Gadgetory

we've been heavy on Lumia coverage recently but Samsung isn't staying still in the battle for Windows Phone 8 supremacy we've been waiting for this one for a while so let's get right to it I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is our unboxing and hardware tour of the Samsung ativ s the ative s was the first Windows Phone 8 device officially announced but it's one of the last to launch in 2012 still late is better than ever and Samsung's doing something different with Windows Phone is chewing the brightly colored approach of HTC Inoki afor a more toned-down aluminum silver color despite this being one of the larger windows phones available today the box is very small and simple with the product showcased up front and some specs on the back and just to go through them very quickly Windows Phone 8 is the OS of choice this is an HSPA+ device an 8 megapixel camera with a 2300 million power battery the familiar Qualcomm Snapdragon s4 CPU running at 1.5 gigahertz HD Super AMOLED display Full HD video record and playback and of course GPS and then the usual gamut of specs down there let's go ahead and pull the cover off we've already cut the seal and there is the device front and center occupying the entirety over the front of the box go ahead and pop it out there I'll take a look at the device in a second but right now let's just see what's in the box see if there any surprises in here various startup guides from Samsung legal notices paperwork and so forth an international charger because this is an international unit or a European charger I should say USB cable and the looks like the same Samsung earbuds that we've grown to know and either loved or loathed depending on your attitude that much else going on in the box so we'll put it aside and we'll come right back to the device here now before we get to a hardware tour let's go ahead and pull the battery door off one of the big selling points of this device of course that you can do that it is not a non-removable battery the battery cover itself feels an awful lot like the galaxy s it is very very bendable it is a very obviously plastic this is not metal though it appears to be metal thing so that finish which we'll come back to in a second but anyone familiar with the Galaxy s3 is a battery door will be familiar with that under the battery cover here is that 2300 milliamp hour battery along with the micro SD card slot that supports micro SDXC for enhanced capacity there's the SIM card slot there underneath the cover not a whole lot looking different looks a lot like some other phones there's that 8 megapixel camera lens let's pop that battery door back on and with the battery door reattached we can have a look at the outside of the hardware here and kind of take it in a samsung calls the achieve s a new smartphone for both work and entertainment delivering a premium Windows Phone experience there obviously targeting this at the prosumer market and that shows in this kind of understated refined design with a hairline metallic finish reminiscent of the galaxy note 2 but as you can see it's a slightly different color it's a little brighter than aluminum silver that was called out on the box it looks very very nice in person the device is eight point seven millimeters thick with a nice metallic looking bezel encircling the unit and a very classy looking recessed speakerphone arrangement on the back here the ative s weighs 135 grams which is the same as the galaxy s3 but because it lacks the s3s teardrop shape it feels different in the hand a little more of substantial now the highlight of this device is under the screen protector so let's go ahead and take that off nice and that highlight is the largest display on a Windows Phone 8 device a four point eight inch HD Super AMOLED panel at 720 by 1280 resolution delivering 306 PPI now if those specs sound familiar they should that's exactly the same as on the galaxy s3 it's easy to see why a lot of people call this phone the Galaxy s3 for Windows Phone as you can see our first boot is complete so we can go ahead and take a little bit of a hardware tour here volume keys mounted on the left side of the device as you're looking at it not where they are where we've gotten used to them on the right hand side adjacent the power button so that's an interesting little variance on the usual Windows Phone formula volume down volume up nothing else on the left side on the right side the power button mounted very very high up on the device not at the midpoint where it was moved for the Galaxy Note 2 makes sense because this is not a phablet the 2 stage camera key is located down in its usual spot and its responsiveness right out the gate is a little bit mushy er than we're used to on other Windows Phone devices down below the display you'll notice another distinction Samsung has retained their favorite physical home button here but it is flanked by capacitive back and search keys and around back once again we're looking at that fancy speakerphone grill under the Windows Phone logo the camera lens with flash and little call-out for its resolution up top headphone jack noise cancelling mic and qualcomm call out sticker on top which can be removed and will be and down bottom the microUSB port and primary microphone guys we're gonna get to know this device very well over the course of the next few days but in the interim this has been your unboxing and first Hardware tour of the Windows Phone 8 device with the largest display on the market currently the Samsung ativ s keep it locked to pocket now in the coming days we're gonna have a lot more coverage on the atif s including a comparison with the Lumia 920 and our full review treatment coming very soon follow us on Twitter so you don't miss at pocket now is the official account follow me at Captain 2 phones that's Captain the number 2 phones we'll also be discussing the achieve s in a fun and frank manner on the pocket now weekly podcast as usual so tune in for that and as always visit us at pocketnow.com if you want to leave a comment on this post give us a thumbs up on the video here if you liked it and we'll see you next time thanks for watching you