Multimedia Phone Reviews

The Samsung SGH-X820 phone is a sleek and almost ultra-thin device which includes Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and a 2-megapixel camera.’ At 4.4 by 1.9 by 0.27 inches, the Samsung SGH-X820 lives up to its razor-thin promise. It slips comfortably into pockets, and at 2.4 ounces, it won't weigh you down. The internal antenna ensures there's no deviation from the phone's smooth lines, though the camera lens causes a slight but hardly noticeable bulge at the top of the SGH-X820. The handset also has a solid construction, but we're beginning to notice that the thinner a phone gets, the more awkward it feels to hold against your head for extended calls. Also, the slim shape means it can be hard to feel the vibrate mode when the phone is in your pocket.

Tech Digest has reviewed the new "anorexic" Samsung D900 "slider phone". ' Samsung's new Ultra range is designed to illustrate just how much technology they can fit into a slim phone design. So, whilst they've now got the skinniest candybar title, the slimmest HSDPA phone and a host of other accolades, they haven't skimped on the specs. The D900 was the first of these to be launched, featuring a sliding design and measuring just 12.9mm in width. And yes, it's the world's slimmest slider phone. Available free on contract, it's in the shops now.'

CNET has reviewed the lightweight Samsung SCH-A870 flip phone. 'While the SCH-A870 is no fashion phone, it's still quite stylish. Wrapped in silver and accented in black, the SCH-A870 is a slim flip phone measuring 3.6 by 1.8 by 0.85 inches and weighing only 3.4 ounces. Its rounded corners make it great to hold in the hand. The phone opens easily and cradles comfortably next to the ear. The SCH-A870 has a small 1-inch-diagonal external screen in the middle of the front flap, which displays battery and signal strength, the date and time, and caller ID, plus it serves as a self-portrait camera viewfinder when the phone is closed. Above the screen is a VGA camera and a flash. On the left spine are a headset jack and a volume rocker, while the right spine is home to a dedicated camera button and a dedicated speakerphone button.

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the Samsung SGH-Z400 “slider” phone. ‘As with the excellent D600, the tri-band GSM and 3G capable SGH-Z400 employs what is arguably Samsung’s best handset design format - the slider. As I wrote this review, Orange, O2 and Vodafone were all listing the Z400 online from free depending on the tariff. Samsung plays a cagey game with the Z400. It is small and light (97mm tall, 48mm wide, 19mm deep and 107g), stylishly silver, and has obvious consumer appeal with its music playback and photography options. However, it also boasts the ability to view Excel, Word, PowerPoint PDF, HTML and text files courtesy of the Picsel file viewer.’

CNET has reviewed the "thin" feature packed Samsung SGH-T519(T-Mobile.) cellphone. 'The slim phone phenomenon continues with the Samsung SGH-T519 for T-Mobile. Also called the Trace for reasons we can't quite determine, the T519 is almost a carbon copy of the Samsung SGH-X820 save for a few design adjustments and feature changes. Though we prefer the SGH-X820's all-back color over the SGH-T519's silver skin, the Trace is still a sexy phone with a sleek shape. And though we are getting a little bored with the thin phone mania, we don't mind the T519's eye-catching form factor. The Trace is reasonably priced at $99 with service.

Laptop Magazine has reviewed the "extremely portable" Samsung T509 Trace cell phone. 'If the silver T509 was heroin chic, the more feminine champagne-hued Trace should be checked into a clinic because it's hardly thick enough to be held comfortably during use. It barely tips the scales at 2.5 ounces and 0.3 inches thick (0.2 ounces and 0.1 inch less than the T509). At 4.5 inches tall, the Trace is also a tiny bit shorter than the T509 and wider at 2 inches across. Oddly, the Trace and T509 have the same 176 x 220-pixel screen size. On the Trace it seems much larger, though, because it's turned sideways to be a widescreen. It is easier to look at for extended periods, likely because the screen supports 262,000 colors, which is much more than the T509's 65,000 colors.'

Samsung's SCH-U420 slider phone features a VGA camera with flash, a speakerphone, voice command, Bluetooth, and wireless Web access. 'The Samsung SCH-U420, otherwise called the Nimbus, is one of the hottest new phones to come to Alltel Wireless, a large regional mobile-phone company that mainly focuses on the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country, but has low-cost roaming agreements with Verizon and Sprint for nationwide service.

CNET has reviewed the Samsung SGH-T719 handset which "supports BlackBerry Connect services for push e-mail capabilities and has integrated Bluetooth". 'Samsung is known for producing some slim cell phones, and the Samsung SGH-T719 is no exception. The flip phone measures 3.7x2x0.7 inches and weighs a light 3.5 ounces to make for a sleek mobile that easily slips into a pants pocket or purse. While it is thin, the handset is a little on the longer side (7 inches in its open state); not a deal breaker by any means, but just something to be aware of as you're shopping around. Overall, the SGH-T719 is comfortable to hold and use as a phone, but we thought the front cover felt a bit loose as it jiggled a bit from side to side.'

The Samsung IP-830w smart phone features dual mode CDMA + GSM (dual band), EV-DO highspeed data, Bluetooth, speakerphone, Windows Mobile 5.0, SD I/O slot, GoodLink email, QVGA display with 262k colors and a QWERTY keyboard. 'On front of the device, there is a 2.8-inch touch screen that displays 262,000 hues at a 240x320 pixel resolution. Though it shows off more colors than the Samsung SCH-i830, we didn't notice a difference; in fact, we actually found the display's colors to be a bit washed out.

The Samsung SGH-A707 Sync "music phone" has been reviewed by PC Magazine. 'The A707 is a big, wide (3.8-by 2- by 0.7- inch, 3.5-ounce) flip phone that looks a lot like a somewhat more rounded LG CU500, its major competitor in Cingular's 3G lineup. There's a 2-megapixel camera, music control buttons, and a color screen on the handset's front side. Flip it open and you'll be treated with a heart-wrenchingly beautiful, bright, clear 320-by-240 color screen and big, well-separated, slightly raised buttons.

A review of the feature-rich Samsung SGH-D900 (Black carbon) phone has been posted over at CNET. 'The Black Carbon certainly lives up to its name. The D900 looks like a slab of sculpted charcoal, with a wide surface and very slim profile. Measuring 4.07x2.01x0.51 inches and weighing 3.28 ounces, it is lightweight and can easily slip into a pocket or a purse. The phone's sides and back come in a nice matte finish, that provides good grip while making calls. The left spine is home to the volume rocker and the MicroSD card slot, while a dedicated camera button and a headset jack sit on the right spine. The camera lens, as well as a self-portrait mirror and LED flash light, appear on the back of the phone when the phone is slid open.

Info Sync World has reviewed the Samsung SGH-E900 slider phone. 'The relatively lightweight (3.3 ounce) SGH-E900 slider starts off on the right foot with its 262,000-color, 240 by 320-pixel display, which looked rich and colorful to our eyes, though not very bright. The back is matte black, while the front is glossy with only a five-way navigational button visible while the slide is closed. When open, or in use, the phone reveals a set of white touch-sensitive buttons, including soft keys and dedicated music controls. Menus on the phone show the next level in the hierarchy as you highlight a selection, which was pretty convenient. The slider has a slight hitch when pushed from beneath, which means you'll probably be pressing from the middle -- thus smudging the phone's shiny face with fingerprints.'

PC Magazine has reviewed the Samsung SGH-i607 BlackJack Smartphone which is connected to the Cingular network. 'The BlackJack connects to the Internet using Cingular's ever-expanding HSDPA network, which was in 50 or so metro areas at last count. It's nowhere near as prevalent as Verizon's EV-DO system, but it's catching up. Using the BlackJack as a PC modem, we got an average of 584 kbps downloads, which is slower than EV-DO (where we regularly get 700 kbps or above) but a lot faster than Cingular's national EDGE network, which the BlackJack drops to when it's out of HSDPA range. (EDGE speeds generally hover in the 90-120 kbps range.) The Blackjack also uses EDGE overseas, as opposed to the Cingular 8525 which can hit foreign HSDPA networks.

A review of the Samsung D900 slider phone has been posted over at Shiny Media. 'It's seldom now that you can pick up a phone that does something that's truly new or unique to the brand. Cameras, MP3 players and email are all present in the vast majority of phones, to one degree or another. Any company that attempts to create something new risks straying over into the gimmicky territory occupied by novelty ringtones and crazy photo effects. So, with that in mind, I give you the Samsung theme screen. And then you can tell me what you think (I'm having trouble forming opinions this morning).'

The Samsung SGH-D830 handset features a 2.3" 240x320 pixel TFT display in 262,000 colours, a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, EDGE, 80Mb of internal memory with microSD/TransFlash expansion, TV outpiut and Bluetooth. 'Holding the closed D830 in the hand I had rather mixed feelings about it. Its blackness, punctuated only by blue lighting emanating from the small (96 x 16 pixel) OLED LCD front mounted screen, which is mounted high on the front casing, certainly looks sleek and impressive and I like the grid of dots that subtly pattern and gives texture to the front of the handset. However, although there is no doubting that the D830 is both thin and light, as someone with smallish hands for me its width and height made it feel chunky – moreso, in a strange way than some candybar handsets.'

A review of the Samsung M610 clamshell phone has been posted over at Laptop Magazine. 'Unlike its predecessor, the M610 comes with a microSD memory card slot. Too bad it's located underneath the battery pack, which means you have to power down the phone to access the card. We figure this was a necessary shortcut to facilitate the phone's thinness, but anyone who frequently swaps out memory cards will find this implementation to be annoying.

A review of the Samsung SPH-M610 multimedia phone has been posted over on Infosync World. 'The Samsung SPH-M610 is a surprisingly competent messaging phone, helped by a plethora of useful options and features that make texting a real pleasure. T9 predictive text input on the SMS app is helped not only by a drop-down menu that offers word choices, but also a dictionary that remembers your previously used words. A zoom mode for incoming messages allows you to view about 80 characters (or half a full 160-character SMS message) at once in large type, or you can fit more than 160 characters in a very readable smaller font size.

PC Magagazine have reviewed the Samsung SGH-zx20 handset. 'Open up the zx20 and you'll find a small (1.8-inch diagonal), but quite bright 176-by-220 LCD screen, easily readable in sunlight, and a keypad of well-sized, raised plastic keys. Nicely designed, this phone felt great in the hand and when held against my ear. Voice quality on this quad-band world phone, whether through the earpiece or speakerphone, was absolutely excellent while using Cingular's 3G network in New York, and transmissions were clear as well. There's no noise cancellation, but voices punch through noise nicely. The zx20 also hooked up to my Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset easily. You can even use your own MP3 files, stored on a MicroSD memory card, as ringtones.'

Reg Harware has posted a review of the Samsung SGH-Z560 HSDPA handset. ‘HSDPA can deliver broadband to your mobile phone, and Samsung's SGH Z560 – enabled by T-Mobile's Web'n'Walk service – is leading the way. A two megapixel camera and some thoughtful features make the Z560 a one-stop-shop mobile multimedia prospect. But is the experience any good?

A review of the the Samsung SGH-T629 slider handset has been posted at the Phone Arena. 'The Samsung T629 uses standard TFT display with resolution of 176x220 pixels. Its size is 2 inches and unlike the Trace, this one has common portrait view. It also supports up to 262k colors, but when you directly compare it to the T519 Trace you will notice that the one of the thin phone has more saturated colors and its image looks prettier. Otherwise the display of T629 remains visible in daylight, and it is good enough for displaying pictures.

