Samsung doesn't mention a macro mode, but the camera’s autofocus system automatically handles close up shots with no fuss, and results from 10cm or so away are sharp and detailed. A 4x digital zoom is controlled by the volume rocker, which sits on the bottom of the phone in camera mode. Adjustments can be made for white balance, ISO, exposure metering and so on, plus the usual flash control, multi-shot options and shooting effects. You can also tap to view the image album, in landscape or portrait, which can be browsed by finger-swiping. Again, not nearly as smooth an experience as the iPhone, but OK.
You can edit images with the basic on-board photo editing software, or send them directly to blogs or accounts on image-sharing websites, using an embedded ShoZu application
Samsung also includes a slide-on back plate with a rigid leather-look cover
Similarly, you can edit and upload video clips taken with the Tocco. Movie quality doesn’t match the stills performance, the maximum 320 x 240 pixel setting - shooting at 15 frames per second - is average quality mobile video footage that won’t impress when viewed off the phone. Downloaded or PC-sent video clips are smoother, however.
Samsung’s music player interface has a regular kind of Samsung set-up, with low-key touch-scrollable lists of categories and tracks. Standard player buttons appear on screen, and you can move through tracks by dragging the timeline along. Categories are the regular fare – artists, albums, tracks, composers and podcast – and you can add equaliser-style effects.
Samsung again boasts the inclusion of Bang & Olufsen ICEpower audio technology inside, and thankfully this time supplies a better than average set of in-ear earphones in the box. These in-ear buds produce some bass depth and a decent top end, so you can get some fine listening as soon as you load tunes. You can also upgrade your ear-gear: the headset in a two-part affair that has a standard 3.5mm jack socket for plugging in your own high quality headphones.
It’s a shame that Samsung has stuck the bit that connects to the phone – a standard proprietary headphone/charger/USB connector – on the side rather than on top or bottom, making it awkward and snag-prone when it's in your pocket.
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.
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!
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).
Tocco is.....
Italian for "I touch" so maybe its not such a bad choice for a touch-phone name after all.
Rubbish aerial
I'm now on my 2nd Tocco (heading for my 3rd), and I've seen several other people in forums who've been through 3 or 4. The phone itself is nice enough, and handles most things fine - with the small exception of phone calls. About 40% of my calls drop out within 15 seconds for no apparent reason. This was a problem that was known in the first version of the firmware but was allegedly fixed in the second. Since both my phones have been v2, I'm guessing it's either not fixed properly or Vodafone's custom firmware broke it again. This problem with signal (the strength bars can wander between 1 and 5 while standing in one place) also extends to 3G - 95% of the time the phone will choose GPRS, but if you force it to use 3G it finds a 4 bar signal).
In short, nice phone, very usable but not that reliable as a phone. Pity really...
