CNET have posted their review of the Samsung ATIV S Neo, Sprint’s latest Windows Phone 8 handset.
Their conclusion I think matches the opinion of the Windows Phone community – that it is a merely good rather than great handset, but her reasons seem somewhat specious.
She liked the rather derivative design for example, but found the 140 g weight of the handset too heavy, which seems rather ridiculous, and complained the handset was slow and laggy (again an accusation not usually levelled against Windows Phones).
Her main complaint was however about the quality of the camera, and compared to Nokia’s latest greatest this is likely the most valid point.
She concludes:
The S Neo’s $150 retail asking price is too steep for what you get, even if Sprint’s network speeds are strong in your area. It isn’t a bad phone by any means — it’s sturdy and has a nice, readable screen and an attractive (if uninspired) design. Yet it’s also an unremarkable showing with passable, but not not stellar, image quality.
If Sprint is your carrier and the price is right in your budget, you won’t go wrong buying the S Neo, particularly if the cost drops. However, it isn’t much harder to do a little better. For instance, HTC’s 8XT has the sexier design and fairly similar specs for $50 less.
If you’re open to switching carriers, AT&T’s Nokia Lumia 920 is an also-heavy, but also more powerful phone that’s currently selling for $99. Those of you willing to try out Android will find that Sprint models like the Samsung Galaxy S III deliver a more reliable Samsung 8-megapixel camera, also for about $100 at a deep discount.
Read her full review here.