Samsung Beat DJ Review

Up until now Samsung has struggled to forge any kind of music identity with its handsets. Devices such as the F300 and F400 may have impressed with their audio powers, but unlike rivals Nokia (XpressMusic) and Sony Ericsson (Walkman), these have been individual, one-off products rather than something that consumers can engage with as part of a wider brand. However the company is hoping that this will all change thanks to the arrival of its Beat Edition range – of which the M7600 BeatDJ, with its unique DJ ‘scratching’ application, is an inaugural device.

The BeatDJ is solidly constructed in a rounded rectangular shape, with the front fascia dominated by a colourful and vibrant touchscreen. A purple strip around the edges hosts a variety of controls, such as volume, camera shutter and screen lock, but there’s no physical keypad; all text entry is achieved via an onscreen virtual keyboard (more on this later). The edges also contain a microSDHC card slot and a handy 3.5mm headphone socket, the first hint towards the BeatDJ’s emphasis on music. A trio of touch-sensitive buttons that sit below the screen are the requisite ‘make call’, ‘end call’ and ‘back’ controls.

One of the most engaging elements of the BeatDJ’s touchscreen capability are the home screen widgets, as seen on Samsung’s latest handsets. These are small interactive icons located on the main standby screen, providing a visual indicator and shortcut to common applications, such as the calendar, gallery, FM radio and music player. The full list of widgets appears in a customisable strip down the left of the home screen – to add one to the main window you simply drag it to the right and release your finger. You can move the widgets around freely on the home screen and it’s a neat idea in theory, but due to the limited space there’s only really room for two or three before the screen gets somewhat cluttered.

Touch and go

With every single function on the device controlled by touch, it’s understandable that some work better than others. Operating the camera, for example, is effortless and intuitive, with onscreen icons for major functions and a clear settings menu. The Internet browser also lends itself well to a touch interface. Other actions though require a lot of effort – the worst culprit being the virtual keypad for tapping out text messages and emails.

Creating a new message is an artform in itself, such is the convoluted series of buttons that you need to press, in the right order, to simply write out a sentence. After time you will probably get used to the complicated system, but to begin with it’s a real effort – with or without T9 activated. In short, this is not for textaholics.

Judging by the position of the Samsung branding on the outside of the handset, the BeatDJ looks set up to be operated in landscape mode. Indeed many of the applications are designed for this purpose, with the BeatDJ function, gallery and web browser all optimised for widescreen viewing. However this is not exclusive throughout the handset and the majority of functions, most importantly navigating the main menu, can only be operated in portrait mode, hindering usability as you’re forever turning the device around.

Music is the number one priority on this product and Samsung has opted to continue its partnership with the sound experts, enabling the BeatDJ with audio powered by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower. Essentially this means a lot of clever technology has gone into making the sound quality as rich and powerful as possible within the constraints of a small device. In practice it works well and tracks blast out through the stereo speakers, while the supplied noise-cancelling headphones also offer a crisp sound.

Management of the music files themselves is sensibly arranged, with the intuitive library listing songs by Track; Playlist; Artist; Album or Genre, plus a separate section for downloaded Podcasts. The Album listing deserves a special mention, as it’s presented in a mock-jukebox style whereby you can scroll through a visual display of CDs and drag one down to the player to select it. There’s also a handy music recognition service built-in, powered by Shazam, which reveals the names of unknown tracks.

However the headline act on the M7600 is the BeatDJ application itself.

Out of the Blue

Elsewhere the Bluetooth application deserves a mention; it’s well thought out and has been carefully crafted to look slick and accomplished. Rather than simply creating a list of wireless devices in the surrounding area, it presents a visual depiction with a series of icons that appear in concentric circles radiating from the BeatDJ in the centre of the screen – you simply tap the one you wish to connect to. The handset connected to my computer and Jabra Bluetooth headset without any issues at all.

Despite some obvious flaws as an everyday mobile phone, the Samsung BeatDJ is a fantastic music device, with an intelligent library and innovative features.

VERDICT

The BeatDJ is a funky music mobile with a neat application that lets you ‘scratch’ songs like a DJ and add effects to tunes. Yes it’s a gimmick, but it’s good fun to play around with. This is a solidly-constructed handset with a vibrant screen and excellent sound quality, as you might expect when powered by Band & Olufsen ICEpower. It’s fully touchscreen operated, which is fine for certain functions like the music player and web browser, but writing a text message on the virtual keypad is a real chore. Ultimately this lack of usability lets the handset down, which is a shame because in terms of music it’s a winner.

RATINGS (OUT OF 5)

PERFORMANCE: 3
FEATURES: 4
USABILITY: 3
OVERALL: 3