Samsung Nexio S160 Review

Nexio S160 Review - Final Update 07/31/03 - It's going on the shelf, the keyboard just doesn't cut it..

Detailed Specifications: See the specifications on the Samsung web site.
First Impressions: My first thought when I pulled it out of the box was "It's huge!" However when I stacked it up against an HP200lx, Nokia Communicator, and Zaurus SL-C700 I realized that I had just become used to the size of my svelte Z. At 6.06 x 3.58 x 0.52 inches and 8.82 ounces (154 x 91 x 13mm & 250g) it is roughly the same size as the HP200lx that I used for over six years. Go to my Nexio page for pictures of the S160 with the HP200lx, the Nokia 9290 Communicator, and the Zaurus SL-C700. Out of the box you get the Nexio S160 with a leather cover, a cradle, an AC adapter, a USB sync cable, a VGA cable, a stylus, a "portable stand", stereo headphones and a microphone, and the documentation (consisting of a quick reference guide, an accessory guide, a handwriting guide, and a 2 CD-ROMs of software - one in English and one in Chinese). All the documentation is in English... so possibly Samsung might be planning to sell it on this side of the pond. When I went to charge it, horror, the plug for the AC adapter is huge and won't fit the U.S. outlets. I dashed off to a nearby Brookstone but they only had adapters to allow U.S. plugs to be used abroad, and not the opposite! I returned home thinking I would have to search one down. However, I had ordered an extra AC adapter and I noticed that unlike the S160 out of the box, the 'extra' adapter had a cord with a U.S. plug on it. Saved...
Hardware:
- Screen: The S160 has a bright 5 inch diagonal WVGA (800x480) 64K color TFT LCD touchscreen. The backlight has low, medium, high, and power save levels. In an unscientific comparison between the S160 and SL-C700 the low setting on the S160 is approximately the same as the lowest SL-C700 setting in brightness, the medium setting on the S160 approximates the second (higher) setting on the Z, and the high on the S160 approximates the third setting on the Z. The 4th and 5th levels of brightness on the Z outshine the S160 - however I never used them because of battery life issues, so I guess it is moot. At any backlight level the S160 is very readable, and so far I am keeping the level on low. Go here for screen shots
- Keyboard: The S160 comes without a keyboard, so I had ordered the optional KB-S160E keyboard. The keyboard is very thin - 0.2 inches thick - and clips onto the S160. You line up the keyboard on top of the S160 like a cover, push it into place, and it connects with a solid click. To remove the keyboard you have to push a button while pulling off the keyboard. All the PDAs I have owned have had a thicker keyboard section that contained most of the electronics, and a thinner screen section. In the case of the S160 this is completely reversed - the 'screen' section is the main body of the machine and the keyboard is just an ultrathin accessory that folds over to protect the screen. If you choose not to use a keyboard the S160 comes with a leather cover that clips on just like the keyboard and folds over to protect the screen. Being a 'keyboard person' I will mostly be using the keyboard and this will probably take some getting used to. As a result of this arrangement, unlike my other PDAs where you could open the screen at different angles and the keyboard hinges would hold the screen open at the angle you opened it to, the S160 keyboard will not hold up the screen. If you put it on a surface you have to have it flat. You can stick the 'portable stand' into a slot in the back of the S160 screen that will then keep it raised at a slight angle. Note: the 'portable stand' is a small piece of plastic that doubles as the piece that occupies the CF slot when you get the S160!! (See picture at the bottom of this page.)This will not necessarily be a problem for me, as 99% of my use is while holding the PDA in my hands and using the "thumb typing" method. To do this with the S160 you have to hold the screen with your index fingers while you thumb type (when normally you would probably have them lower down at the join of the body and screen. This sounds worse than it really is, you just have to keep your index fingers 'higher' than you might normally have.
  Keyboard pics
  Since the keyboard is so thin the keys have very little travel, but they have a good feel and you can easily tell what you have typed... Re keyboard layout there are a few idiosyncrasies that I'll have to get used to - no dedicated tab key (Tab is Fn + Ctrl which are right next to each other), only one shift key that is on the right (while thumb-typing I generally use the shift key on the opposite side to the letter I want to capitalize, so this is a nuisance), the backspace key is in the 'usual' position but the Del key is down by the Enter key, etc. Finally the keyboard has 3 dedicated keys at the top that launch the Calendar, Contact, and Messenger apps.
- Memory & Expansion: The Nexio S160 has 64 MB NAND Flash ROM and 128 MB SDRAM, and a compact flash expansion slot, so you could add up to a 2GB CF card.
- Power Supply:The Nexio S160 has a 1500mAh lithium polymer battery, which lasts around six to seven hours with regular use. Running the MP3 player with the backlight turned off provided approximately three hours and forty-five minutes of music before the battery ran low.
- Misc: Go here to see pictures of the Nexio S160 from all sides.. On the front you have the microphone, a 5 way key than can be used for navigation (or can be programmed to launch applications), three hot keys that can be programmed to launch any program, the speaker, and three indicator lights (LEDs for power/battery charging, 802.11, and for alarms/reminders). The back has the reset hole, as well as the attachment points for the optional extended battery. On the left (top to the bottom) is the on/off key, a hold key that allows you to freeze out the keyboard and other keys (I use this to make sure the S160 doesn't accidently get turned on while carrying it in my pocket...), the headphone jack, and the DC power adapter jack. A small annoyance is that the headphone jack is 3/32" so is not interchangeable with my other gadgets... The headphones also are outfitted with a volume dial and a microphone for recording. Alternatively, you can record using the built-in microphone - a quick try yielded a decent sounding recording.
- Accessories:
Software:
- Operating System:
- Multimedia:
- Other built-in software:
- Other "must have" software:
I/O & Connectivity:
Overall Impressions- Pro/Con: