The Good: The Samsung SGH-T719 is a flip-style quad-band camera phone featuring the popular Blackberry Push technology, allowing for the real-time delivery of e-mail to the device. It sports a 1.3 megapixel camera, both internal and external displays and a long talk time. Other useful features include Bluetooth, a large internal memory which stores up to 1000 contacts and MP3 ring tone support. The handset is slim and compact and fits easily into a pocket or purse.
The Bad: The external display only displays in monochrome and cannot be used as a viewfinder. The included SureType keyboard is difficult to get used to and becomes frustrating after a time. Also, the earpiece and speakerphone volume sounds low and muffled even when set to maximum. Also, despite having a camera, photo Caller ID is not supported.
The Bottom Line: The Blackberry Push technology undoubtedly gives this handset appeal, but otherwise it’s fairly mediocre. However the difficult keyboard and low volumes may cause buyers to think twice before purchasing.
The Good: This is a basic camera flip phone which boasts a VGA camera, Bluetooth and a WiFi receiver for connecting to wireless networks. It looks attractive with a brushed aluminium finish and has a keypad which is spacious and easy to use when dialling by feel. The phone has a variety of personalization options and expandable memory via a Micro-SD card.
The Bad: Although the phone has both an internal and external display, both are very small (less than 2 inches diagonally) leaving items on screen looking cramped and hard to read. Also the external display cannot be used for photographic Caller ID. The VGA camera provides lackluster picture quality.
The Bottom Line: This is an adequate phone for first-time buyers but what does give it great appeal is the inclusion of wireless connectivity, allowing the making of low cost VoIP calls and web surfing on pre-configured wireless networks. However those wanting something with a little more ‘jazz’ may wish to look elsewhere.
The Good: The Samsung T409 is a mid-range phone with a simple feature set, featuring internal and external displays, a 1.3 megapixel camera, support for e-mail and the most popular instant messaging clients and a WiFi receiver for connecting to pre-configured wireless networks. For ease of use the phone has a number of programmable shortcut keys and a hotlist where five ‘favourite numbers’ can be listed for easy dialling.
The Bad: Despite a wide range of photographic options, the T409’s camera is disappointing with pictures appearing washed out and hazy. The speakerphone also suffers from poor sound quality.
The Bottom Line: This phone’s greatest asset has to be, without doubt, the wireless connectivity which allows users to browse the web, make and receive VoIP calls thus saving money, particularly on long distance calls. The phone is simple yet effective and is more than suitable for business and leisure consumers alike.
The Good: This is a tri-band flip phone identical to the Samsung SGH-309 with the addition of Bluetooth and a different color scheme. It has a VGA camera on board with a variety of photographic options and picture resolutions. The phone can also be customized via a number of operational and thematic settings. Call quality is excellent both through the earpiece and when using the speakerphone.
The Bad: The phone is very pricy for the feature set. Both displays are hard to see especially in bright light. The keys are small and rather flat, making dialling by feel difficult and causing frequent mis-dials. Standby time is also disappointingly short, lasting just 3 days despite the rated 9.
The Bottom Line: This phone isn’t likely to win any beauty or technology awards anytime soon, and those wanting anything more than super call quality should probably look elsewhere.
