Samsung Juke Cell Phone Review - Hardware
|
Robin Liss Published on November 05, 2007 Comment on this |
|
|
|
|
Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (7.34)
We test a phone's keypad by timing how long it takes to type out a sample paragraph. In the case of phones without a QWERTY keypad, we turn on T9 if it's available. The Juke was able to type out our sample paragraph in 26.16 seconds, which comes out to 36.7 words per minute (WPM). This is actually a bit slow. Though we like the keypad, it is cramped and not very conducive to typing fast with two hands.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 36.7 | 7.34 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 38.49 | 7.70 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 30.7 | 6.14 |
| Razr2 V9m | 44 | 8.80 |
| Samsung Blast | 37.54 | 7.51 |
| Apple iPhone | 39.6 | 7.92 |
T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The Juke features T9, but doesn't have auto complete. T9 is definitely faster than multi-tap, but auto complete would've helped it eke out a few more words per minute on our typing tests.
Also, we're not sure if we accidentally did something, or if we have a defective version of the Juke, but on our test copy using T9 to try to type out "the" gives a first suggestion of "Tgd." The next option is "the," but we're not sure how we inadvertently taught our Juke that "Tgd" is an appropriate replacement. Our test paragraph uses the word "lazy," which the phone always suggests "jazz" for initially. Throughout our different trials typing out the paragraph, it never learned that we wanted to use lazy over jazz. Therefore, the phone's insistence on "Tgd" seems very strange.
One Hand Usability (6.25)
As with most keypad-only phones, the Juke doesn't take much of a hit switching from two hands to one. We were able to type our sample paragraph in 30.72 seconds, which is about 31.25 WPM. The Juke is a bit awkward to get used to for one-handed typing, but once you do it isn't bad. Its small size means it doesn't shift around drastically as you move your thumb. Once you get your grip down, you'll probably prefer typing with one hand on the Juke.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 31.25 | 6.25 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 29.8 | 5.96 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 34.5 | 6.90 |
| Razr2 V9m | 39.2 | 7.84 |
| Samsung Blast | 29.23 | 5.85 |
| Apple iPhone | 32.1 | 6.42 |
Keypad Backlighting (5.0)
The Juke has decent keypad backlighting. It doesn't have a light sensor, but it turns on whenever you press a key. You can set how long it stays on in the settings: 7, 15, or 30 seconds, or always on/off. The backlighting is fairly even, and each key is fairly easy to make out, but the backlight isn't very bright.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (4.5)
The d-pad is similar to the one on the LG Chocolate Vx8550. Each direction and the select key provide good tactile feedback. The scroll wheel is all right, but we really wish there was a way to up the sensitivity. The slightly numb sensitivity might be a bit of a bonus, however. On the Chocolate, we found pressing a direction sometimes turned the scroll wheel a bit, which could lead to annoying mistakes. We didn't run into this problem on the Juke, but scrolling around normally was slower than we would've liked.
Touch Screen (0.0)
The Juke barely has any screen to touch as it is.
Jog Dial (1.0)
The scroll wheel can double as a jog dial, but unlike in the LG Chocolate Vx8550, scrolling requires much more of a turn. The best option for navigation is keypad shortcuts, but if you're still learning those, the scroll wheel is the better option. We tend to prefer it to the d-pad, though both are about the same.
Soft Buttons (3.0)
We really don't like the soft buttons on the Juke. Even after having the phone for a while, we still found ourselves tapping on the case to the left and right of the d-pad, simply because that's where the soft keys always are. They're so far away from the d-pad that using the two in tandem is a bit awkward. On their own, though, they're decent as far as buttons go. The raised lip above them helps with navigation by touch.
Volume Control (8.0)
The Juke's volume rocker is massive. Each button is raised on the rocker with a long valley between them, making them very easy to differentiate by touch. The button is also more responsive than most, and offers a solid click with each press. It seems like an oddly minute aspect to praise, but we're impressed by the Juke's volume rocker.
Power and Standby (5.0)
Power is a secondary function of the end key, and requires a long press. As mentioned in the Making/Receiving Calls section, the button has some good snap to it. The Juke doesn't have a button that prompts a standby, but you can change the amount of time before it goes into one automatically.
