Samsung I8510 INNOV8

The basics

The Samsung I8510 INNOV8 is the latest smart phone innovation by Samsung. Imagine capabilities are at its maximum with 7.1 cm QVGA display showing 16 million colours, 8 megapixel autofocus camera, QVGA and VGA recording capabilities. Music is also not compromised with the Samsung i8510 with its built-in FM radio and 3D surrounds sound speakers as well as a 3.5mm audio port.

The good

The first 8-megapixel cameraphone to hit the shelves in Britain, Samsung’s sharp shooter isn’t just a one-trick showboater, concerned with mounds of megapixels, and not much else. It’s a full-blown smartphone, with skills to match anything Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Apple can throw at it. Inside there’s up to 16GB of built-in memory, meaning it’ll tackle Nokia’s new N96 and the iPhone 3G in the storage stakes. It even runs the same operating system as Nokia’s Nseries phones, the Symbian OS, meaning any app that’ll run on a Nokia, will be happy at home here too. There’s even a next-gen ‘optical trackpad’ up front, hidden inside the centre key, so you can move a cursor around its screen just as you would on a laptop. It makes surfing the web dead easy, while its HSDPA connections keeps load-times short. Oh, and then there’s the camera. Those 8 megapixels deliver stunning images on par with the company’s compact snappers. Built-in GPS is the cherry on top of this very well-equipped cake.

The bad

A bit bulkier than we’d like, the i8510 has clearly been on a bit of a cake binge, but considering the goodies packed inside, it’s understandable. The optical trackpad also takes some getting used to, should you use it to navigate standard menus as well as the web.

The bottom line

With more extras than Gladiator, and specs to rival the finest from all the major mobile manufacturers, Samsung’s done itself proud with this do-it-all handset.