By Sherwin Loh

IF YOU are interested in the Innov8 phone, it is probably not because of its 8GB of memory, video player or Wi-Fi dexterity.

No, the selling point is the 8-megapixel camera - the highest resolution in a phone - which takes some pretty amazing pictures.

From night-time, low-light shots to regular day-time indoor snaps to outdoor images, the Innov8 produces pictures with sharp colours and depth. It even has a face-detection feature, something found only in regular digital cameras.

Everything can be easily controlled with the four-way navigation button on the front of the slider, which allows you to choose from effects such as sepia, do a white balance, and choose image quality from under 1 to 8MP.

One nifty design is the retractable lens cover that slides open and closes automatically when not in use. That is a boon for the careless users out there.

There are also several camera functions to play with such as multishot, which can take nine images in quick succession or panoramic view, which combines eight shots to create an expansive image - good for sceneries. However, the 8MP resolution does not apply here, as these special modes offer image quality of only 640x480 by 320x240.

The lack of optical zoom dilutes the sharpness of faraway objects.

Still the camera works pretty well. However, to make it a must-have device, Samsung should take a closer look at the phone itself.

The slider shares several design traits with the Nokia N95, such as button layouts on the screen which slides open to reveal a numeric keypad.

With built-in Wi-Fi, the surfing experience is enhanced by the main button on the front. It acts as an optical mouse that scrolls across the 2.8-inch screen.

This beats tapping the directional keys just to get to, say, the centre of a webpage on the screen.

In fact, for a phone this price, the icons are too plain - white drawings placed against a black background. Choosing one icon simply highlights it in green. The whole feel of it is very primitive.

The phone is also bogged down by the over-sensitive buttons. When pulling the device out of my pocket, there were occasions when my finger would tap the Answer or Reject button, cutting off the calls or preventing me from checking the caller's ID.

The surprising thing is that the screen displays excellent looking video clips. However, while the device touts compatibility with Divx and Real Player, you still need to convert the video files to play them on the phone.

The Innov8 also requires a two-step process of converting the file before manually transferring it to the phone. A one-step interface would have been better.

• Samsung Innov8
  $1,098 (without contract), available at authorised mobile phone shops

Final say

The 8MP camera portion of Innov8 takes beautiful shots but the phone needs much more in design and interface to make it an all-round winner.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 29, 2008.