The Samsung F300 (Ultra Music) multimedia handset has been reviewed over at Mobile Review. 'Model Samsung F300 goes by the alias of Ultra Music, meant to stress its prowess in music department. Tiny casing’s dimensions and a feature-packed interface (for a size this small) count in favor of this fact. But what is really unique about the F300 is its double-face design housing two displays embedded in the front and rear respectively. Being the very first handset to offer such functionality, the F300 launches a whole new trend that will soon become widely spread on candy-bars (the lay-out may vary though), especially on music-tailored ones.'

Trusted reviews have reviewed the Samsung SGH-Z560 phone which is T-Mobile's first "HSDPA consumer focussed handset" and features a 2 mega-pixel camera with auto focus, external touch music keys, 30 MB of internal memory and microSD external memory slot. 'On the outside of the phone is a 65,000 colours, 96 x 96 pixel display, measuring 26mm corner to corner. I’d have liked this to be a bit larger, but that’s just because the phone itself is big and the screen looks a little lost. Beneath it are three touch buttons for controlling music playback. If you’ve read any of my other reviews of handsets with touch controls here at TrustedReviews you’ll have got the message that I don’t like them.

The Gadgeteer has reviewed the Samsung SGH-i320 Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone. 'The Samsung SGH-i320 Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone has all this and more packaged in a well-designed form factor in a thin and compact package. When I first received the Smartphone to review for the Gadgeteer, I was in awe of how every aspect of this Samsung was smartly engineered to achieve its compactness and near perfection.

PC Magazine have posted their review of the Samsung M610 handset. 'One glance at the M610 tells you that Motorola's RAZRs are last year's news. The M610 is a matte-black flip phone about the size of the RAZR (4 by 2 by 0.5 inch, 3.2 ounces), with a smart, bright little monochrome Caller ID/clock screen near the top of the flip and a swiveling 2-megapixel camera on the hinge. It feels light and solid in the hand, like a smooth, flat stone. The phone's inside is just as gorgeous as its outside. Flipping the M610 open reveals a keypad of big, flat black keys and a huge, super-bright 320-by-240 color screen. Admittedly, those flat keys make it really difficult to dial without looking. But they're awfully handsome.

A review of the Samsung SGH-X830 handset has been posted over at Trusted Reviews. 'The Samsung SGH-X830 looks more like a portable music player than a phone – it is tall, thin and undersized for a mobile – the dimensions are 84 x 30 x 19.9mm. It weighs 72g, which is less than any mobile I can remember seeing and supports MP3, ACC, ACC+, e-AAC+, WMA file formats. The front fascia comprises a tall, thin screen – 19mm wide, 32mm tall and 128 x 220 pixels wide - and a wheel for navigation. This is all very music player like, and when you press and hold the navigation wheel’s central select button the music player springs into action and the display activates in wide format to show you what’s playing.'

CNET have published their review of the Samsung SCH-U520 multimedia phone which features a camera, MP3 player, XM Radio , stereo speakers and Bluetooth. 'Samsung loves its slim phones and though the SCH-U520 isn't the skinniest model we've seen, it certainly makes a nod in that direction. At 1.92x3.74x1.0 inches and 2.96 ounces, it's small enough to be carried around easily while maintaining a comfortable feel in the hand. The basic black color scheme and simple lines are unassuming, which make it a good choice for anyone who favors plain styling. The flip mechanism seems mostly solid but the plastic face did feel a tad cheap.

CNET have reviewed the Samsung SCH-u740 multimedia handset for Verizon which features a full QWERTY keyboard, multimedia player, Bluetooth and a megapixel camera. 'Unlike the SGH-d307, the SCH-u740 is quite a handsome phone. Its wide yet slim body is a subtle metallic-champagne color, and simple black accents give it a sophisticated and stylish look. Though it's not nearly as skinny as the Motorola Razr (which is 0.5-inch thick) at 3.84x2.04x0.58 inches, the u740 is still thin enough to slip into your pants pocket with ease. It also has a nice heft when held in the hand, thanks to its 3.6-ounce weight, and it cradles nicely next to the ear when opened.