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The history of the Bada operating system. The history of the development of mobile operating systems: Samsung Bada Programs for bada samsung in recent weeks

Samsung management could not calmly look at the emerging market of operating systems for smartphones, where OS from RIM, the Symbian consortium, Apple, Google, Microsoft, reigned supreme, and offered its own progressive platform - bada (translated from Korean as "ocean"). It happened in 2009.

One of the features of bada backgrounds is the relatively low price combined with the powerful hardware characteristics of the Wave (S8500) and Wave 2 (S8530) flagships running bada 1.0. The proprietary shell TouchWiz 3.0 was chosen as the interface for the platform. The long-awaited version of bada 2.0 with the TouchWiz 4.0 interface entered the Russian market along with the new flagship in the Wave line - Wave 3 (S8600). Let's talk about it in more detail.

Specifications Samsung Wave 3 (S8600):

  • Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz), UMTS/HSPA 14.4Mbps (900/2100MHz)
  • Platform (at the time of announcement): bada 2.0
  • Display: touch, capacitive, 4", 800 x 480 pixels, Super AMOLED, 16 million colors
  • Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, flash, video recording 720p@30fps, f/2.6
  • Secondary camera: 0.3 MP
  • Processor: Single core, 1.4 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255T
  • Graphics Chip: Adreno 205
  • RAM: 512 MB
  • ROM: 3 GB (user available 1.7 GB)
  • Memory card: microSD (up to 32 GB)
  • Navigation: A-GPS, GLONASS
  • Bluetooth 3.0
  • Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • FM radio with RDS
  • micro USB 2.0
  • Position sensor, distance sensor, light sensor, digital compass, pressure sensor
  • Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, EAAC+, 3GA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, OGG
  • Video: 3GPP, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV
  • Battery: Li-ion, 1500 mAh
  • Talk time: up to 13.3 hours in 2G networks, up to 8.3 hours in 3G networks
  • Talk time: up to 490 hours in 2G networks, up to 430 hours in 3G networks
  • Video call time: up to 200 minutes
  • Dimensions: 125.9 x 64.2 x 9.9mm
  • Weight: 127g
  • Form factor: monoblock with touchscreen
  • Type: smartphone
  • Announce date: August 30, 2011
  • Release date: November 2011

Design and construction

Wave 3 design is made in the style of previous flagships. The Wave 3, like the original Wave, uses a Super AMOLED display, while the Wave 2 was equipped with a lower quality Super Clear LCD panel (production capacity was not enough and all Super AMOLED screens went into Galaxy smartphones). The resolution is identical to previous devices - 800 x 480 pixels, but the screen diagonal has increased to 4 "(Wave - 3.3", Wave 2 - 3.7"). Despite the fact that the smartphone seems large, it is quite possible to control it with one hand.

The front panel is original. The protective glass covers not only the screen, but also the touch control buttons under it, as well as the front camera, light and proximity sensors, the Samsung logo above it. The smartphone speaker is installed above the logo. The central button is not touch-sensitive and is located in the glass slot under the display.

The back cover of the Wave 3 is made of metal, it is movable, but it is impossible to remove it completely. After pressing the button at the bottom, the lid moves up. The solution is interesting, though it is not clear how long it will take root. The SIM card and microSD slot can only be accessed after the battery has been removed. But it is almost impossible to remove it without breaking your fingers - it is better to use a screwdriver or a paper clip.

There are no connectors on the top end. On the bottom are holes for a microphone, microUSB and a 3.5 mm audio output. The sound rocker is on the left, and the power button is on the right of the screen. The smartphone lacks a camera button, so the S8600 is not suitable for quick shooting. Plastic inserts are installed in the upper and lower ends of the case, which cover the radio modules. The body is made soundly - it does not creak, it feels monolithic in the hands.

