Following the introduction of the revolutionary iPhone, cellular phone companies began developing touch-screen phones with large displays and totally eliminating keypads on the handsets. Samsung joined the touch-screen revolution with the introduction of the Armani, the F490 Nerva and now the Tocco (F480).
Derived from the Italian word ‘tocco’, which literally means ‘touch’, this latest model picks up where its predecessors left off. Firstly, it is worth mentioning that the company decided to make its screen a little smaller, 2.8inches, compared with the 3.2inch on the Nerva. The good thing about this phone is that it brought all the features of Nerva to the next level, with the addition of an FM radio, faster 3G and more memory. It also has a special feature for identifying unknown music files, using Shazam, an application similar to Sony Ericsson’s TrackID™. The platform has a Google-friendly interface, which is competitive with its rivals in terms of mobile Internet access.
According to the mobile phone reviews, however, the Samsung Tocco seems to be everything, but a phone. It has several features, such as an MP3 player, camera and touch-screen display, but users agree that it has weak communication features. Some claim that the phone is prone to drop calling and that the volume is a little poor. In addition, texting or typing on LCD screens is generally a problem for touch-screen phone users. To compensate for this, the company has come up with an optional vibration feedback whenever the user touches a button, to let him or her know that the command has been recognised.
