Samsung ATIV Odyssey Review (Verizon)

Score

3.1 stars
"Respectable"

(How we score)

Solid performance from dual-core processor and strong battery life

Low-res, pixelated display is distracting and unpleasant

Summary

One could easily make a joke about how fitting it is that a Window Phone 8 device known as the ATIV Odyssey arrived weeks later than it was scheduled. While Samsung's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone on Verizon didn't take quite the treacherous journey as the Greek epic poem, the handset did have a peculiar path to release. It was mentioned in passing by Microsoft at the Windows Phone 8 launch event at a time when people knew virtually nothing of the phone. Though Verizon promised to release the phone in December, the Samsung ATIV Odyssey didn't go on sale until late January 2013, after the gold rush of Windows Phone 8 devices launched during the 2012 holiday shopping season.

Did the Samsung ATIV Odyssey miss its moment in the sun by arriving too late, or is going on sale after the dust has settled just what this phone needs?