Software

The TouchWiz 4.0 interface installed on bada 2.0 has a lot in common with iOS. Apple smartphone users will immediately notice a similar fixed area with basic functions at the bottom of the screen, a notification bar and similar square shortcuts in the menu. The main difference between TouchWiz and Cocoa Touch iOS is the presence of empty desktops for the location of the necessary widgets. In fairness, it must be said that a similar interface can be seen on Android. Desktops with applications are called by the Menu button. It also allows you to place applications in folders.

When turned on, we are greeted by six desktops. In the localized version, the main table is represented by Yandex services: Maps, Mail, Metro, Market, Weather, and Exchange rates. Four more screens are free to place widgets. Unfortunately, there are only five widgets: digital clock, pointer clock, weather, calendar and notes. But on the other hand, it is possible to install folders with application shortcuts on windows. The sixth desktop will be of interest to business users: it contains a calendar, an English news application, two time zones, a stock chart, and a 4-pin panel. Swipe down on the clock at the top of the screen to open the notification bar. In addition to the list of received messages and system errors, it provides access to quickly enable / disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound and vibration, and auto-rotate the screen.

Among the pre-installed applications and services, we can mention ChatON and Chat for text communication, Social portal for communication via Facebook, Twitter, etc., BookReader for reading books, E-mail mail client, AllShare (a program for broadcasting content via DLNA), office application PolarisOffice, Samsung Apps store. An interesting feature is Wi-Fi Direct - it allows you to use Wi-Fi to transfer files directly between devices. Some applications and functions are clearly presented in the screenshots:

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with a main 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a front camera with a resolution of 0.3 megapixels. The camera's autofocus adjusts to subjects fairly quickly, and the camera app's settings can't be beat. Flash modes (Auto, On, Off) and shooting modes (Single Shot, Detection, Panorama, Portrait, Landscape, Night, Sports, Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dawn, Autumn Colors, Fireworks, Text, Dusk) are available at camera position , against the light). Moreover, the panorama mode pleasantly surprised me with the ability to take a picture in any of the four directions:

Manual settings are also quite extensive: Exposure value (from -2.0 to 2.0 in 0.5 increments), Focus mode (Autofocus, Macro), Resolution (0.3 MP, 0.4 MP, 1.5 MP, 2 MP , 2.4 MP, 3.2 MP, 4 MP, 5 MP), Auto Contrast, Timer (2, 5, 10 sec), White Balance (Auto, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy), ISO (Auto, 100, 200, 400), Effects (Grey, Sepia, Negative), Metering (Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot), Grid, View, GPS, Memory and reset.

In the video recording position, the settings are rather poor: Flash in flashlight mode (on, off) and Recording modes (Normal, Video for MMS). Manual settings: Exposure value (-2.0 to 2.0 in 0.5 steps), Resolution (176x144, 320x240, 640x480, 720x480 and 1280x720 dots), Self-timer (2, 5, 10 sec), White balance (Auto, Daylight Light, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy), Effects (Gray, Sepia, Negative), Image Stabilization, Grid, Preview, Memory, Reset.

Photo quality is average. It’s not worth comparing the Wave 3 camera even with simple soap dishes, but for uploading it to the Internet or making a contact, the resulting pictures are quite suitable. I note that shooting in panorama mode occurs automatically and, unlike most camera phones, allows you to make gluing in any direction.

Video, despite the declared HD 720p, is blurry and unsharp. The camera transmits color poorly, the optics lather, but it is suitable for emergency shooting of an unusual event. It's a pity that there is no dedicated button on the case, and to start shooting you need to wake up from sleep mode and launch the camera application.

User experience

The battery in medium load mode lasts about a day. In any case, in order not to be left without a phone, you will have to connect the S8600 Wave 3 to the charger every evening.

The screen is great. With a black background, it is not easy to see the border between the screen and the black plastic border, it has excellent viewing angles. The screen has a drawback - the size has grown to 4”, and the screen resolution has remained the same (800x480 pixels), that is, the pixels have become larger, which affected the display of solid colors. White color, for example, appears grayish with a blue tint.

