Video review of Samsung's i770 Saga smartphone for Verizon

Samsung i770 Saga

Samsung i770 Saga

Samsung i770 Saga

Samsung has been pushing out more and more Windows Mobile powered devices lately, especially those making use of touchscreens. The new i770 Saga for Verizon Wireless is one of the newest, and features the same basic capabilities found in the i907 Epix that is sold by AT&T, but in what we believe to be a superior and more usable form factor. If you like the Epix, or the i780 that it was based on, then you are probably going to love the Saga.

Physical Aspects

For starters, the i770 Saga is thinner and longer than the Epix. This change alone gives it what we believe to be a huge advantage, since it allows for the same 320x320 pixel touchscreen display while offering a QWERTY keyboard with larger and better spaced out keys. In fact, the keypad on the Saga is a solid step better than even that found on the BlackJack II. On top of the keyboard, the extra length of the Saga gives it room for a larger optical joystick.

The larger surface area of the joystick is a nice feature, but the real change to its usability, when compared with the Epix, is that the lock key found on the left edge of the Saga can be used to quickly change it from joystick to mouse mode from within any application. The joystick mode on the Saga is far easier to control, as well.

The rest of the physical attributes of the Saga are equally nice. The blue paint has a nice soft touch feel to it, and the back of the device is sculpted out nicely, feeling quite good in the hand. Up top are the 2.5mm headset port, the power button, and the stylus (which isn't needed much). The volume control is on the left, next to the aforementioned lock key, and the right edge is home to the power/USB connector (Samsung proprietary) and the camera shutter button. Everything is very nice except for the microSD card slot being located under the rear cover, which happens to be quite difficult to remove.

Using the Saga

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system that powers the i770 Saga is 95% the same as that found on any other Windows Mobile Professional device. The only real changes are mostly incorporated into the various Samsung designed standby screens, which provide access to tabs of information and Samsung's own finger friendly shortcut menu. Unlike Verizon's new Omnia, however, there is no finger scrolling in normal applications on the Saga. Check out the video to get a far better idea as to how the user interface on the Saga functions.