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Samsung SGH-i917 Focus

Based on 18 reviews

Excellent:

5
Good:

8
Average:

3
Bad:

2

Pros

Excellent Display and form factor.
Great camera.
Solid performance.
Lightweight with good build quality.
Has microSD card slot.
Can capture some great pictures.
Quick with its Snapdragon processor.
Extremely crisp and colorful Super AMOLED display.
Very thin and comfortable.
WP7 is well suited to the design.
Loud speaker.
Samsung's Now news app is helpful.
Good (though not great) photo quality.
Gorgeous Super AMOLED display.
Thin and light.
Good camera.

Cons

Not a 4G device.
Lacks multitasking capabilities and other features.
No front facing camera.
Mediocre battery life.
Very “plasticy” feel.
Some lag from time to time (third-party apps).
Windows Phone 7 still has some bugs.
Blemishes very easily.
Usual WP7 limits.
No multitasking or copy/paste.
Screen can look slightly fuzzy and oversaturated.
Calls sounded somewhat muddy.
Pixelated 720p movie capture.
Glossy plastics may turn off those who like chic materials.
Plastic casing feels cheap.
Frame rates can be spotty on video capture.
Bizarre storage upgrade procedure.
Plastic casing that scratches easily
Internet Explorer lives up to its superlame reputation.

By Gadling on November 28, 2011

Remember when buying a cell phone was easy? You simply walked into a store, found a device that was the right size and price to fit your needs, bought it, and walked out the door. You usually didn't have to buy another one until that phone died, and...

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By Chip Chick on June 13, 2011

We dare say that the Samsung Focus feels like a very female-friendly phone with strong “girl” appeal, while the HTC HD7 just looks and feels more masculine to us. Unfortunately, the Samsung Focus lacks 4G and some premium features like a front-facing...

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By BrightHub on May 26, 2011

All said and done, the Samsung Focus is a good enough handset, especially for those entry-level players who like to flaunt their devices. With a slim look, elegant appeal and unique ways of handling functions, the phone wins the hearts....

80
By Pocketables on May 16, 2011

It's unfortunate that all this stuff must go wrong for Microsoft and its hardware partners. Like I've said before, twice: Windows Phone 7 has so much potential to be great, but the execution on many of the devices on which it runs has been...

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By Here's How on March 04, 2011

As a phone, I found The Samsung Focus to be above average in call quality, thanks to dual-microphones. It also intuitively manages features. I was surprised to find that the device held a strong signal in some of the familiar dead spots in and around...

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By GadgetReview on February 04, 2011

The Samsung Focus. It’s a phone’s phone. That’s partly thanks to Windows Phone 7. The Microsoft operating system makes it a proper calling device first, apps secondary, and that’s refreshing compared to app-filled screens from...

100
By PhoneDog on December 10, 2010

The Samsung Focus is a great device. The build quality is great, but Samsung tends to use more plastic than necessary and it really takes away from the great engineering that's going on under the hood. It has one of the better cameras I've used...

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By Brighthand on December 08, 2010

The Samsung Focus is a winner in just about every category. Though it's a bit bigger than I personally would like (I prefer more pocketable phones over those with ginormous cinema-quality displays), I do like just about everything about it. The...

90
By Electronista on December 04, 2010

Most of the criticisms you can level at the Focus are those inherent to the OS. As much as we feel WP7 is a sincerely fresh and welcome break from the norm in how a smartphone is supposed to work, any buyers will have to ask whether or not they're...

80
By G4tv.com on November 29, 2010

Video Review: The Samsung Focus smartphone with Windows Phone 7 employs a sleek design, a 4" super AMOLED touch screen, easy web browsing and Xbox Live access. Kevin Pereira and Tiffany Smith review the Samsung Focus, available for $50 with a...

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