The built-in video player opened all the declared formats, including streaming video, but some HD files downloaded directly, without conversion, completely refused to play.

Unfortunately, among the applications written for bada, there are actually not very many useful ones. Therefore, finding an alternative to out-of-the-box programs is not so easy. In addition, setting up a messenger agent or choosing a normal navigator will be a difficult task.

The Samsung Wave 3 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255T single-core processor with a frequency of 1.4 GHz. Graphics are handled by the Adreno 205 video accelerator. In general, this is a fairly powerful platform that was installed in their 2011 flagships by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and HTC.

Of the minuses, I note the slowness of the sensor, which regularly “thinks”, reacting to pressing. Strange system errors, for example, when the network is lost, are also embarrassing.

Outcome

Phones based on bada remained on the market due to their low price and good hardware characteristics, and in 2011 they occupied 14% of the Russian smartphone market (more than 1 million out of 7.6 million devices were in the Wave series). But the developers are still cautious and reluctant to support the platform. As a result, Samsung Wave 3 turned out to be a stylish and productive gadget that will appeal to those who value appearance and hardware features in the first place, and not the app store assortment. We will continue to follow the development of bada and wait for Tizen.

After the announcement of Samsung's Bada, many copies were broken in Internet battles over whether it is a full-fledged operating system or is it still a closed platform with advanced features. Moreover, some of these disputes have completely shifted into the mainstream of the discussion of the very concept of “smartphone”. The Samsung CIS Forum held in Moscow on March 18 answered some of these questions.

First of all, you should understand, perhaps, not even what Bada is, but why it is needed at all. Indeed, smartphone operating systems began to appear like mushrooms after the rain, and in this situation, why bring another one to the market? To this question, Samsung represented by Dmitry Kuznetsov, Vice President of Samsung Electronics Headquarters in the CIS, gave a very clear and specific answer in Moscow. On the one hand, the need to create our own platform arose as a result of close cooperation with mobile operators. Those who were dissatisfied with working conditions with Apple and Nokia needed a flexible and customizable platform on which it would be convenient to provide their own services. After all, as you know, European operator phones are often very “sharpened” for a specific operator, up to a different interface and menu composition. And not every operating system can be customized in this way. On the other hand, despite the presence of devices on different platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian 9.4, Android) in Samsung's arsenal, it is always more convenient to have your own operating system (platform) in order to provide consumers with maximum opportunities. It was the symbiosis of the wishes of the company's partners (operators) and consumers that caused the birth of Bada.

So what is it, platform or operating system? Both. It all depends on whose point of view you look at. From the standpoint of Samsung itself, this is not an operating system in the full sense of the word. The company understands the OS as a system that has its own core, the so-called device layer and user interface. And there are only two such systems, in their opinion, at the moment: Symbian and Windows Mobile. The next category is systems that have a third-party kernel, such as Linux (or other real-time operating systems: Nucleus, REX, etc. - depending on the hardware platforms used), their own device layer, and their own user interface. And Android, Maemo and the new-found Bada belong to this type of OS. This structure has obvious advantages, as it allows the use of different hardware architectures with the same external result for the user. That will provide the ability to create products on different hardware platforms, depending on the desired result.

As for the user, for him the answer is more than unambiguous. Multitasking, the ability to install third-party applications, the app store - it's all there. Moreover, third-party software will be able to access any device functions, up to calls, SMS and other things. And this theoretically will allow you to create applications that replace the built-in OS tools and integrate them as deeply as you like into the structure of the operating system.

For developers, there is already an SDK, which is currently available only to a limited number of companies, but will soon be provided to everyone. Interestingly, the SDK is only available for Windows users, unlike Android, there are no versions for Mac OS and Linux. While it is known that the development environment will be based on Eclipse, debugging will be possible both on the emulator and directly on the device. Access to the store will be subject to pre-approval of applications - which is not surprising.

