Samsung Ativ SE review: Under the radar

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer on the Ativ SE is the classic Windows Phone 8 deal, which has hardly changed with the minor update of the OS. The 5" screen makes for comfortable browsing while the high pixel density keeps text sharp even at low zoom levels.

Internet explorer

As usual, the URL bar is always visible at the bottom of the screen (but the status bar at the top of the screen auto-hides, so you don't actually lose any screen real estate) and next to it is the refresh button.

The URL bar also serves as a search bar - by default, anything you type that doesn't resolve to an URL will be sent over to the Bing app. You can also pick Google as a search provider, which will open the Google search results page in the browser instead.

You can, of course, bring up the extended settings, which offer a great deal of options - tabbed browsing, recent history, favorites, share options, pin to Start, find on page and settings. The settings menu offers the usual options like location, allow cookies, delete browsing history and it prompts choosing a global preference for mobile or desktop site versions.

The browser makes the controls in web pages look just like their equivalents in native apps. So, a web app can look just like a native app with practically no extra effort from the designer.

And finally, you can open more than six tabs simultaneously, eight or ten worked just fine (WP7.x used to have a restriction on the number of tabs).

Other pre-installed apps

Microsoft Office is one of the key selling points of Windows Phone. Document viewing and editing is absolutely free and integrated into the OS. SkyDrive integration is available as well. Docs are automatically synced between the phone and your computer through SkyDrive.

Microsoft Office

Word and Excel share the Documents panel, which lists all available documents of the relevant types (in order of last used). Both viewing and editing is supported.

The Calendar can view sub-calendars for each account you have and can color-code to make them easier to tell apart. You can also disable sub-calendars if they're getting in the way. The app offers day and agenda views too for more comprehensive hour-by-hour browsing of your appointments.

The calendar app

Alarms, Calculator, and Weather apps are naturally pre-installed. Bing Search is on board too.

The IR blaster of the Samsung Ativ SE has been utilized via the WatchOn app. It has the same layout like its Android sibling and works with no hiccups.

Samsung WatchOn

More exclusive Samsung apps are available in a dedicated section in the Windows Phone marketplace. They range from live wallpaper, through image editor, all the way to multimedia sharing apps.

Samsung Zone in the marketplace

Windows Phone's traditional Games app is present - it carries over many features from the Xbox - from your avatar to your scores and achievements. It is also your gaming hub - here you can find all of your pre-installed games, spotlight news and store links.

Xbox games