Samsung Bada - platform or operating system? History of the Bada operating system Samsung phone bada operating system

A closed platform, and it can only work with so-called "native" applications written specifically for this operating system.

The platform has a multi-level architecture, the operating system layer is the lower layer, the upper layers use its functions to access the hardware. The device layer is located above the platform core layer. The services running at this layer rely on the capabilities of the kernel and allow higher layers to access device functions such as media and communications. It is this level that provides programs written for Bada with 3D graphics and the ability to access the Internet through all existing communication interfaces.

The history of the platform began quite successfully, so in the period from 2010 to 2012, sales grew from 2 million devices per quarter to 5 million. In the third quarter of 2012, Bada even overtook Windows Phone in popularity, but then began to lose ground.

As for the budget line, it, of course, was devoid of the "excesses" of the flagship line, plastic and other inexpensive elements were used in their assembly, but the build quality itself was maintained at its best.

Throughout 2012, Samsung kept mentioning here and there that there would be no merger between Bada and Tizen - both products are interesting and have different purposes, company representatives said. However, on February 25, 2013, the company's management announced the merger of platforms, saying, however, the following: "This step should be considered not as a merger, but as a transition from the old to the new quality." This was the end of Bada. The full end of platform support should have ended immediately after the release of the first device on Tizen. However, on February 28, 2013, Samsung for some reason released an updated version of the Bada SDK 2.0.6.

The announcement that Samsung decided to close the mobile device development project on its own Bada operating system did not come as a surprise, although the company denied this development for a long time, but it was not clear whether the platform would become history or some kind of Tizen legacy. But not so long ago, in an official statement, the director of the Samsung Media Solutions Center, Hong Wonpyo, announced that all development regarding Bada was being stopped, and the developments would become the basis for Tizen. However, at the same time, Bada users will not be able to upgrade to Tizen, although some

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 [email protected], 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 (Gray, Sepia, Negative), Metering (Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot metering), Grid, Preview, 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.

Samsung Wave (S8500)

The first phone based on the bada mobile OS - Samsung Wave (S8500) - once became a real hit due to its excellent design, excellent technical characteristics and low price. The Wave II (S8530) was a minor update, differing from the first Wave only in screen and slightly redesigned design. Wave 3 brought with it not only a new version of the bada operating system, but also an updated hardware platform. But is this enough to survive in a world of green robots and predatory fruits?

Specifications Samsung Wave 3 (S8600)

While the original Wave and Wave II were equipped with a Samsung Hummingbird processor, the Wave 3 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8225-T chip clocked at 1.4 GHz. In a sense, this can be considered a step backwards, since the Adreno 205 video core used in this chipset is significantly inferior to the PowerVR SGX540 graphics in the S8500 and S8530. Otherwise, the technical characteristics of the novelty are close to the previous models.

Ranges: GPRS/GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS/HSPA 900/2100.
Form factor: keyboardless monoblock.
Operating system: Samsung bada 2.0 with TouchWiz 4 interface.
Display: 4 inches, Super AMOLED, 480x800 pixels, 16 million colors, touch (capacitive matrix).
Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, geotagging, LED backlight, video recording (1280x720/30p).
CPU: Qualcomm MSM8225 based on ARM Cortex A8 core, clocked at 1.4 GHz; integrated video accelerator Adreno 205.
Memory: 3 GB + microSDHC cards.
Multimedia features: MP3 player, FM receiver, video player (MPEG-4, Divx, Xvid, H.264 support), video editor, YouTube integration, Find Music service (analogue of Track ID in Sony Ericsson phones).
Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 HS.
Interface connector: microUSB, 3.5 mm headphone output.
GPS: yes, A-GPS support, Google Maps support, Samsung LBS navigation app (Route 66 based).
Dimensions and weight: 126x64x10 mm, 122 grams.

Appearance and design features

The design of the Samsung Wave 3 is close to the previous models of the Wave line. As before, its body is made of metal, the screen is covered with a Gorilla Glass protective glass with an oleophobic coating that makes it easier to clean from fingerprints.

Due to the use of a 4-inch screen, the phone has noticeably increased in size compared to the first Wave. In general, in terms of dimensions, it is now close to the Galaxy S II, which is equipped with a larger diagonal screen (4.3 inches). In terms of ergonomics, the Wave 3 is a step backwards compared to the Wave - the call and hang up buttons have become touch-sensitive, the camera button has disappeared, and the headphone and data cable jacks have moved to the bottom of the case.

Interestingly, the device does not have a removable back cover. Instead, the chassis with all the stuffing slides out of the metal casing on a skid, giving access to the battery and slots for the SIM card and microSD memory card. To access the slots, you need to remove the battery, so you can forget about hot-swapping memory cards.

Screen

Wave 3 uses a 4-inch Super AMOLED matrix with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. This screen belongs to the first generation of Super AMOLED and differs from the screen in the Galaxy S II in the arrangement of subpixels according to the PenTile scheme.

Subpixel layout: left - regular (RGB), right - PenTile (RGBG)

In practice, this means that the actual screen resolution is noticeably lower than the declared one. PenTile screens display text and other small image elements noticeably worse, which can be seen in the photographs below.

Galaxy SII

Wave 3

Galaxy SII

Wave 3

Note that the Wave 3's screen looks frankly green in the photos. Another problem with such displays is the very rough transfer of smooth gradients, which is clearly visible when viewing photos and videos.