Great news for developers Samsung does not plan to receive its share of the profits from the sale of applications. Unlike the same Apple, which, as you know, keeps 30% of the profits.
Billing in the store will be carried out in two ways. At first, only with the help of credit and debit cards. In the future, the possibility of paying with a mobile account (payment by SMS) will be added. It would not hurt, by the way, to immediately implement the possibility of blocking such purchases. The store will be accessible both directly from a mobile phone and from a PC client. Interestingly, not only applications for Bada, but also for other platforms will be distributed through this store. It is possible that we will see this store paired with the Android Market and Windows Marketplace, that is, two competing stores will be presented in one device. Will it actually come to this? Wait and see.

We will try to get acquainted with Bada in more detail and make a detailed review of it in the near future - as soon as we have a fully working prototype. The terms for the product to go on sale are still unclear, Samsung is doing everything possible to ensure that the appearance of the i8500 Wave on the market not only coincides with the launch of the application store, but also that the latter is already as full as possible by that time. For Russia, they promise a lot of local applications already at the start, we'll see how it will be with us.

Bada is a relatively young platform being developed by Samsung. Why relatively? Because it was officially introduced only in 2009, later iOS, Android, WP. But not everything is so simple. This closed system began to be developed ten years ago, when the leadership in the mobile OS market had not yet been determined. Read more about this young, but almost "dead" OS, read under the cut.

Beginning of Bada development

All ancient Samsung phones that were distinguished by the presence of a touch screen had (and still have) a certain software platform on which all applications installed on the device worked, and also Java games and programs familiar to us were launched on it.

Bada Logo


Most likely, this platform (Samsung Handset Platform) was a test version of Bada OS, which, we can assume, Samsung has been developing for several years before the official announcement in November 2009. Samsung allowed some developers to write programs that would run on the Korean manufacturer's new operating system in Bada (which means "ocean" in Korean). Of course, Samsung itself can manufacture smartphones capable of running on the old-new “ocean” system.


Samsung Wave S8500 running Bada 1.0


The first device on this OS (Bada 1.0) was the Samsung Wave S8500 smartphone. It came out in February 2010. Everyone really liked the breath of fresh air that the new flagship of the company, running on Bada OS, brought to the world of operating systems. It is noteworthy that "wave" is translated from Korean as "wave", and this is very compatible with the concept of bada, "ocean".

End of 2010. The second "wave" of the ocean

Following the release of the first version of Bada OS, in the summer of 2010, Samsung introduced a system update (Bada 1.1), which was a kind of simplification for budget devices. Naturally, the changes to the smaller side affected primarily graphics, animation and other interesting, but not very important functions. This helped to reduce the cost of the system. The first devices running Bada 1.1 OS were released in the second half of 2010 (Samsung Wave 525 S5250, Samsung Wave 533 S5330, Samsung Wave 575 S5750, Samsung Wave 723 S7230).


Samsung Wave 533 S5330, Samsung Wave 525 S5250,
Samsung Wave 575 S5750, Samsung Wave 723 S7230


In the new, simplified version, in addition to the truncated functionality, Samsung corrected some mistakes made during the development of the first version. In the fall of 2010, when the whole world was already waiting for the release of a new "ocean", Samsung introduced the "second wave", which was called the Samsung S8530 Wave II.


Samsung S8530 Wave II


Bada 1.2 was preinstalled in the new smartphone, which introduced significant bug fixes, many improvements and most importantly (according to many) - the ability to use a smartphone even with a charge level below 15%!

bada 2.0. The third "wave" on the second "ocean"

Many were waiting for the release of a fresh version of the already famous and popular Bada 2.0 operating system. In February 2011, as part of the Mobile World Congress exhibition, the public was presented with a new "ocean" (Bada 2.0 Beta), which contained many improvements, a new design and, of course, new features. Only users of Wave and Wave II smartphones could upgrade to the new version, and then only after a year, namely in January-March 2012. But in August 2011, Samsung introduced the world to the third “wave” on the second “ocean”, i.e. the Samsung Wave 3 S8600 smartphone running on Bada 2.0.


