Samsung SGH-F480 Tocco

Ever since the iPhone arrived on the scene and demonstrated to the general public just how swish and sophisticated a touchscreen interface could be, rival mobile firms have been tripping over themselves to offer up their own take on the concept – with varying degrees of success.

Samsung was relatively quick off the mark when it came to slavishly following Apple's lead; the much-hyped P520 Armani-branded handset did away with the traditional keypad but was sadly undone by a disappointingly small display and sluggish operating system. Now the Korean company is back for another bite of the Apple (see what we did there?) with the SGH-F480 – better known as the Tocco.

Taking into account the lush aesthetics of the P520, it should come as no surprise to discover that the first impressions of the Tocco are excellent – although it has to be said that this feels like Samsung's designers simply tinkered with the Armani-endorsed concept rather than crafting an entirely new handset from scratch. Thankfully, this phone retains the more agreeable aspects of its forebear; the construction is pleasingly solid, with a mixture of brushed metal and glossy plastic that practically drips with style and desirability.

The front of the unit is understandably dominated by the 2.8-inch display, which proves to be both bright and colourful. Alas, the 320x240 pixel resolution is somewhat disappointing – things often look blocky and ill-defined – although this is naturally because of the large size of the screen.

One of the biggest weaknesses of the P520 was the menu system and it's good to see that Samsung is willing to learn from its mistakes. The Tocco showcases a wonderfully intuitive interface (embarrassingly entitled 'TouchWiz') that has more than a few unique tricks up its sleeve.

The most striking feature is the 'Widget', which is situated on the left hand side of the main standby screen. Stored within are several shortcuts which can be dragged onto the main body of the screen and dropped in the desired location for easy access later on. Using this method you can customise your phone and make sure all the applications you use regularly are merely a touch away.

It sounds deceptively simple but it actually has some far-reaching uses. For example, you can drag your photo album to the main screen and effortlessly flick through each image without even having to leave the comfort of the main screen. Similarly, you can use the system to ensure your music and radio options are within easy reach. Such a feature means you can avoid having to dip into the menu structure to access all-important items.

Not that navigating through the fully touchscreen driven interface of the Tocco is anything but a pleasure, of course. You scroll through menus by performing a dragging motion with your finger (clearly Samsung has been borrowing more than just external design ideas from Apple) and while we would have liked to see a tad more visual dynamism, the whole operating system hangs together extremely well, and is a marked improvement over the one seen on the P520.

In keeping with the Tocco's status as a flagship product, you'll find a whole host of features shoehorned into the slim and slender casing. It's 3G, so video calls are possible and web browsing is refreshingly nippy. There's also a five-megapixel camera which is straightforward to use but lamentably doesn't produce the most amazing shots and struggles in low light. The robust media player handles your tunes and videos effortlessly and there are various online connectivity options, such as the ability to connect your phone to your blog.

With such a solid interface you'd expect the Tocco to play host to some truly amazing games, but sadly it only comes pre-loaded with a rudimentary picture-puzzle title (which takes a photo from the phone's memory, divides it into tiles and jumbles them up for you to rearrange correctly). While it's unlikely to keep action fans contented, it's still a rather neat way to pass the time.

The puzzling lack of a built-in accelerometer coupled with the absence of a D-pad means that the Tocco is unlikely to be treated as a top-of-the-range gaming handset. Most leading mobiles feature motion-sensing technology these days and we can't fathom why Samsung decided to omit it from the Tocco.

With such a configuration it's hardly surprising that we had a hard time locating games that would run acceptably on the phone. Many of the Java titles we tried had an intrusive 'control bar' that appears on the touchscreen and offers the required interface for each game, but the execution of this solution is sloppy – the bar itself obscures your view of the game, and the controls are so close together it's all too easy to press the wrong command.

Time will tell if developers can work around the shortcomings of the Tocco to craft entertaining gaming experiences. Still, for those for whom gaming isn't a priority (if such creatures exist) it'll be easy to fall in love with this handset. From the excellent build quality to the intuitive and striking interface, the Tocco is one of the more convincing pretenders to the iPhone's crown. With a few more tweaks – and, crucially, decent gaming ability – Samsung could have had a truly world-beating product.