The Samsung Focus Flash is the low-end sequel to Samsung’s original Windows Phone 7, the Focus. Running Windows Mobile 7.5 a.k.a. Mango. and available on AT&T’s 4G network, the Focus Flash can already be found for a penny on Amazon (their version of a free phone). I’m only going to touch upon the software here, as I’ve already gone into depth elsewhere. Instead, I’m going to focus on three things — hardware, service, and price.
Despite being a low-end phone, the Focus Flash feels well built. It has a slight curve to the edges and feels good in the hand. There are the usual array of buttons — power, volume, and center windows button — as well as two capacitive buttons on the front and a dedicated camera button on the side. The camera button was much more helpful than I thought it would be.
The actual cameras are a 1.3 MP front camera and a 5 MP rear camera. The rear camera took pretty decent shots and some good video. The front facing camera can be used with the Tango messaging app (not included) or for self portraits. The social network integration of the OS makes sharing easy, but the dependence on Zune software for tethering made offloading the files to a desktop machine more annoying than I would like.
Audio is fine, although I found the included headset uncomfortable. I wish they’d included the same type as the Galaxy Player.
The screen is a 3.7” SuperAMOLED screen. While we’re starting to see SuperAMOLED+ screens in some devices, the non-plus screen is fine for this device. In fact, it may be too good. If you zoom too far on some web pages, text jaggies are visible. This isn’t something that should happen unless you zoom way, way down, but here it is popping up way too soon. The idea of a free phone having such a good screen that it’s too good boggles the mind.
That’s actually the most impressive thing about this entire handset — the price. The Focus Flash is great for something considered low end , even if you’re not yet a fan of Windows Phone 7. Most cheap or free smartphones tend to be junk or out of date, and this is a delightful exception.
Of course, there’s a catch!
All the hardware and software power in the world won’t help you if your network is not working. Here in the Metro NY area, people love or hate AT&T. I have one friend who swears up and down that he never loses connectivity. Good for him. As for me, I was frequently without data in my office and it would randomly drop in my house. I never had that problem with voice, just data. This isn’t the first handset on AT&T to do this for me, but it’s going to be the last because I can’t fairly review phones on a network I can’t use data for. I’m going to have to pass on them and send the phone to a different reviewer in the future. Why do I mention that here?
Because I think it’s a fatal flaw in a phone like this. By locking the Focus Flash (and S) into an exclusive with AT&T, you lock out people like myself who might otherwise buy it. I don’t care if it’s free or even if they pay me to use it. If I can’t use the device’s feature set, I’m not going to bother.
The Focus Flash is an amazing phone. Really. If you like Windows Phone 7 and saving money and you get good reception from AT&T, this is absolutely worth the two-year contract. Just be sure.
[…] first Windows Phone 8 device, but not the first Windows Phone unit made by Samsung. I had previously reviewed the Focus Flash, a budget device that felt low-end despite some high-end components. This is […]