Samsung Wave 3 S8600


In addition, two more budget models were introduced to the world - the Wave M and Wave Y smartphones. The innovations that the second "ocean" brought with it turned out to be very interesting and useful.


Wave M and Wave Y


Among them, I note the improvement of multitasking, running applications in the background, FlashLite4, HTML5, NFC technology, Web Access Control (WAC), Text-To-Speech (TTS), Wi-Fi Direct, Push notifications and speech recognition mode.

Tizen in exchange for Bada

January 2012 dispelled the seeds of doubt. The fact is that Samsung management announced its intention to combine Bada OS with the new Tizen OS, developed jointly by Intel, Asus, Acer and, of course, Samsung. After this statement, until the last, the developers began to argue the opposite, that they are betting on Bada and Tizen as two different OS, which have their pros and cons, that they are not going to merge these two OS, that they will always support Bada.


Tizen OS


But on February 25, 2013, everything changed dramatically. Samsung announced the merger of Bada and Tizen, which was proposed to be seen not as a kind of merger of two different platforms, but as a transition from the old to the new. All the latest Bada improvements will go into the creation of a new, high-quality, modern Tizen OS mobile platform. It was the end for Bada.

Conclusion

Samsung's Bada project has been quite successful and perhaps one of the best solutions for operating systems. Early on in their prosperity, Bada-powered devices outsold those of Windows Phone in sales. But even now Bada lives among the people, which has become their native for many years of service.
Thank you all for reading the article, point out my mistakes and shortcomings. All the best!

Thanks to the user spaMer02 for the title picture!

On October 25, Samsung introduced new models of Wave smartphones based on the bada 2.0 operating system to the Russian market. We told about the event, as well as the developer conference that preceded it. Now it's time to take a closer look at one of the three new smartphones - Samsung Wave Y. Recall that this is the youngest model of the line, which should replace the Samsung Wave 525. According to Samsung, Wave 525 is the best-selling smartphone in Russia. Therefore, Samsung expects that the new model will also be a success. But how justified are these calculations?

To begin with, let's recall the main technical characteristics of the Samsung Wave Y and compare them with those of the Wave 525.

* Unofficial information; the official specifications do not indicate the frequency of the Wave 525 processor.

So, it is obvious that in almost all respects the new model is better. And one more advantage - pre-installed operating system bada 2.0. You will not be able to install this OS version on the Wave 525. However, the cost of Wave 525 is currently 1000 rubles lower, which is very serious in the lower price segment. Also, for some unknown reason, the camera in the Samsung Wave Y only shoots at 2MP, while the older model shoots at 3.2MP. But - let's go directly to testing and find out how Wave Y is generally adequate to today and the declared value, and also get to know bada 2.0 in practice.

Design

Externally, Samsung Y looks like a typical budget smartphone.

The only memorable detail is the oblong silver Home key. But, by the way, because of her, you often strive to take the phone upside down. Apparently, because it is remotely similar to a speaker.

On the back side we see a camera eye and a lace loop. The color of the back side has a metallic tint, but in fact the whole body is made of plastic.

In addition to the Home button, the device has two more hardware buttons and two touch buttons. The hardware ones are the on / off button (on the right side) and the volume rocker (on the left side).

It is easy to guess that the two touch buttons are "Accept" and "End", and they are located under the screen, to the right and left of the Home key.

The SIM and microSD slots are located under the back cover. It is removed not without effort, but not to say that with great torment. You have to remove the battery to get to the SIM card, and the microSD is accessible anyway, so you can plug it in/remove it without having to reboot your phone.