Software

Samsung Wave 3 runs on bada version 2.0 operating system. We will prepare a separate material on this OS, but already now we can confidently say that only very inexperienced people can call bada phones smartphones. In the year and a half that has passed since the release of the first Wave, neither Skype nor WhatsApp, nor even the most popular casual games in the world - Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, have appeared on the bada platform. The situation is aggravated by the fact that applications written for bada 1.x are not compatible with bada 2.x and require at least recompilation, so the process of moving to a new version of the OS is unlikely to be painless, both for users and for developers.

In the dry matter

The phone in its current state does not allow us to draw definitive conclusions regarding its stability, battery life and camera quality. However, it can already be argued that bada has failed as a platform for smartphones. Phones with this OS occupy an intermediate position between "stupid" phones and full-fledged smartphones, significantly inferior to the latter. The first Wave was a hit because it allowed the customer to get top-end hardware for the price of a mid-range smartphone. But the hardware of Wave 3 is inherently in line with today's mid-range Android smartphones, so, in our opinion, it can only become popular if its price matches the budget category of smartphones.

On October 25, Samsung introduced new models of Wave smartphones based on the bada 2.0 operating system to the Russian market. We told you 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 a 30-second video filmed on 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.

The Samsung Wave M smartphone is an improved version of the Samsung Galaxy Ace. The display is larger, the processor is more powerful, the autonomy is higher. There is only one "but", the bada operating system under which it works.

Ergonomics and design

Samsung Wave M (S7250)

bada smartphone

New version of bada, battery life, Wi-Fi Direct function, quality of recorded video

Speed, high cost, demanding video formats

Failed analog of Samsung Galaxy Ace on bada

Unlike its more ergonomic predecessor, the Samsung S7230, there are a minimum of mechanical keys on the front panel of the Wave M. Reception and release are now touch-sensitive. Only the button between them remained mechanical. She is responsible for returning to the main desktop, calling the manager of running applications or starting voice control.
On the right side there is a key for turning on / blocking, and on the left side there is a dual volume control button. The microUSB connector and microphone are on the bottom end, while on the top there is only a headphone jack.

On the front panel there are proximity and light sensors, a camera. Covered with tempered glass, the display has a diagonal of 3.65”. On the back side, made “under the metal”, there is a 5 megapixel camera lens with a flash and a speaker slot.

Despite the visual similarity to metal, the back cover material is soft. Below it is a 1350 mAh battery, a memory card slot (not hot-swappable) and a SIM slot.

Interface

Samsung Wave M uses the latest version of the company's operating system - bada 2.0. Outwardly, it has become even more like TouchWiz. Yes, and the principle of operation of the shells is largely similar. There is a notification line with the ability to quickly switch wireless modules, profiles and disable automatic rotation. Initially, three desktops are involved in the shell. The far left is called the "Live panel" - it contains widgets for the calendar, news, weather, stock information and favorite contacts. Managing them is easy - pressing and holding leads to the appearance of a special slider, moving which you add or remove the widget from the panel.

The main disadvantage of the bada operating system is the limited choice of applications, although their number is gradually increasing. Now free analogues of almost all popular programs of more common operating systems are available in the application store, including e-book readers, Facebook and Twitter social networking clients, various camera “improvers”, and more. The choice of paid applications is also growing, and prices start from a symbolic UAH 2.

A widget from Yandex is installed on the main Desktop. It combines several services at once - Search, Weather forecast, Traffic jams and Exchange rates. Below it are the labels "Yandex.Maps" and the traditional Samsung Social Hub for smartphones, which contains all messages from social networks, ChatON and Samsung Apps.

You can place from one to four widgets on the Desktop. It is possible to create folders, the contents of which can be viewed in two ways - traditional, by clicking, and by pressing followed by spreading fingers. The maximum number of shortcuts in a folder is twelve, and there are ten desktops, not counting the Live Panel.

The main menu is presented in the form of a 4x4 matrix. Like desktops, the number of pages is limited to ten, and the number of shortcuts cannot exceed 160. You cannot sort the main menu shortcuts as you like.

Platform

The Samsung Wave M has a processor with a clock frequency of 832 MHz. This is slightly more than the Galaxy Ace with its 800 MHz chip, but, as it turned out, not enough for watching video. Most files, regardless of format and audio codec, cannot be played. So if you plan to watch videos on your phone, be prepared for the difficulties of converting.

The smartphone was also too tough for viewing Flash through the Dolfin browser, and it is not possible to use a third-party one, due to the lack of alternatives for bada.

What the smartphone is good for is the duration of work from a single charge. With 20 minutes of communication in a 3G network and synchronization via Wi-Fi per day, you can count on three days of autonomy.

Display

The 3.65” display has the usual resolution of 480×320 pixels for this diagonal. The contrast and saturation values of the screen are inferior to Super AMOLED, but quite acceptable, as are the viewing angles. And only if you look at the screen from the left, the colors are inverted. The backlight intensity can be changed from 8 to 290 cd/m².

Camera

There are not enough stars from the sky M and the Samsung Wave camera. Photo quality is average, comparable to most Android smartphones in this price range. But the quality of the video, albeit in VGA resolution, was a pleasant surprise. For this parameter, the phone can be put a plus. Only models of a higher price range are capable of more.

Examples of 5 MP photos with automatic settings

An example of video recording with a resolution of 640x480 pixels

Video review Samsung Wave M (S7250)

Results

The Samsung Wave M smartphone should be perceived as a phone with enhanced functionality, thanks to the presence of the bada application store. Their number is still not large enough, although it is growing. Nevertheless, the amount that is asked for this model, which is at the level of good Android smartphones, cannot be called justified either. As a result, Samsung Wave M is a niche offering aimed at increasing the range of bada devices. If for some reason you love this OS, take a closer look at the Samsung Wave II. For the same money as the Wave M, it has better specs and should get a bada 2.0 update soon