The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

The TouchWiz user interface doesn’t match up to the slick iPhone experience, but it is an improvement on Samsung’s previous efforts. The screen feels immediately more responsive as soon as you start playing with it. There’s the usual touchscreen haptic feedback, which gives you just enough vibration (and sound) to let you know buttons have been properly pressed. A ‘hold’ button on top allows you to lock the display to prevent accidental pressings.

The default options, lined up in a bar across the bottom of the display, include Dial, Phonebook and Menu buttons. These change as you navigate through the menu systems and applications.

Samsung Tocco SGH-F480 touchscreen phone

The on-screen options change as you navigate through the menu

In addition, a press of the physical button below the display pulls up five large on-screen buttons: for the music player, messages, internet, calls, and the main menu.

A toolbar can be brought up on the left of the display by tapping a small arrowed tab towards the bottom of the screen. The toolbar slips out to reveal a column of icons, representing features and applications, which you can drag and drop on to the standby screen using your fingertip. This works smoothly, with an intuitive feel to it.

However, the applications available as widgets are limited to a selection of stock features: calendar, photo viewer, music player, FM radio, profiles, games, birthday alerts, date and several clock options. You can drag into or out of the widgets toolbar any of these, plus rather neatly, remove your mobile operator logo if it’s cluttering your screen. A simple tap of the arrowed tab closes the toolbar once you’ve finished your widget-fiddling, and your set-up is saved until you decide to change it again.

There’s no facility to download or add more widget applications to the phone, which is a shame, and once you have a few widgets on the small screen it looks cluttered - but it’s a neat user-friendly touch that’s handy rather than essential. It will be interesting to see if Samsung develops this idea further.

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

Latest Comments

RE: Tocco is.....

Yes, but it also means "silly bordering on crazy", so it's no wonder the handset is nowhere to be found here in Italy.

0
0

Stuff the tocco

I've just got my hands on the Omnia and it really is an incredible handset, i'm totally over the moon about it!

0
0

Tocco is..

...pretty damn good actually, does exactly what I want it to do, no dropped calls here and battery life is far better than the three Viewty's I had before.

I may be an apple fan but I cant see the point of getting an iPhone just to be tied into a contract with the devil (O2).

0
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Google Chromebooks now in over 6,600 stores
Major, worldwide retail push begins this summer
Review: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
Missing Mac ports reunited, for a price