In general, the design deserves a good rating. Not great, but good. Lacking originality and any special appeal, the smartphone, nevertheless, has the qualities that are most important for solutions of this class: practical, not overloaded, versatile enough, easy to carry in a trouser pocket.

Screen

The Samsung Wave Y capacitive touch display shows a fairly bright picture with rich colors. However, the traditional drawback of TN matrices - small viewing angles - is obvious here: with a slight deviation to the left, the colors immediately float, and the image becomes illegible.

Image resolution is 320×480 pixels. This is more than the Wave 525, and is quite normal for displaying a clear picture. But, of course, when compared with more expensive models, the density of dots per inch will seem small. However, we repeat, for a budget smartphone, the screen of the Samsung Wave Y is quite good.

Hardware configuration

The smartphone runs on a single-core processor with a frequency of 832 MHz. By today's standards, it's not enough, but no slowdowns or other performance problems were noticed during testing of the Samsung Wave Y (with the exception of some "brakes" when working with Samsung Apps, which can be explained by problems with the Internet connection). Samsung does not indicate the amount of RAM, but, again, based on subjective feelings, we can assume that it is quite enough to ensure smooth operation of the OS interface.

Unfortunately, we were unable to measure performance in any way: no benchmarks were found in the Samsung Apps store, and the online benchmark SunSpider 0.9. are comforting for Samsung Wave Y. However, no one expects records in benchmarks from a budget smartphone. Besides, looking at Wave Y full-fledged websites is not such a great pleasure. In terms of the convenience of web surfing, Wave Y, of course, is much inferior to iOS devices (iPhone and iPod touch). And by the way, like the iPhone/iPod touch, the Dolphin browser on the Samsung Wave Y doesn't support Flash.

Returning to the issues of hardware configuration, we note that, unfortunately, there is very little available flash memory in the smartphone. The Wave 525 had even less, but it still doesn't. However, microSD support partly alleviates this shortcoming: you can not only record media content on microSD, but also install applications (for this, you need to specify in the Settings menu where applications will be installed - on a phone or on a memory card).

operating system

Samsung Wave Y is the first smartphone in our edition, which runs on bada 2.0 operating system. Therefore, we will pay special attention to the OS. Let's start with the lock screen. By default, it displays the time, date, information about the cellular operator, signal strength, the presence of an Internet connection (Wi-Fi or 3G), volume and battery level.

However, if you set up a weather widget, the weather information will also be displayed on the lock screen. In addition, here you can see the number of new letters, SMS and calls. To go to the corresponding application, just pull the tab on the right. And if you just want to get to the main menu - swipe your finger across the screen in any direction.

In the home menu, we see a large Yandex widget, as well as icons for four Yandex service applications. These are “Maps” (the default mode is to display traffic jams), “Mail”, “Metro” (convenient for laying the best route) and “Market”.

It is curious that Yandex application icons have a characteristic shape that is different from the shape of other icons. As for the applications themselves, they will be useful only to those who are used to using Yandex services. If, for example, your mail is not on Yandex, then the Mail application will be completely unnecessary for you. If you do not live in Moscow or St. Petersburg, then the Metro app will be superfluous. And it seems impossible to remove unnecessary applications. At least I didn't understand how to do it. But you can remove them, at least from the home screen. But I could not remove the Yandex widget. On the other hand, this widget is really useful, so let it be :)

The menu of installed applications can be seen by clicking on the "Menu" icon in the lower right corner of the home screen. At the same time, the three main applications will still remain in the bottom row (let's call it the dock), but they can be changed to other applications. As well as you can change the location of widgets, arrange icons on different screens, etc.

In general, the interface logic is the same as in Android. The similarity is emphasized by the fact that Samsung uses the proprietary TouchWiz shell in both badafons and Googlephones, so the icons look almost the same, and the general style is similar.

