Samsung Wave Y Review

Introduction:

The Samsung Wave Y may not be high on the most wanted smartphones list as an entry level phone with the company’s own bada mobile OS, since it has to fight with its Galaxy Y Android counterpart for attention.

Given that bada has way less apps in its store than Android, Samsung should have thrown in some incentives for potential buyers to prefer the Wave Y before its Android cousin.

There are some enticements indeed, but will they be enough to lure teens and emerging market buyers, which the Wave Y  is targeting as indicated by its “Y” (for “youth”) category? Read on to find out...

In the box:

• Charger
• microUSB cable
• 2GB microSD card with adapter
• Warranty and information leaflets

Design:

The first thing that makes a difference for the Samsung Wave Y, if we compare with the Galaxy Y is the back, where a basic 2MP camera resides. The cover fakes brushed aluminum very successfully, despite being all plastic. The tapered edges are also very indicative of the phone’s Wave lineup heritage, and if you have seen the rest of the bada 2.0 handsets, you’d immediately recognize the Wave Y as part of the family.



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

The handset is a bit chubby, and is not the lightest out there, but is comfortable to hold, and pretty well assembled - no creases or squeaking noises, plus the plastic is of quite a decent quality. The lock/power button on the right, and the volume rocker left are also very easy to feel, and give good tactile feedback. The same goes for the sole physical home button underneath the display, which is flanked by two capacitive navigation keys, bada style.


Display:

The 3.2” capacitive LCD display is with nice colors, bright enough for a decent image outside, and also with very good viewing angles for its class. The only gripe we had with it were the right horizontal viewing angles, which were strangely abysmal with even the slightest tilt..

It features 320x480 pixels of resolution, which is plenty for this screen size, and the 180ppi density means you are getting more than you’d expect from this category. Much better than the Galaxy Y in any case, whose 133ppi make Android’s UI look terrible. In fact, this resolution makes bada 2.0 look better on the Wave Y than on the higher-class Wave M, which spreads that same resolution over a larger 3.65” screen.