RealClear Summary
Posted On February 19, 2013
The Windows Phone 8 family is slowly filling out and Samsung's ATIV Odyssey is aimed squarely at the budget-conscious with a $49 on-contract price tag.
You'll find a 4-inch AMOLED display (800 x 480), 5-megapixel main camera, 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB of storage and 4G mobile networking. The ATIV is powered by a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor and offers a microSD card slot for expandable storage.
Reviewers had sharply mixed views on the ATIV Odyssey's merits. Some praised its performance and easy-on-the-wallet pricing, while others complained about a lousy screen and camera. With Nokia's inexpensive Lumia 822 as an alternative, in addition to slightly more expensive Windows Phone 8 options offering superior features, the ATIV Odyssey had few full-throated backers.
Reviews Sources
The Samsung Ativ Odyssey provides an affordable but not thrilling Windows Phone 8 experience.
Unlike other companies, Samsung isn't skimping on horsepower to keep the cost down. The 1.5GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM are not only capable; they're the same basic components inside...
It's a good low-price smartphone, and both it and Windows Phone 8 are solid choices for anyone buying a smartphone for the first time.
Considering Samsung's continued Android success, we hoped a bit of that gusto would feed into its Windows Phone 8 efforts in the United States, but the Ativ Odyssey won't turn any...
The Samsung ATIV Odyssey is a well-designed, snappy phone that belies its budget nature and is well worth the asking price.
As Samsung's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the Ativ Odyssey for Verizon Wireless is a surprisingly underwhelming showing.
The Samsung ATIV Odyssey delivers Windows Phone 8 for a cheap price, but there are better options for Verizon customers.
The crummy display, questionable processor performance, and so-so camera concern me. The display alone would make me avoid the Odyssey. I couldn't stand to look at it for several days.
The Samsung ATIV Odyssey is a nice, mid-level Windows Phone. While it has some nice features the phone lacks a spotlight feature to give it a competitive edge over similarly priced...
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Mixed/Caveated | Mostly Disapprove | Disapprove |