Samsung Impression Review

Introduction:

Samsung has been putting out a lot of TouchWiz powered devices over here in the last few months. Every wireless carrier seems to have some variant of the widget driven home screen. It’s pretty and gives a personalized look to each device. We’ve managed to get our hands on the Samsung Impression over CTIA with its beautiful AMOLED screen. It’ll be the first one available domestically with the new screen technology and also comes with a QWERTY keyboard. But will the new updates to the hardware differentiate it from every other TouchWiz device currently available?

The package contains:

• Samsung Impression
• Charger
• USB Cable
• Quick Start Guide
• User Manual CD

Design:

There has been an abundance of Samsung phones released in the last few months for AT&T that incorporates a QWERTY keyboard. And the Samsung Impression follows the same suit as those others. The design is not bad at all; which can be best described as the Samsung Eternity’s form factor with a QWERTY keyboard reminiscent of the Samsung Rant. The body is constructed out of blue plastic with chrome accents found on the sides. The device feels solid with rounded corners which gives it right feel when you hold it. Although you’ll find it on the heavy side (5.3 oz), it may be best to be very careful when using it. You really don’t want to see the consequences from dropping this phone from such a height. It’s a little bit on the thicker side as well (0.61”) when you compare it to the Eternity, but it’s justifiable with the addition of the QWERTY.



You can compare the Samsung Impression with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Now for the best part of the phone; the AMOLED screen. Pictures can’t really describe the luminance of the screen and how it completely lights up a dark room. You just need to see how beautiful colors are displayed to give you that awe inspiring feeling when gazing upon it for the first time. The Samsung Impression retains the same screen size (3.2”), pixel count (240x400), and colors (262k) found on the Eternity. But the AMOLED differentiates itself when it comes to brightness and color variances. The true test is pure black levels; which the Impression hands down beats the competition. We even had a hard time seeing where the borders of the screen were because of how dark the color black matched up to the black plastic border surrounding the screen. The range of colors displayed on screen will really showcase the beauty of the AMOLED.  There was no problem viewing the screen in any lighting conditions or viewing angles.

There are only three buttons found on the front of the phone; the send, end, and back/clear keys. They are well sized and flush with the surface. Strangely, they lack any backlighting to them which can be a pain when using it in the dark. The top right corner of the screen houses the proximity sensor which turns off the display during phone calls and light sensor that adjusts the brightness depending on the environment. The volume rocker and shortcut menu keys are found on the left side. While the dedicated camera and lock/unlock buttons are located on the right side. All the buttons were small sized with the unlock key having the most trouble touching. We had to use the edge of our fingernail at times to press the button. The top side has the proprietary USB/charging port that can be accessed by removing the plastic latch. On the back, you’ll find the 3-megapixel camera and speaker phone located next to it. Removing the back cover reveals the battery (1000 mAh), SIM card slot, and microSD slot.



The four row QWERTY keyboard can be accessed by sliding the screen from left to right. As we said before, it looks similar to the layout found on the Samsung Rant. The rectangular shaped buttons are well spaced and slightly raised from the surface with a rubbery feel to them. Keys are easily recognized with a white backlighting while the numbers are highlighted in purple. It was relatively easy typing away on the keyboard with very minimal mistakes. People with larger fingers will also find it quite comfortable using the QWERTY.