Samsung announces the Wave 723, the fourth Bada smartphone

Samsung has just announced their fourth smartphone based on their homegrown operating system Bada: the Wave 723. Unlike the original Samsung Wave, this model was created to serve the mid range of the market. It has a 3.2 inch LCD with a WQVGA resolution, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, comes with a leather case [pictured below], has a 5 megapixel camera, and will sell for 240 EUR starting in September in Germany, and then other markets later this year. Samsung says this device will not come to America, citing that operators don’t want to launch devices with the Bada operating system over there. Makes sense. People want Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry.

The original Wave didn’t get much attention from the press, even though it had a competent specification sheet and managed to sell over 1 million units in just 4 weeks. In today’s world there’s only so much room for the various mobile operating systems, and with Samsung already making Android devices, and promising to make Windows Phone 7 devices, why bother pouring resources into a completely different operating system? I’ll never understand Bada, and have been poking fun at it since it was announced. I take it Samsung would like to do the same thing that Nokia is doing with Symbian, and that’s pushing the “smartphone” into lower and lower price points, but shouldn’t Samsung try doing that with an already established operating system?

Seriously. This device has the specifications of a low end Android phone, so why put Bada on it? No one likes TouchWIZ. Samsung even hired someone from a local University to help them make their software easier to use and more appealing to users. People who own the Galaxy S, or whatever your operator is calling it, wish it ran stock Android.

So in a nutshell: Wave 723: It’s cheap, it makes calls, it gets the job done, but I’d still stay away from it. Buy one of Nokia’s Cseries devices like the newly launched C6. It’s a better investment, both in terms of applications available for the platform, and system specifications.

[Via: Slash Gear]

Update: My fellow Editor Dusan has brought to my attention that the Wave 723 is not the second Bada phone to be released, but in fact the fourth. Earlier this summer Samsung announced the Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro and I must’ve been on holiday or something because I don’t remember said devices. Anyway, article corrected!

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

Jeff F

The first Samsung Wave was a huge hit, selling over a million devices in its first 4 weeks.

Somebody must like it!

I think Bada OS devices will sell much better than Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 ever will. Don’t forget, Microsoft’s previous effort, the Kin, sold under 100,000 before it was axed.
http://www.intomobile.com Stefan Constantinescu

Forgot it sold that well, updated my article to reflect that! Wonder how it’s doing now, and how serious Samsung is committed to Bada though.

As for Windows Phone 7, that’s another topic all together.
Igor

I own Samsung Wave S8500.
So in general I have to disagree with this article.
I also have Android and Windows Mobile device for comparison.

First I believe that the very existence of Bada is largely misunderstood.
Let us take S8500 for example, the phone is gorgeous in person.
It is fast, slick, have out of this world display.
So even if it did not have Bada this phone would be awesome. Bada is only a plus.
The new OS on the other hand is rather good.
It mixes some of the best interface concepts ( iOS eyecandy, Android )
And make them inevitably Samsung.
So the new product is powerful, practical, beautiful and original (I am pushing this last bit too far, I admit).

If I have to chose between Symbian and Bada I’d go for Bada anytime.
Even though my personal favorite is still “Sensed” Android on HTC hardware I have to say:
Well done Samsung with this one.

PS Even the horrid Touch Wiz looks great on this phone. No, really.
http://www.intomobile.com Stefan Constantinescu

Most phone bloggers, which I count as my friends since we run into each other at trade show and press events around the world, say Bada feels like a very 1.0 OS and they’d rather have Android. Personally, I’d love to see the Wave running Android since I can’t stand the size of the Galaxy S.

But hey, we’re all entitled to an opinion, and thanks for leaving yours in the comments!
AMora

@Stefan
Please shut down your blog!
your comments on this post are baseless
you are just android lover.
http://www.intomobile.com Stefan Constantinescu

But then Google will stop paying me to write all the awesome things I write about Android. Can’t have that!