I’m not sure why I’ve never reviewed a Windows phone before. Maybe because in my mind I already had an opinion that I really didn’t care for them. But I was surprisingly excited to have the opportunity to test drive the Verizon Samsung ATIV Odyssey – a Windows phone.
It’s Different
I think the biggest thing for me is that it’s a completely different layout, look,and feel. After being an Android and iPhone user for so long, nothing was in the right place.
The screen on this phone is quite a bit smaller than the last few phones I have had my hands on.).with 4.0 inches, but the overall feel of the phone is very natural. Samsung boasts about it’s Super AMOLED™ touchscreen, and it is very clear and easy to see. It fits nicely in your hand and up to your face. If you’re converting to a Windows phone from either an iPhone or an Android the biggest things will notice are the differences of the buttons at the bottom of the phone. On most Android devices the right-hand button is used as a back or a previous. This tripped me up a bit because I would often mean to go back, but on a Windows phone the right-hand button is a Bing search.
Serious lack of apps
After you get used to the initial differences it’s a familiar interface – mail icon opens your mail, the messenger button opens your text, and many of the same gesturing tasks work on the Windows phone as they do on other smartphones. I was a little frustrated looking for some of the standard apps I utilize on a daily basis. There are a lot of apps on Windows market – 100,000 to be exact, but not being able to use some of the apps I use everyday made it very challenging. After talking to several other windows device users, they all had similar frustrations. PC World covered this recently. It’s nice that the major Office programs are built in and user friendly, but if you’re a Google products user, you’re out of luck.
X-Box
If you are a serious gamer into X-Box, then “only Windows phone OS has Xbox LIVE built in. Track your achievements, view your gamer score, chat with friends or just change your avatar.” I’m not, and we don’t own that gaming system, but it’s also a built in game hub that lets you walk around with an arcade in your pocket.
Camera
The rear-facing camera is 5.0 Megapixel, and it’s not nearly as big as the iphone 5s with it’s 8 Megapixel camera, but it’s still better than many point and shoot cameras. The camera has a button on the side that allows for quick access. The ‘touch anywhere on the phone screen’ to take a picture threw me at first. I was touching to focus as I do on my other phones. After getting use to it, I really like this feature. It’s quick, it’s easy, and granny can take you picture! (Admit it. When you randomly ask that stranger to take your group or couples photo, you now look at people and ask yourself if they look smartphone savvy enough.)
Hotspot
Like most phones, this one can be turned into a mobile hotspot, only on Windows OS they call it Internet sharing. It turns on with a simple slider switch and supports up to 8 devices. I didn’t run 8 devices, but I did test this with 4 devices all pulling from it, without too many issues.
Reboot it- It’s Windows
Several times while trying to utilize the device and various apps, the phone will just sort of freeze. After voicing some frustrations to a friend who is in the IT field, he commented “It’s a Windows Device just reboot it. Rebooting anything Windows fixes everything.” He was, as usual right, but it was very frustrating to have to reboot the device to make apps work.
Overall, the Samsung ATIV Odyssey provided a great introduction to the Windows phone experience. Sleek, slim, mostly functional with a few reboots, I wouldn’t have a problem recommending this phone to someone wanting to jump the Android or iPhone ship. (And currently, It’s free from Verizon!)