Samsung ATIV Odyssey Review – Verizon’s Under $50 Windows Phone 8

Samsung ATIV Odyssey

Having only played with Windows 8 on the Dell XPS14 Ultrabook I looked at recently, I will be the first to admit that I was less than wowed with the latest Windows interface. The Dell XPS14 isn’t a touch screen which really seamed to hinder the experience with Windows 8. It’s clear that the latest Windows operating system is designed to be used with a touch interface. While it was less than Ideal in the XPS14 package, this is ideal if you are using Windows 8 in a tablet or a phone. When I was told that I would be able to get my hands on the latest Windows 8 phone from Samsung, I was looking forward to it. I wanted to use Windows 8 in the environment that it seems that it was designed for. Having just come off a review of the LG Optimus G, which uses Android 4.0.4 for the OS, I was looking forward to the change. The Samsung ATIV Odyssey seems to be the perfect vehicle to take Windows 8 for a run!

The Samsung ATIV Odyssey phone is available on with Verizon for only $49.99 with a contract. Though going through Newegg I was able to find if for only $9.99 with a new 2 year contract. As far as full featured smart phones go, that’s a nice low price when you consider the cost of the latest greatest phones can easily run you $200+. Samsung managed to stuff some pretty impressive specs under the hood of the ATIV Odyssey despite the low price. We will break the specifications down in greater detail as we walk around the phone, as a tease it features a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus processor. While quad core processors are beginning to make their way onto the playing field, the Odyssey didn’t have any issues with powering the Windows 8 OS.

The Samsung ATIV Odyssey from Verizon comes in a relatively plain box. The top features a picture of the ATIV Odyssey Windows 8 interface. The end features details like the model number, serial number, and other non-exciting numbers.

Once we open up the packaging we are immediately greeted with the Samsung ATIV Odyssey phone. What I immediately liked about it was the plastic cover over the screen, it literally points out what each and every key or button does on the phone. If you’re intimately familiar with smart phones, you can easily get by without the cover. If you are new to smart phones you can leave it on for a couple of day without it interfering with the touch screen capabilities.

Removing the Samsung ATIV Odyssey we can continue the unboxing and take a look at the accessories. All that is really included is the charger, USB cable, and the manuals to familiarize yourself with your new Windows 8 Phone.

The USB cable has some informational stickers that are worth checking out and hanging onto for future reference. The first is the Backup Assistant Plus, this allows you to back up and protect your contacts, pictures, music, and just about everything else on your Samsung ATIV Odyssey phone. The second sticker gives us the numbers to call about warranty issues, hopefully we will never need to use it but it’s good to have in case.

Samsung ATIV Odyssey Windows Phone 8 specifications