I'll take the Jet

MANILA, Philippines - Touchscreen cell phones are where it’s at for now.  At least for me, that is.  I just love it when I can press the screen or rotate a cell phone and everything in the interface moves to where I want it to go.  Keypad functions are fine, but a sensitive touchscreen, that’s awesome.

The advent of the touchscreen cell phone has spawned the creation of newer and newer touchscreen interfaces that make the cell phone experience so much more hi-tech.

If there is one thing that can be said about the Samsung Jet it’s that its touchscreen function has been perfected. Like its other touchscreen Samsung relatives, the Samsung Jet (GTS800) is equipped with TouchWiz — a new improved TouchWiz with an upgraded Web browser and an 800MHz processor.  Making it even more interesting is that the Jet isn’t just about function, it is also quite a looker — with an attractive design, a brilliant display, and an appealing feature set that includes Microsoft Exchange server syncing. And then there are the user interface upgrades and the one-touch zoom in the browser, which makes for a better surfing experience.

Go Ahead, Look

I like the slim profile, glossy finish, and how the spiffy design reflects the light on its back. At 4.28 inches tall by 2.11 inches wide, 0.48 inches thick and weighing 3.88 ounces, the Jet is a perfect size. It fits in the pocket or even in a small bag. I really like that the Jet does not slip from my hand.  Since the Jet is one of the first cell phones to offer an upgraded TouchWiz interface, I really had fun fixing the Jet’s homescreen, which let me pick the cool widgets I like for my cell phone. And, as has become standard with Samsung cell phones, widgets can be dragged to the main screen to maximize them.  For folks like me, personalizing a cell phone is one of the most important features that I look for.  I like cell phones that I can call my own — and the Jet is just one such cell phone.  

Just Touch

The TouchWiz 2.0 offers motion-activated shortcuts, a unique interface for accessing media features, and a multipage menu design.  The home screen and the simple icon-based main menu are on three pages. To move between the pages just swipe your finger horizontally across the display.  Perfect.

The Media Gate feature is a 3D cube that offers access to six media features: the photo album, the music player, the video player, the FM radio, the games and applications menu, and the Web browser. To access Media Gate, just press the corresponding button on the Jet’s right side. You then can swipe the cube with your finger to access each side. The last addition is the Motion Gate feature that lets you access media and performs commands by flipping, tilting, or tapping the handset.

A cool feature on the Jet is the etiquette pause, which mutes the phone when you face it down. The other more fascinating feature is that when you’re on a call, you can activate the speakerphone automatically by moving the phone away from your face and placing it on a flat surface.  And hey, if you don’t like these features just deactivate them.

The touch interface is responsive regardless of whether you’re tapping icons or scrolling through long lists. You can change the display’s calibration, the brightness and backlight time, and the intensity of the vibrating feedback.

You can also personalize your phone. Just change the font type, the background image, the color theme, and the greeting message.  

The virtual dialpad is unchanged from other Samsung touchscreen phones. The interface features spacious controls with large numbers and letters. You’ll also find shortcuts to your phonebook and messaging menu. Of course, you can type messages using the keypad, but I prefer using the virtual QWERTY keyboard. To access it, just tip the phone to the left and the accelerometer will do the rest. The keyboard is easy to use, though you must shift to a separate keyboard to access numbers and letters, the buttons are big. A third messaging option is to enter text using the Jet’s writing pad. 

Yes, there are a few buttons. The primary control is a large, hexagonal menu button that sits directly below the display. Besides activating the main menu, it also opens the phone’s task manager. The Talk and End power buttons sit on either side of the menu button. A volume rocker sits on the right side, while a handset-locking key sits on the left. You can unlock the screen by tapping the button again or by drawing a letter on the display.

And Then Some More

The Jet has a 2,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for six phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, two URLs, a birthday, an anniversary, a nickname, two street addresses, and notes. You can save callers to groups and you can pair them with a photo and one of 20 polyphonic ring tones. You also can use videos and MP3 music files to identify callers. Organizer options include a calendar, a calculator, a memo pad, a task list, an alarm clock, a world clock, a timer, a voice memo recorder a stopwatch, a currency and unit converter, and a speakerphone. On the higher end, you’ll find USB mass storage, a Google Search app, PC syncing, an illustrator app called Dynamic Canvas, and a file/task manager. We’re glad to see both Wi-Fi and full Bluetooth and we like that the attractive user interface for both apps shows your location in relation to the nearby hot spots and Bluetooth devices.

 The Jet’s five-megapixel camera takes pictures in seven resolutions: from 2,560x1,920 pixels down to 640x480 pixels. The Jet’s antishake feature comes in handy when you are on the go. The Jet offers 2GB of internal memory and you can use the microSD card slot for more room. It supports cards up to 16GB.  The camcorder shoots clips with sound in four resolutions with a set of editing options similar to the still camera.

I like . . .

1.   That the widgets can be rearranged to suit my taste and use.

2.   That the photos taken with the five-megapixel are clear.

3.   That I can get to the function I want by pulling out the widget from the left side of the screen. 

4.   That Wi-Fi connection is easy and downloading a cinch.

5.   That the touchscreen is so easy to use and very responsive to the touch.