20 May 2008
We got a sneak preview of the Samsung F400 music phone at the WMC in Barcelona and we’re glad to say that as a music phone Samsung in conjunction with Bang & Olufsen have definitely delivered what they promised. It’s a cool looking machine that combines great design with cutting edge technology

The main feature on the front is the 2.2 inch TFT 240 X3 20 resolution LCD screen. Although the screen dimensions are smaller than many other models out there, for music lovers this won’t be too much of a negative as the excellent music features incorporated into the device more than make up for it.

The F400 is a dual slider and while it resembles the Samsung U600 range it takes as much in design from the N95 (which is no bad thing), with similar positioning of music keys. The slider when moved upwards reveals the handsets mobile phone features with a simple, efficient brushed metal keypad that is easy to use and when slid downward reveals the silver grill of the Bang & Olufsen speaker which is built into the phone. The speaker looks quite similar to those found on the company’s K5 range of Mp3 players and supplies a full rich sound and is guaranteed loud enough to annoy any parent trying to watch a bit of telly.

Samsung have partnered with Bang & Olufsen before on the Serenata and Serene models and the ICE amp technology employed in them works just as well here. Bang & Olufsen are renowned in the hi-fi audio industry for producing high quality products that deliver crystal clear sound and they haven’t disappointed with the work they’ve put in on the F400.

There’ll be no more listening to music on your phone that sounds like two wasps having a fight inside a biscuit tin. The sound produced by the F400 is far more natural, offering the listener a richer, fuller tone with sound on the bass end really clear and not muffled and distorted like you hear on some other phones.

The phone has plenty more to offer music fans out there with a nice touch being the inclusion of a 3.5m headphone jack- which for some reason many other manufacturers of music phones don’t deem important enough to supply. The Samsung F400 also comes with an FM radio with RDS, music library and music recognition software. The built in recognition software is called Shazam and is a really nifty bit of kit. If you hear some music playing nearby you can just point your phone at the sound source and Shazam will identify the name of the artist, the track recorded on the FM radio too.

The dedicated music player can also be accessed without having to open the phone which is another great additional feature. The F400 supports MP3, AAC and WMA audio file formats making it extremely easy to record and download from various sources. The Samsung F400 uses an adaptation of the Samsung DNSe technology used to create 3D sound effects. It also contains the SmartBass system complete with full digital amplifier.

As well as all the brilliant audio features the Samsung F400 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera complete with Led flash, auto focus and a bundled 1GB microSD memory card and an SD slot that can handle up to another 8GB.With all that storage capacity you’ll have plenty of room for all your favourite tracks you want to listen to while on the move. As if all that wasn’t enough the handset features Bluetooth v2.0,HSDPA super fast mobile broadband connection with a download speed of 3.6Mbps and full USB support.

Other Samsung F400 features are a web browser, picture editing software, organizer and downloadable games.

Samsung will be launching a microsite offering artists and bands the opportunity to share their music with the chance of their music becoming part of the Samsung F400 radio and online advertising promotion.

The microsite will have the facility to allow users to vote on unsigned bands music. Users can upload their music to the Samsung music bank which can be accessed on Social Networking sites like Bebo, Facebook and Myspace.

If you love your music then this has got to be the phone for you. It offers excellent sound quality and has every feature you’ll ever want as well as a stylish design. There may be better options available out there for any mobile user who isn’t a music lover.

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