Samsung’s ATIV S device has yet to grace the shores of the U.S. For those who had their hearts set on the first Windows Phone 8 device to be announced, hope exists in the form of the ATIV Odyssey. A Verizon phone, the Odyssey is up against heavy competition from Nokia and HTC. Is there a reason you should single out the ATIV Odyssey? Let’s find out.
First Impressions
Like the ATIV S, the ATIV Odyssey immediately brings to mind the Samsung Galaxy line. Except where the S felt like a Galaxy S III, the Odyssey brings to mind the S II. Mainly, this is due to the smaller size screen (4″ versus 4.8″) and the lack of any physical buttons on the front face of the phone. The phone is typical Samsung glass and plastic and avoids the all-metal bodies of HTC and Nokia. Yet the Odyssey feels solid; maybe even a bit more solid than the ATIV S.
I like how the one on the right is all “Hey. ‘sup?”
The Software
As Samsung’s only Windows Phone 8 device in the U. S., the ATIV Odyssey lacks Microsoft’s usual heavy branding. The device is more of a Windows Phone than a Samsung. There are a few custom apps in there, but nothing worth making a special fuss over. Beyond that, Windows 8 continues to be a strong social networking OS, with great Office integration, and a dire need for more apps.
In fact, while pre-loaded apps usually add to the negative column in my reviews, I think Samsung would be better served adding stronger location apps, like Nokia did. Bing is simply nowhere near the level of Nokia’s Here suite.
Don’t cry, Spider-Man. We still love you.
If Samsung could offer a viable location awareness solution, it would be much more welcome than yet another chat or music app.
Performance
It would be easy and applicable here to simply repost the ATIV S performance section. Seriously, nothing much has changed here. The SuperAMOLED screen has a lower resolution (480 x 800 pixels instead of 720 x 1280 pixels), but it also has .8″ less space to work with. Windows Phone 8 works fine at that lower resolution. The Odyssey has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 seen in oodles of current phones, and it runs WP8 just fine.
The world is waiting for a decent speed testing app for Windows Phone. Until that happens, you’re going to have to accept anecdotal evidence that the Odyssey flew along on Verizon’s LTE network. How much of that was the fairly snappy WP8 browser and how much was Verizon is uncertain, but browsing is a pleasure. As is conversing. Calls are clear, and there’s impressive coverage. This includes one known dead area where no other review phone had ever worked.
Forgive me for not picking up.
The 2100 mAh is smaller than the 2300 mAh in the ATIV S, but still enough to get the Odyssey through the day without searching for an outlet. The only time the battery really drained was when GPS entered the picture, as is typical.
The 5 MP camera on the Odyssey is a step back, but was certainly passable. Techcitement has yet to have a chance to compare the existing Windows Phone device cameras side-by-side, but one can assume that Nokia and HTC take slightly better photos as they use higher-end camera hardware overall.
When we reviewed the ATIV S, it had two features unique in the Windows Phone device family: a removable battery and memory card slot. Since then, Nokia has come out with a few other phones that have as well. As the Odyssey is for Verizon, the one to note is the Verizon 822, which has a removable 1800 mAh battery. Despite the Nokia Lumia 822’s better camera and 16 GB of internal storage versus the Odyssey’s 5 MB and 8 GB internal storage, Samsung gets the thumbs up here for starting out with a larger battery.
The Strengths
I can’t get over how much I like Windows 8. By not straying too far from their existing successful designs, Samsung manages to take the best of both worlds.
The Weaknesses
Unfortunately, Samsung is also not taking any risks here. The ATIV S was a much more daring phone, and even that pales beyond the design and feature choices that Nokia and HTC are making. The aforementioned Nokia Lumia 822 manages to be a plastic, budget Windows Phone 8 device and look more futuristic than the ATIV line.
Pricing & Availability
Pricing is where the ATIV Odyssey has a real win. The phone may not be as cool to behold as the Lumia 920 or 8X, but it sure is easy to get your hands on. Currently, Amazon has the Odyssey for ten bucks. Best Buy presently has it for $50, but the phone regularly goes on sale there for free with contract.
Wrap Up
The main point to any review is if the reviewer would suggest someone buy a phone. However, the problem here is that even after spending a solid month with the ATIV Odyssey, I don’t know how to answer that. The Odyssey isn’t the coolest WP8 device, only sometimes the cheapest, and now it isn’t even the only removable battery model. At the same time, it is not a bad phone by any stretch of the imagination. It’s fully featured, solidly built, and runs like a champ.
If your primary concern is how your phone looks, this likely isn’t the device for you. However, if you want a solid daily driver, you could do much worse.
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