Samsung Wave 3 Review

Call quality in the earpiece of the Samsung Wave 3 is adequate, with decent volume and clear sound, while the receiving end said they could hear us very well, both in terms of strength and clarity.

The 1500mAh battery is rated for 8 hours and 50 minutes of talk time in 3G mode, which is slightly above average for the category. Bada handsets traditionally sport good battery life, and during our review we didn't notice any excessive draining, you should be able to get through a day and a half on a full charge with normal usage.


The new flagship bada OS handset Samsung Wave 3 is thin, fairly light, and made of quality materials. When you look at its brushed metal shell, it looks diligently crafted, and, to top it off, it even has some unique chassis features like a sliding shell to reveal the battery compartment.

The new TouchWiz on bada 2.0 is an improvement over the previous version in terms of both eye candy and added functionality, but the OS still doesn't support Adobe Flash and multicore processors. When we consider, however, the 4” Super AMOLED display, good call quality, and the vast support of video codecs in the default player, the Wave 3 is indeed the best bada handset so far, and one that is showing how bada OS has matured. 

Still, the bada flagship lacks a dual-core processor or a more resolute display and camera, yet at its current price it is positioned squarely against more advanced phones like the HTC Sensation or the Samsung Galaxy R with their dual-core chips and larger screens. 

Considering the comparative lack of apps for bada, mid-range Android phones like Samsung's own Galaxy W or the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S with their 1.4GHz processors and large screens are an easy pick before the Wave 3. On top of it all they come with lower pricing, too, thus removing the advantages of bada as the “poor man's Android”. 

Another alternative to the Wave 3 can be the Nokia Lumia 800 with the decent choice of apps at the Windows Phone Marketplace, 8MP camera, and its free offline voice navigation, although it is more expensive. The Samsung Omnia W also has a 1.4GHz processor and 5MP camera with LED flash, but sports a smaller 3.7” display at a price comparable to the Wave 3.

Software version of the reviewed unit: bada 2.0S8600XXKJC

PROS

• Distinct brushed metal design
• Ingenuous sliding chassis allows easy microSD and SIM card swaps
• Prettified bada 2.0 runs flawlessly on the 1.4GHz processor

CONS

• Pricey for a bada handset
• Lousy pictures and video capture indoors
• Only a modest upgrade from its predecessor Wave 2