Samsung has a long held reputation for producing extremely stylish and sexy handsets that also have high end functionality. As such, it is a firm favourite with a high percentage of the mobile phone using population. However, Samsung has set itself seemingly impossible standards to follow with their coming handsets. As such, the newest of their handsets, the Samsung i8510 Innov8, has a lot to live up to. It's billing as the ultimate camera phone also adds to that, but does it live up to the hype?



Dealing with the Samsung i8510 Innov8's appearance first, the slider is definitely stylish and extremely elegant. With metallic and plastic casing, it looks extremely hi-tech and would appeal to many. Although it is on the large side, it is quite a slim phone given the features that are on board. The 2.8 inch, 16 million colour screen is beautiful and crystal clear. It definitely makes the handset pleasing to the eye. The keypad that slides out from under it is well spaced and easy to use, especially when compared with other similar models from the likes of Nokia. Samsung has really taken the time to iron out problems highlighted in customer feedback, which contributes to a great user experience with the Samsung i8510 Innov8.

Delving under the surface, the Samsung i8510 Innov8 has a huge range of connectivity options, including USB, WiFi, bluetooth, 3.5G and GSM. It will also charge whilst connected to your computer, thus giving you another option that makes the phone easier to manage if being used for business.

The feature list of the Samsung i8510 Innov8 provides some very nice touches, and one hugely nice touch. The camera deserves the first mention because it is a massive 8MP, making it one of the best camera phone features available. The 8MP camera has a dual LED flash and some fabulous components that make sure its performance really is top of the range. The images have fantastic detail and colour, so much so that there are very few camera phones to even rival it. The automatic lens feature also ensures that your lens does not get scratched after you have closed the application.

Despite the camera taking up most of the attention, the Samsung i8510 Innov8 also has a range of other great features. The music player will support most formats and the audio is excellent. Similarly, the video playback feature is supported by RealPlayer so you are guaranteed a good experience. Both features are easy to use and are also easily found in the menus.

There are some niggles associated with the Samsung i8510 Innov8 but they represent missing features rather than problems with those already there. For example, although the handset rivals its Nokia counterparts, there is no podcasting functionality. However, what the phone does it does extremely well. You may also have to download software for additional features later on because they are being developed now. This includes updates for the web browser function. This does give you absolute freedom to customise your phone later on so you can really make the handset you own. All you have to do is purchase the handset, sit back, play and enjoy, which you are guaranteed to do!