Samsung Tocco Ultra S8300 review

Samsung's stock has been rising as a mobile phone manufacturer in the last few years, and it's easy to see why. Handsets like the original Tocco performed fantastically in the pre-pay market, and the Ultra Edition adds a whole slew of new options to the mix.

We liked

The camera and media playback abilities of the phone are to die for, as the plush screen and 8MP camera just make you want to keep using them over and over again. The feel and design of the handset is top notch, and really feels like a flagship should, and navigation was easy enough to allow you to wander round the phone with ease after a bit of playing, although a bit simplistic at times.

We disliked

The messaging input continues to annoy us beyond belief, and despite heavily practicing with the text message editor, we're still struggling to come to terms with it.

It feels a bit like someone has told us that from now on when we speak, we have to say some words backwards for no apparent reason.

The browser performance and ability was a bit subpar, which is saddening on a handset that has such as fast 7.2 HSDPA connection. The lack of a physical clear/delete key is a little annoying too, and the touchscreen could have been a bit more responsive, especially when using the web browser.

Verdict

It's clear the Tocco Ultra Edition is going to sell by the bucketload, as the nation becomes a lot more au fait with the Samsung brand with each passing phone. It does a lot of things very well and manages to scrape past on the things it doesn't.

However, the price may be a little high to start with, as some outlets are quoting £350 on PAYG and a £35 a month deal for contract, which brings it close to the outlay for the iPhone.

But the Tocco Ultra Edition is an overall winner in our books, it's just a shame that it fails on a few points as with a few tweaks and additions, as otherwise this could have been the stylish mass market phone of 2009.