Samsung Wave 723 review

It's not that we don't like the Samsung Wave 723, more that it feels as though Samsung has stopped half way through its development having got a bit bored.

That is a real shame given that this is only Bada's second outing. Samsung needs to ramp Bada up considerably if it is to be a success – not least because even Samsung is releasing competing Android handsets at a rate of knots.

We liked

There are some very neat aspects to the Samsung Wave 723. We like the context-sensitive app menus, the way the number of Home screens grows as you add more widgets to them, the neat pull-down controls that expand the notification area and give you access to Wi-Fi settings and more.

The camera also does itself proud – at least as far as stills are concerned. More attention is needed to the video recording aspect, though.

The neat little flip cover won't appeal to every taste, but we found it solid and like the simplicity of the design.

Integration of Facebook and Twitter contacts is nicely done, even if linking is a rather laborious task.

We disliked

Not enough attention has been paid to the widgets which seem few in number and lacking in flexibility. Why is there no widget for the note app or the to-do list app, and why can't you put apps themselves onto the home screens?

Similarly, Samsung has not pushed its app store hard enough. It isn't growing fast enough to compete with the Android and Apple competition. Even Microsoft has understood this and pushed its Windows Phone 7 app store hard since launch.

Samsung has made a great start with its Dolphin web browser, but we want more. Specifically we want high-quality text reflowing.

Verdict

The Samsung Wave 723 is a fair enough handset, with a good-looking user interface and some nice features. But underneath all that lies an operating system that is not easily expanded with third-party applications.

As it stands at the moment, we have to wonder who would choose Bada over Android or Apple? The £200 mark is arguably the most competitive in the whole smartphone sector and Samsung needs to work harder on Bada to make it a success against very hot competition.