On the one hand, this is a minus, since the operating system does not have its own look, but on the other hand, for users who are used to Android, it will not be difficult to switch to bada. Well, for beginners who first picked up a smartphone, it will also be easy to figure it out.

Unlike iOS, bada has an open file system. Using the convenient file manager "My Files" you can perform all standard file operations, including copying and moving files and folders (including from your phone to a memory card or vice versa), sending them by mail, publishing them in online services, etc. P..

However, only files and folders you create can be moved or deleted. Those that are in the system by default are protected from operations.

What else did you like? Screenshot function built into the OS (simultaneously pressing the Home key and the on / off button). A trifle, it would seem, but for some reason such a simple thing in Android requires a bunch of extraordinary actions. But what I didn’t like was the on-screen keyboard. For two weeks of using the smartphone, I could not get used to it. On the iPhone - much more convenient.

Attempts to search for an alternative keyboard in the Samsung Apps application store did not lead to success. By the way, about the app store. The store itself is not bad - nothing fundamentally different from iOS, Android, WebOS stores, etc. But, alas, there are very few programs for bada 2.0. For example, a request for video player returns nothing. With games - it's also tight ... In general, if you categorically lack something among the pre-installed bada 2.0 applications, I would not count on Samsung Apps yet. However, the operating system has just become available to users, so, presumably, in the near future the arsenal of applications will grow significantly.

The last thing I would like to say in connection with the operating system is multitasking. Its full support appeared just in OS version 2.0. This is implemented as follows: if you have an application open, but you do not want to exit it, you can press and hold the Home key, after which you will see a window with running applications (see the previous screenshot). You can switch to any of them, and the rest will hang in the background, or you can close the application (one, several or all at once).

Camera

As we noted at the beginning of the article, it seemed rather strange to us that instead of the 3.2-megapixel camera that was in the Samsung Wave 525, the new model has a 2-megapixel camera. And although the lower resolution itself still means poor image quality (as well as high - good), but still it made us wary. And test shooting confirmed that our fears were not in vain.

Photos on the Samsung Wave Y are fuzzy, blurry, with noticeable artifacts. Color rendition is average. Of course, it can be worse, but the Samsung Wave 525 was better. And it was logical to expect no lower quality from the new device. The specifications indicate that the Wave Y camera is equipped with autofocus and LED flash, but we did not find either.

The quality of video shooting is completely disheartening. The smartphone shoots at a resolution of 320×240, 14 frames per second, with a very low bitrate. The result is appropriate. For those wishing to independently verify our conclusions, we suggest downloading 30 second video shot with Samsung Wave Y.

Autonomy and user experience

The Samsung Wave Y has a 1200mAh (3.7V) battery. The smartphone works on a single battery charge for about two days - provided that you do not play games, do not watch videos, do not listen to music, hardly use the Internet (except occasionally checking mail), but mainly use telephone functions (calls, SMS ). With more extensive and active use, the battery will last for less time. If you save money and do not turn on Wi-Fi at all, your smartphone can last two and a half days.

In addition, Samsung Wave Y does not quite clearly display the remaining battery power. That is, you think that about a third is left, when suddenly the screen brightness drops sharply to a minimum, and you are informed that the smartphone is discharged. After this message, the device will last another half an hour or an hour, no more. And then it turns off completely. When we tested Wave Y, it seriously let us down twice: for some unknown reason, at the very time when the smartphone had already reported that it was discharged, but had not yet turned off, Wave Y, being in a trouser pocket, committed on its own initiative multiple calls at once. Apparently, for some reason, the screen lock turned off or something else did not work correctly. But anyway, it happened.

The second case occurred right during the conversation: the smartphone hung dead (the conversation, of course, was interrupted) and for some reason demanded to connect it to the PC for synchronization. Attempts to turn off the device did not lead to anything, I had to pull out the battery.

We emphasize that we had a pre-sale sample, and it is possible that there will be no such failures in commercial copies. But, in any case, to keep silent about it would be unfair.

