The SGH-A777 comes in blue (pictured here) and red.
(Credit: AT&T)Never one to rest on its laurels, Samsung has released yet another phone with a slim slider design. AT&T's Samsung SGH-A777 is the latest in the company's Boeing series, as we've come to call it. It started with the A707 and then proceeded to roll out the A717, the A727, the A737, the A747, and the A767, all for AT&T. Yes, the company skipped over the A757 but we still like the analogy. The only trouble is that the phones don't resemble the corresponding airplanes in any way. If that were true, then the A747 and the A777 would be the coolest phones ever.
The SGH-A777 (we're guessing that it replaces the old Samsung SGH-P777) offers a solid midrange feature set with a 1.3-megapixel camera, a music player, messaging and POP3 e-mail, GPS with support for AT&T Navigator, voice dialing and commands, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. It is a quad-band world phone and the 3G support brings AT&T Mobile Music. The handset comes in red and blue but the features are the same on both models. You can get it for $79 with service and a mail-in rebate.
The Samsung Behold makes its debut.
(Credit: Samsung)As we told you last week, the Samsung Behold (aka the SGH-T919) officially went on sale Monday at T-Mobile. You can get it for $149 in two colors: espresso (brown) or rose (pink).
Just as we're dishing this news, a review model of the Behold landed on our desk. We'll give it a full shakedown tomorrow, but off the bat we can report that the glossy touch-screen phone has a sleek design. It may not have a particularly unique style, but it is attractive and has a nice feel in the hand. What's more, the display is bright and vibrant.
Features include Samsung's TouchWiz interface, a 5-megapixel camera with flash and video capture, a full Web browser, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, a microSD-card slot, and GPS. Also, in addition to being a quad-band world phone, the Behold is compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network.
Stay tuned for a full review.
The The Samsung Gravity is a messaging phone.
(Credit: T-Mobile)Samsung continued its fall deluge of new phones Thursday when it introduced two cell phones for T-Mobile. The Samsung Gravity is a messaging phone in the style of the recently-announced Samsung Rant, and the Samsung Behold (we don't know where Samsung comes up with these names, either) offers a full touch screen.
Though we thought the Rant was Samsung's answer to the popular LG Rumor, we see now that the Gravity (aka the SGH-T459) more closely resembles the LG phone. Features include a slide-out alphabetical keyboard for rapid messaging, a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, and a microSD-card slot. It will be available in lime or aqua on November 17.
The Samsung Behold has a full touch screen.
(Credit: T-Mobile)From what we can tell, the Behold has a sleek design, but we're not sure it's a sight to behold. Like the new Samsung Delve dropped by Alltel one week ago, the Behold (aka the SGH-T919) has a full touch screen with a virtual keyboard. Yet, its few physical keys more resemble those on the Samsung F480, which was born last February at the GSMA World Congress.
Features include Samsung's TouchWiz interface, a 5-megapixel camera with flash and video capture, a full Web browser, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, organizer features, a microSD-card slot, and GPS. Also, in addition to being a quad band, the Behold will be compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network. The Behold will go on sale beginning November 10, and will be available in black or light rose.
The Samsung's Highnote's most prominent feature is its scrollwheel.
(Credit: Sprint)Samsung has been spinning out new cell phones left and right since the start of the month, but it is using the CTIA fall 2008 show to showcase its newest and flashiest models.
One of its most promising handsets is the new Samsung Highnote for . Positioned as a music phone to replace the and the LG Muziq, the Highnote offers all the usual comforts of a Sprint music phone including access to the Sprint Music Store. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera, a 262,000-color display, a 3.5mm headset jack (yay!), support for Sprint's 3G EV-DO network and Sprint TV, messaging and e-mail, Sprint's new One Click interface, personal organizer options, stereo Bluetooth, a Web browser, speaker-independent voice dialing and support for Microsoft Live Search.
But the real appeal of the Highnote comes from its sharp and sturdy design, which we had a chance to examine yesterday. Available in blue or red, the slider phone casts a slim profile (4.0 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.6 inch). Yet there's more to this handset than meets the eye. Similar to what we first saw in the Nokia N95, the Highnote has a dual slider design. Slide it up to expose the keyboard and slide it down to show stereo speakers. On the whole, it appears to work quite well.
The Samsung Highnote shows its speaker
(Credit: Sprint)The navigation array is also worth a look. Inside a raised silver ring is a nifty, user-friendly scrollwheel that allows for easy menu navigation. Unlike the Upstage, the Musiq, and the LG Fuziq, all of which just teased us with something that just looked like a scrollwheel, you can actually move your finger all the way around the Highnote's wheel in a full circle. What's more, since it's not a touch control you also can use the wheel as a toggle by pressing in the traditional up, down, left, and right directions. A convenient OK button sits in the middle of the toggle.
