God forbid it would ever actually happen but let’s hypothetically say that you’re being attacked by a horde of voracious zombies and the only object you have to defend yourself with is your trusty mobile phone.
If you own one of the numerous ultra-thin handsets that seem to be so popular right now then the chances are you’re not going to be capable of inflicting much damage on your undead assailants. But if you’re lucky enough to have a Samsung i850 ‘INNOV8’ bulging in your pocket then those flesh-eaters are going to be in a world of hurt – because the Korean company’s latest phone is one hell of a beast in terms of size and weight.
Thankfully, bludgeoning reanimated corpses isn’t the only thing the i850 is (theoretically) good for. Contained within its bulky frame are a set of specifications that place this handset alongside the very best the market has to offer.
For example, there’s an eight-megapixel camera. This revelation is unlikely to make many jaws drop given the proliferation of similarly-equipped phones out there at the moment, but it’s nice to have such power at your disposal. Like the LG Renoir and Samsung Omnia i900, the i850 has a few photographic tricks up its sleeve, including smile and blink detection – both of which ensure you (nearly) always take the perfect shot.
If you allow your snap-happy side to get carried away then you don’t have to be overly concerned about filling up the phone’s internal memory, as it boasts an impressive 8GB of flash storage (a 16GB version is also available), plus the ability to expand this already considerable amount using microSD cards.
Elsewhere, the i850 showcases a range of mod-cons that all too many ‘top of the range’ mobiles seem to lack. Wi-fi is present, as is GPS – both of which have far-reaching applications such as enabling you to comfortably surf the web and geo-tagging your photos (which, we’re reliably informed, is the ‘in’ thing to do these days).
However, the feature that pleases us the most is the inclusion of the all-important 3.5mm headphone jack. Long-time Pocket Gamer devotees will be all too aware of the fact that we’ve constantly bemoaning the omission of this seemingly inconsequential feature on other music-centric mobiles (Sony Ericsson, we’re looking at you) but it would appear that the tide is now well and truly turning; Motorola, Nokia and now Samsung have all started to include a 3.5mm interface on their handsets.
Ironically, although this means you can plug any set of headphones into the i850, you might not actually want to. The bundled set of in-ear phones offer fantastic sound quality and come with a selection of different rubber ‘ends’ which ensure you can get the absolute best fit for your lug-holes.
So the i850 scores big when it comes to visuals and sound, but how does it fare as a gaming platform? It’s clear from the moment you inspect the packaging that Samsung has made some effort to present this phone as a viable gaming device – full versions of both FIFA 09 and Asphalt 3: Street Rules are included, which is certainly a deviation from the norm (manufacturers usually only include limited ‘trial’ versions on their phones).
Both games look positively gorgeous on the i850’s 2.8-inch TFT screen, with FIFA 09 showcasing razor-sharp visuals that make the Nintendo DS version seem archaic in comparison. The only issue we have is control – the D-pad (which bizarrely features both traditional ‘press’ control and is also touch-sensitive) isn’t really ideal. Although neither game supported it, the onboard accelerometer should prove useful for other titles.
To round things off, the i850 boasts DviX playback, high-speed video capture, TV-out capability and is also quad-band, so it’s ideal for those globe-trotters amongst you that can't decide on which country to remain in. By anyone’s standards it’s a veritable smorgasbord of technological brilliance that is likely to please even the most passionate gadget-fiend. The experience is soured only very slightly by the aforementioned issues of size and the mildly disappointing gaming interface; we also found the menu system to be a little uninspiring visually, but this is a relatively minor objection.
If you were being picky you could moan about the lack of a touchscreen, but to be honest we didn’t miss this now near-ubiquitous feature during our time with the i850. The Nokia N96 is probably the most likely rival for this handset and, while it doesn’t quite match the Finnish entry, Samsung’s phone is nevertheless a thoroughly decent handset and ticks practically every box you could possibly want – so long as you don’t value a slim and lightweight design, that is.
But then have you ever tried to beat back the ravenous undead with nothing but a Motorola RAZR2 V8?
Samsung i850 INNOV8
Sometimes bigger is better; it might be a chunky customer but the i850 is literally bursting with excellent features and will appeal to those who want their phone to be the very epitome of convergence
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.