Review: Samsung Giorgio Armani mobile phone

In our video review of LG's Viewty phone we complained that the touchscreen device was too chunky and wished we could get our hands on a similar but smaller model.

Georgio Armani and the people at Samsung must have heard us because only days later came the new Armani phone. The Samsung Giorgio Armani has the same touchscreen interface as both the Viewty and the Apple iPhone but it is almost half the size and width of the Viewty.

Like that phone the Armani comes with photo-editing software, which lets users remove people or brighten colours, and although the 2.6in screen is smaller than the Viewty's we were impressed that we could see exactly what we were doing. We were also very impressed with the three-megapixel camera which, although it does not have face-recognition technology or an optical zoom, takes clear and bright shots.

It also comes with a range of picture-taking modes including a mosaic feature that takes shots in the shapes of stars and circles. Despite the phone being small, the screen is clear, but navigating around the phone's menus we came into a few problems. Like Armani's catwalk clothing, this designer phone appears to have been made for size zero models (or, specifically, size zero fingers).

Add to this the fact that the phone does not come with a stylus and will not recognise a tap with a fingernail and you often end up pressing unwanted buttons. The problem gets worse when trying to send text messages – it took us a frustrating eight attempts to write a standard 10-word text message and even longer to dial a number.

Navigating to options such as changing the clock's time was even worse and it didn’t help that it kept failing to detect our presses. However, those who only have an eye for looks won't be disappointed. The Armani phone is sleek, black and feather-light.

To make sure it is not ruined by scratches it also comes with a velvet pouch and a leather case to keep it safe, as well as headphones and a data cable that can be used to synchronise email and contacts from a computer. It also comes with a 1GB memory card, which, although easy to slide in, required tweezers to pull out.

Although this phone matches up to the Viewty and iPhone in terms of features and call quality, size isn't everything, and the quality of this phone doesn't match up.