Samsung Focus S (AT&T)

The good: The Samsung Focus S has a gorgeous, large touch screen; a good 8-megapixel camera; a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera; and HSPA+ speeds. The bad: Thin and less than 4 ounces in weight, the phone lacks durability. The bottom line: Bolstered by a brilliant display and strong hardware specs, the Samsung Focus S is arguably the best Windows Phone ever released. The Windows Phone OS has arrived on a number of good handsets, but none of the manufacturers has yet been able to produce a killer Windows Phone for the U.S. market...until now. The Samsung Focus S, introduced by AT&T, is a beautiful device: it's thin, it's light (maybe too light), and it sports a gorgeous 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a quite good 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. Does it sound familiar? It should, and that's its only catch. The Focus S is essentially the same shell as AT&T's excellent Samsung Galaxy S II phone, minus the Android operating system (and a few other internals), and plus a physical camera button. The recipe does make for a very smooth Windows Phone experience, if you can push past the mildly creepy sense of déjà vu. The Samsung Focus S costs a reasonable $199.99 with a new, two-year service agreement, but at the time of this review, I saw it on sale online for $99.99, so check around for discounts before you buy. Classy, sleek, and open are three words I'd use to describe the Samsung Galaxy S II phones, and the same can be said of the Focus S. The all-black phone has rounded corners and flat sides. As with AT&T's Galaxy S II and slightly larger (and LTE-capable) Skyrocket, the handset has a slightly dimpled back cover and a slight rise where the cover snaps into place at the bottom of the phone. A larger handset, the Focus S measures nearly 5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by a svelte 0.3 inch thick. With its slimness and scant 3.9-ounce weight, it feels a little insubstantial, and I'm unconvinced of its ability to sustain casualties from butterfingers' repeated drops.