Samsung Wave 723 review

The Samsung Wave 723 isn't really a media fan's ideal smartphone. You need a screen larger than 3.2 inches to make the most of video playback. Still, there is enough going on here to keep many people quite happy.


We're pleased to see the headphones connector on the top edge of the handset, and while we don't really like the L-shaped connector on Samsung's earphones, the quality of output they produce is acceptable.

The music player itself is easy to navigate and has some nice visualisations. There is an equaliser and a range of effects settings, the latter enabling you to choose options such as Concert Hall or Bass Enhancement to alter listening quality.

There are three visualisations you can choose from while music is playing.

If you go out to the lock screen while music is playing, you can drag down the CD icon to get to a set of playback controls, and these controls are also available from anywhere you can pull down the notification area.

There is an FM radio too, and you can record from it. Recording is the easiest thing to do – you just call up the menu by pressing the context-sensitive menu button and hit record.

Video playback is somewhat limited with MPEG4, H.263 and H.264 standards supported. Our sample movie trailer would not play, getting an 'unsupported resolution' report. And when we went looking for free movie trailers at Samsung's Wap site – a link that kicks in when you file browse, incidentally – there was none.

The YouTube icon on the main apps menu looks promising, but is nothing more than a link to the mobile YouTube website. It delivers content that you can view in portrait or widescreen, and we found it delivered smooth content to a good quality.