One of the most popular Windows Phone devices of all time is the original Samsung Focus, and for good reason – it was fast, sleek, had a killer Super AMOLED screen, and got great battery life. Since then, Samsung’s released two really great devices in the small-but-sturdy Focus Flash and the thinner-than-a-pencil Focus S. And today they’re following up on those with the brand new Samsung Focus 2, which goes on sale starting May 20th for only $49.99 (with a two-year service agreement) on AT&T’s lightning fast 4G LTE network.
Samsung was cool enough to get me a Focus 2 about a week ago and having used it around the office, I can tell you that it’s a worthy successor to the original Focus. Whereas the original Focus was long and lean, the Focus 2 is a bit shorter and feels a bit squatter. That may sound like a step backwards in design, but its most definitely not; Samsung has done a great job making the phone really ergonomic and is comfortable to hold, and pocket-friendly to boot. Typing is where the design really shines through, as the curved edges mean no “hotspots” on your hands and helps you avoid cramping fingers (especially if you have big hands like me).
To see what I mean, I took some shots of the original Focus next to the Focus 2:
Spec-wise not a ton has changed from the original Focus, but there are some very notable upgrades. You still get a 4” Super AMOLED display, 5MP camera (which takes VERY good pictures, even better than the original Focus) and 8GB of onboard storage (non-expandable). The Focus 2 also comes with a front-facing VGA camera and, as you can see from the pictures, is available in a beautiful pearl white.
And of course, the Focus 2 works on AT&T’s brand new LTE network. I didn’t get a chance to use the LTE network with my loaner Focus 2 as we don’t yet have LTE here in Redmond; but, having just come from LA where I was able to use LTE on some of my other Windows Phones, I can say that I’m really impressed with the speed it delivers. If you’re used to 3G, you’re going to be blown away by what LTE can do.
If you’re looking for a value-priced phone that gets you top-level features, the Samsung Focus 2 is a great choice. Go check one out starting May 20th at your local AT&T store!
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