'Anything you can do, I can do better' -- a fitting expression for the relationship between Samsung and LG, particularly when it comes to mobile phones. Last year, we saw LG team up with Prada to create the Prada KE850 phone and this year it's Samsung's turn to walk the catwalk with the Samsung Armani phone.
It's currently available from Orange for £50 on a monthly contract and free with a monthly contract from phones4u.
Design
It's always worrying when fashion houses team up with mobile manufacturers as the results can be quite disturbing. As we gently popped open the Samsung Armani's posh box, we breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the Armani phone -- it's small, attractive and most importantly, it doesn't look tacky.
The Armani phone feels solid and definitely looks the part. On the front, there's a relatively large touchscreen with mechanical end and send keys at the bottom. The casing is made out of metal, which adds to the solid feel and it's weighted just right -- not to heavy and not too light.
Using the Armani's touchscreen is a relatively enjoyable experience because it's easy enough to navigate. Plus, it features vibrating feedback that lets you know when you've tapped an on-screen key, which seems to work better than certain other phones with a similar feature.
Our only issue with the Armani's screen is that scrolling is very fiddly. Scrolling through contacts or a Web site should be easy to do, which is why we're bothered that it's not. If you're expecting a touchscreen that responds to touch control as well as the iPhone, you'll be very disappointed. A combination of the hardware and software lets the phone down and we're not convinced that Samsung have cracked touchscreen phones just yet.
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