Samsung Ace Review

Messaging:

Like other Windows Mobile phones, both email and text messages are in a common Messaging menu. The QWERTY keypad is used to input any text, but Windows Mobile will attempt to predict what you are typing. This comes in handy for longer words, but can also be an annoyance at times. For instance, when typing a web address it tries to finish off .com, thinking you are trying to type a bigger word, such as “compared” or “complete,” and the only way to ignore the suggestion is to add an unneeded space or wait 2-3 seconds, if you try to scroll up or down to the next field it will scroll through the selections. This feature can be turned off altogether.

Email setup is easy, and you can add any POP-3 or IMAP account. Windows Mobile 6 supports HTML formatted e-mails, allowing for a realistic view. The client is similar to Outlook on a computer; you can filter your inbox to see certain emails, view different folders, reply to a message or forward messages to another recipient. Attachments can be downloaded or viewed as long as there is a program on the phone that can handle it (such as a PDF viewer or mp3 player, more on those later,) and you can also attach files to outgoing email. Windows Mobile 6 also allows synchronization with your company Exchange Server.

The only email you cannot set up through the standard Messaging menu is a Hotmail/Live account. When trying to set up those accounts it will redirect you to windows.live.com. Interestingly (but refreshingly,) the MSN Messenger client is not preloaded on the phone.


Connectivity:

As an international device, the Ace has support for both CDMA and GSM. On the domestic side you have support for Sprint’s 800/1900 MHz CDMA, while on the other side of the pond you will find 900/1800 MHz GSM support. In the States the phone zips along at EVDO Rev 0 speeds, but in international mode you’re stuck with GPRS 2G data.

Locally you’ll be able to use Bluetooth 2.0, with support for the HSP, HFP 1.5, OPP, FTP, PBA, A2DP, AVRC, BPP, PAN, HID profiles. We easily found and connected to the Samsung WEP500 headset, although we were not able to use Voice Command over Bluetooth.

The data, headset and charging port are all one-in-the-same. This is pretty common for Samsung, but unfortunately they do not include the usual 2.5mm adaptor.


Internet:

The Ace ships with Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) for web browsing. PIE is a capable browser and certainly better than a WAP browser, but it definitely has its limitations. The user can go to full screen mode, and can set the view to One Column, Fit to Screen or Desktop. It is our strong recommendation that you use One Column, as it eliminates horizontal scrolling.

Unfortunately Java is not onboard, so we cannot use other browsers such as Opera Mini. Opera Mobile is a better option than PIE, but it is not a free program. If you were lucky enough to get a beta invite for Deepfish or SkyFire you can also run these.

Browsing itself is generally fast when on the EVDO network. We were able to load PhoneArena in a matter of seconds. PIE does not support Flash, so our animations did not run, but otherwise everything displayed properly and was easy to read and navigate.

The Ace also comes with an RSS reader, letting users keep abreast of the latest news. Searching for and adding new feeds was simple. We really like to see this, and have always wondered why RSS has not incorporated better into the cellular arena.