Samsung Wave M Review

Performance:

Call quality in the earpiece of the Wave M is with adequate volume, and there aren't any notable distortions in the sound. The other party said they can hear us well, and our voices sounded clean. There is no secondary mic port for noise-cancellation on the Samsung Wave M, so the ambient noise around you will be present on the other end along with your voice.

There is also no proximity sensor, so the screen just locks up after you answer the call, and you have to unlock it to key in something with an automated reply system, or turn on the speaker.

The 1350mAh battery is quoted for 6 hours and 30 minutes of talk time in 3G mode, as well as 20 days on standby.


Conclusion:

Overall, the Wave M sports an OK design, without any bells and whistles, but it feels sturdy, and is comfortable to grab and hold, albeit bulky. The biggest gripe is a lower than usual pixel density for the category, which sometimes makes text appear jagged, and the TouchWiz interface granular.

What we did appreciate were the decent outdoor pictures from the 5MP shooter and the good call quality. The Wave M doesn't stand much chance against a decent Android midrange phone with the hundreds of thousands of apps backing it up, but it is a decent addition to the bada lineup nonetheless.

Phones like the Samsung Galaxy Ace with Android are in the Wave M price range, and offer access to Android Market with similar hardware specs. For the same screen size as the Wave M plus Android you can look at the Acer Liquid Metal, which can be found currently very cheap, but its camera shots are worse than with the Wave M.

Frankly, you can also get the Wave II, or even the first Samsung Wave, which are way better than the Wave M, and can be found at similar prices.

The Nokia 603 is also a good alternative, despite missing an LED flash, since you get more apps than with bada OS, and free lifetime navigation, plus a very bright display with higher resolution.

Software version of the reviewed unit: bada 2.01110162350LISS

Samsung Wave M Video Review: