range readings. The total harmonic distortion is also among the best results we have ever seen a handset achieve.

The intermodulation distortion is very good too and, with a frequency response graph like that, there is very little more to ask for. The only problem we see is the low-pass filter for the lowest of frequencies but we have seen far worse.

Video player

The Samsung i8510 INNOV8 Video player can work in both portrait and landscape mode and can be switched to fullscreen. When in full screen, the soft key labels are hidden so that they don't spoil the viewing and only pop up when a key is pressed.

The phone also has DivX and XviD support straight out of the box, which means you can just upload your .avi movies and enjoy. You can of course install a DivX and XviD player on any other Symbian but we are glad the INNOV8 saves us the effort.

8 megapixel camera: just great

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 has an 8 megapixel camera on board, producing images of up to 3264 x 2448 pixel resolution. It's an autofocus unit of course and there is also LED flash on board. Unfortunately, it falls woefully short of xenon, as seen in our shootout.

The camera lens is hidden under a cover that opens automatically once you turn the camera on.

The shutter key is extra comfortable to work with. In all fairness, the mode switch could've locked the middle position somewhat more firmly.

The camera UI of the INNOV8 uses our favorite tab layout and offers quite an extensive range of options. However, some of the more frequently used features, such as Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), are buried deep down in the menus. On the positive side, there are handy tooltips with helpful information for the currently selected item.

VGA and slow motion videos: camcorders beware The Samsung i8510 INNOV8 offers excellent video recording, too. It can capture MPEG4 video at 30fps in VGA resolution, topped with two slow-motion video recording modes. Except for the D1 videos the Samsung M8800 Pixon offers, this is the best you can find on the market.

The actual quality is more than adequate and there is no trouble with framerate either. Slow-motion videos are shot at QVGA resolution and can be either four or eight times slower than the action.

You can control white balance and apply the same effects as with stills. The flash can also be turned on to act as a video light. Quite naturally, you can also record sound with Videos, except slow-mo of course.