The Samsung Monte may not break new ground like Samsung’s new high end touchscreen phones, the Samsung Wave and Galaxy S, but if you’ve been anywhere near a TV set recently, you’ll know it’s the phone the company’s decided to give a mighty heave ho marketing push to. But hang on a second. A cheap Samsung touchscreen phone with TouchWiz on board – haven’t we seen this many, many times before? Read our Samsung Monte review for the full answer.
Samsung Galaxy S and Samsung Wave: Everything you need to know. Click here!
Read the rest of our Samsung Monte review:
Samsung Monte review: touchscreen tested
Samsung Monte review: Battery, build and looks
Samsung Monte review: Galaxy and Genio rivals
We’re slightly baffled by the Samsung Monte. It’s not so much the design of the Samsung Monte that has us confused most – though it is odd. Taking leave of all Samsung’s previous phone designs, the Samsung Monte looks like what can only be described as a 1980s Transformer action figure in handset form. While its ports are well placed (Though why on earth is the middle physical button a back, rather than confirm key is beyond us), the retro vibe given off by its curves and buttons is as about as divisive as Marmite, though we’re strangely taken by it.
Nor is it the company’s insistence on using its TouchWiz UI again. That’s a disappointment, but one we’ve come to expect from Samsung, which has a long history of mixing genius software design touches with absolutely abhorrent ones. That continues with the Samsung Monte, which adds all the little Samsung extra we like, such as Smart Unlock (Which lets you unlock the screen and and dial a favourite or launch an app based on what letter you draw on the screen), one finger zooming and the option to receive a fake call and get out of awkward conversations, then mixes it with awful choices like forcing you to place a widget on your homescreen for browsing more widgets. Why not just have a full screen website? Naturally, random TouchWiz slowdown also makes the odd appearance on the Samsung Monte too.
Taken on its own, the Samsung Monte is a reasonable budget phone, but what really puzzles us is where Sammy thinks it slots into its existing line up of handsets. We thought the South Korean gadget giant had things sewn up there with its popular Genio line up, but now it’s seen fit to pop another near identical phone with different branding on the shelves too, placed just above it. The Samsung Monte is a bit more high power than the jolly little Genio Touch, since it has 3G connectivity and a 3.2 megapixel camera (And impressively fast processing time), but its only real one up over the Samsung Genio Slide is a 0.2-inch wider screen. That’s not enough to compensate for the lack of a full keyboard on a budget messaging phone.
Neither is the display on the Samsung Monte. A 3-inch, WQVGA affair, it’s a capacitive panel, rather than the usual cheapo resistive, which should mean a more responsive typing experience with your fingertips rather than nails. Unfortunately, it doesn’t: while still images look pleasantly sharp (Though video not so much), Samsung’s not seen fit to add an onscreen QWERTY keyboard to the Samsung Monte, so the addition makes it little faster for typing. You certainly won’t want to tap out emails on the T9 keypad, even if there is Exchange support on the Samsung Monte.
Don’t get us wrong: the Samsung Monte might please those who keep their wallet under lock and key, and the lovely little additions such as BBC iPlayer support in Wi-Fi hotspots, and a very effective Facebook widget will validate your purchase if all you want is to spy on your friends and munch a few tune and movies on the move. But it doesn’t any better than plenty of other touchscreen phones the company already has on sale.
Read the rest of our Samsung Monte review:
Samsung Monte review: touchscreen tested
Samsung Monte review: Battery, build and looks
Samsung Monte review: Galaxy and Genio rivals