As for the quality of communication, sometimes we had some complaints, but we cannot vouch for the fact that our smartphone, and not the device of the interlocutor, is to blame. At the same time, the Wave Y network did not lose anything for no reason, so we have no reason to suspect it of a low-quality cellular module.

conclusions

If we close our eyes to the above failures and attribute them to the fact that we had a pre-sale sample, then we can recognize the Samsung Wave Y as a very good smartphone for its price category (except that the camera disappointed). True, it's too early to make a final assessment, because the functionality of the device will largely depend on the number of applications in Samsung Apps for bada 2.0. As for the operating system, it seems to us convenient, easy to learn and quite suitable for such low-cost devices. Yes, it has some drawbacks - for example, an inconvenient on-screen keyboard or the inability to remove pre-installed applications. But there are many advantages: an open file system, multitasking, conveniently organized work with files, the ability to install applications on a memory card, the ability to customize the appearance (including the location of application icons, background selection and splash screens).

We will follow the development of the bada OS and will probably return to this topic in the future. In the meantime - a small lyrical digression.

Samsung Wave Y is perhaps an exemplary example of a budget smartphone, with all the typical advantages and disadvantages (of course, we take branded devices, not Chinese noname). But after a week of using it, I thought about the topic: do you really need a budget smartphone? Isn't it better to choose a high-quality mobile phone, albeit without a full-fledged operating system and the ability to install third-party programs? For comparison, I had a phone from the same company - Samsung Champ, worth 3,000 rubles. Yes, it certainly has a worse screen than Wave Y, no Wi-Fi, a browser and an email client - from the category of “fish without fish and cancer”, in Samsung Apps - only Java games, there is no way to import contacts ... But but it works on a single battery charge for a week, for half a year of its use there were absolutely no complaints about the quality of communication, as well as failures like those that we described with Samsung Wave Y. SMS dialing on it - I will not say that it is less convenient than on a smartphone (however, this is a matter of habit: Samsung Champ has a resistive touch screen, but with large on-screen buttons, each of which has several letters). As a result, I personally decided for myself that I was not ready to make a choice between a phone and a budget smartphone in favor of the latter. Another thing is that I always have an iPod touch and a tablet / laptop with me, so they take care of all the non-telephone functions that a smartphone (even a very good one) can perform. But even if you do not carry any other devices with you, I would still think several times whether you really need the functionality of a smartphone in order to sacrifice battery life, the quality of telephone functions, as well as an extra three to four thousand rubles (all -even the cheapest smartphones are more expensive than good mobile phones; well, if you don't take Vertu, of course :)).

In my opinion, today a bunch of "good phone + tablet with 3G" or "good phone + tablet or laptop + mobile hotspot" is much more effective than "budget smartphone + anything." Moreover, the first option can even compete with the “top-end smartphone + anything” configuration. Another thing is that if you have a top-end smartphone, you can do without a tablet, because you can answer mail, work on the Internet is relatively comfortable, and you can even look at documents on it. Well, the ability to check mail on the go is also useful. In addition, an expensive smartphone is still an element of style, an image detail. So there are strong arguments in favor of this option. But I don’t see any serious universal arguments in favor of a budget smartphone. Unless, again, the need to check mail on the go. But I doubt that a person with active business correspondence does not have the opportunity to buy a device for himself at least for 15,000 rubles. So the main audience of budget smartphones seems to me to be those people who used to use mobile phones, but wanted a smartphone (for experiments or just because they saw it with friends), and it’s scary to pay a significant amount right away, so for a start we decided to try something cheaper . However, pretty soon these people will either switch to more expensive devices or go back to mobile phones. Because the level of convenience and functionality that smartphones for 8000 rubles and below can offer today is not enough to be completely satisfied with this option. I emphasize that this is my personal opinion, which does not at all claim to be universal; this is the opinion of a user who has a certain range of tasks; your goals may be very different.