Other Buttons (3.0)
The Juke only has a few other buttons not discussed above. The first is the camera shortcut, which is located between the two soft keys. Below it is the CLR key, which serves as back/delete and is necessary for navigation. As the Juke is, according to marketing, an MP3 player that also happens to be a phone, it has an external lock switch to ensure your music playback won't be interrupted.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (3.0)
The Juke's tiny little screen has a resolution of 220 x 128. This is a below-average resolution, but on such a tiny screen you won't notice. The Juke doesn't really have any applications that would benefit from a high resolution. If you're concerned about sharp images, you probably wouldn't want a 1.45-inch screen in the first place.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 220 x 128 | 3.0 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Razr2 V9m | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Samsung Blast | 176 x 200 | 4.0 |
| Apple iPhone | 480 x 320 | 9.0 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (5.79)
We were hoping the Juke would pull an absurd PPI score because its screen is so tiny. Unfortunately, so is its resolution, so it only received 115.73 PPI. Again, however, if you're buying the Juke this really shouldn't bother you, as you wanted a quirky-looking music device that isn't the iPhone.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 115.73 | 5.79 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 200 | 10.00 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 200 | 10.00 |
| Razr2 V9m | 181.8 | 9.09 |
| Samsung Blast | 127 | 6.35 |
| Apple iPhone | 164.8 | 8.24 |
Screen Physical Size (3.63)
Again, the Juke has a tiny screen: 1.45 inches. The size means navigating isn't as simple as it could be, and text is tiny. Given the Juke is music-oriented, you'll probably spend more time listening to it than reading it, anyway.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 1.45 | 3.63 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 2 | 5.00 |
| Razr2 V9m | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Samsung Blast | 2.1 | 5.25 |
| Apple iPhone | 3.5 | 8.75 |
Screen Brightness (3.65)
To test screen brightness for the Juke, we had to trick the camera into taking a pure white picture (covered it up, then aimed it at a light). We then did a slide show at full screen and paused it on the white photo. Normally we just browse to a blank white Web page, but the Juke doesn't have a browser. The Juke actually impressed us here by managing 43 lux. Though this is still low, if you calculate its proportion to the screen size, it does better than the Chocolate and the Razr2. Of course, however, we score based on the total number of lux output. We also score based on the phone's brightness settings, which the Juke has six of. It doesn't have a light sensor, though, so it won't automatically adjust brightness.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 43 | 3.65 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 55 | 3.15 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 85 | 6.75 |
| Razr2 V9m | 52 | 5.85 |
| Samsung Blast | 92 | 5.85 |
| Apple iPhone | 168 | 15.40 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (5.0)
For this test we shine 3000 lux of light on the phone's screen, which approximates a sunny day. We then judge how easy it is to read the screen. While we definitely noticed the glare, and it did make it slightly harder to read the text, we were still able to navigate around normally. If you have difficulty reading the text normally, however, you'll definitely find it harder to use the Juke on a bright day.
Color Depth (8.0)
The Tilt is capable of displaying 262,000 colors. This is impressive for such a small screen, especially since most phones only have 65,000 colors.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| Samsung Juke | 262 | 8.0 |
| LG Chocolate Vx8550 | 262 | 8.0 |
| Sony Ericsson W580i | 262 | 8.0 |
| Razr2 V9m | 65 | 6.0 |
| Samsung Blast | 262 | 8.0 |
| Apple iPhone | 65 | 6.0 |
Secondary Screen (0.0)
The Juke only has one screen.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Juke uses a proprietary port for both data and storage. Though we don't like phones with proprietary ports, we were happy to see the Juke came with a USB cable and also that it charges when hooked up to a PC, so you won't need to carry along both the phone charger and a laptop if you are taking a trip.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (2.0)
The Juke has a standard 2.5mm headphone jack. While we appreciate a standard jack size, we would've preferred a 3.5mm jack as it's much more common. Fortunately, however, the Juke comes with a set of headphones.
Internal Storage (10.0)
The Juke comes with 2 GB of storage built-in. This is definitely a lot, but it's necessary to compensate for the lack of a memory card slot. You should be able to store quite a few songs on the Juke, however.
Expansion Slot & Format (0.0)
The Juke doesn't have an expansion slot. The 2 GB of internal memory should be enough for most users, however.
| Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