The silver ring surrounding the toggle isn't quite what it seems, either. It's actually composed of four controls: a clear button, two soft keys and the Talk and End/power keys. yet, we had mixed feelings about these controls. Though we like their location and tactile feel, the individual buttons are thin and the whole arrangement seems a tad cramped. We'll save our final verdict until we give the Highnote a full shakedown.
The Highnote will be available next month for an affordable price of $99 with service. We'll have a full review just as soon as Sprint places a Highnote in our hands.
The Samsung Rant in red.
(Credit: Sprint)Is it just us, or is this deja vu? If we didn't know any better, we've seen one of Sprint's newest cell phones before. The Samsung Rant, which Sprint introduced Wednesday as CTIA Fall 2008 began, looks a lot like the year-old LG Rumor. It has same basic candy-bar shape with similar dimensions (4.5 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.7 inch) and it sports a full QWERTY keyboard hidden that's hidden behind the sliding face. And like the Rumor, the Rant is aimed directly at messaging addicts.
So what gives? Has Sprint run out of ideas? Well...not really. Take a closer look at the Rant and you'll notice that it shows some differences from its LG lookalike. The navigation toggle is square instead of circular, the remaining navigation controls and keypad buttons have a different design and the phone has a certain something that gives it a bit more style. Sure, the Rant still looks like a workhouse, but we like the colored ring that surrounds the sharp display and navigation array. The Rant is offered in three colors: red, black, and an eye-catching purple model that's available exclusively at Best Buy.
The Rant in purple.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)The Rant, aka the SPH-M540, also offers some feature improvements over its predecessor. Inside you'll find a 2-megapixel camera, e-mail and messaging, support for Sprint's 3G EV-DO network, Sprint TV, a music player with access to the Sprint Music Store, Sprint's new One Click interface, GPS with Sprint Navigation, speaker-independent voice dialing, Microsoft Live Search, stereo Bluetooth, and personal organizer applications.
Two of a kind? The Samsung Rant (right) and the LG Rumor.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)We got the opportunity to handle the Rant yesterday. On the whole, it appears to have a solid construction, and it has a comfortable feel in the hand. The controls seem user-friendly, and the keyboard in particular has a spacious design. We imagine that this phone will have a lot of appeal for frequent texters. The only thing we can't get over is the name. We're guessing that the messaging-centric phone will allow users to go on a texting "rant," but we're still scratching our heads. We're also imagining the pun-heavy headlines like the one we used above.
The Samsung Rant will be available next month for just $49 with service. We'll have a full review just as soon as we can secure a test model.
Samsung SGH-A137
(Credit: Samsung)Though AT&T has yet to concur, Samsung has added a new AT&T cell phone to its Web site. Samsung originally told us about the new phone earlier this week, but we were expecting that they wouldn't actually launch it for a few days. But in any case, the SGH-A137 isn't too much to get excited about. The simple flip phone is so basic that it doesn't even offer an external display. The feature set is centered squarely on making calls and messaging but it offers a couple of extras including a music player and Bluetooth. Pricing isn't available yet but it should be headed for AT&T's Go Phone prepaid service. The SGH-A137 is the fifth new phone that Samsung has introduced this week. Though none of the new handsets are groundbreaking, there is plenty of room in cell phone land for basic handsets.
Thanks Phone Scoop.
Samsung Knack SCH-U310
(Credit: Samsung)Just a day after it launched three low-end cell phones, Samsung extended the basic handset love to Verizon Wireless on Wednesday. The new Samsung Knack, aka the SCH-U310, offers a simple flip-phone design in silver and gray. Features include messaging, voice commands, personal organizer options, a 2.5mm headset jack, and a 65,000-color display. The Knack (we're scratching our heads at the nickname as well) is $39.99 with service. We'll have a full review by next week.
Samsung SGH-A237
As soon as Labor Day passes, the autumn onslaught of new cell phones begins. Sure, the holiday season may still be far off, but manufacturers such as Motorola and Samsung waste no time in rolling out their new handsets. On Tuesday, Samsung debuted three new models, the SGH-A237 for AT&T and the SPH-M220 and SPH-M320 for Sprint. Though none of the models will send shivers up your spine, Samsung is as eager as ever to prove that not all if its cell phones need to be fancy and pricey. And on that front, the company usually succeeds.
Samsung SPH-M220
(Credit: Samsung)The SGH-A237 is a curvy flip phone in red or blue. The feature set fits the Samsung mold of a low-end camera phone. Inside you'll find a VGA camera, e-mail,messaging, Bluetooth, personal organizer options, a wireless Web browser, a voice recorder, a vibrate mode, and a speakerphone. The SGH-A237 is $19 with a two-year contract and a $30 mail-in rebate.
Samsung SPH-M320
The Sprint handsets are almost the same, except that the M320 offers a VGA camera and a voice memo recorder. Features shared between the two handsets include messaging and e-mail, voice dialing, personal organizer options, a speakerphone, Bluetooth, a vibrate mode, and support for Sprint's NFL Mobile Live application. The M320 is $19 and the M22 is $29, both with a two-year contract. We'll have reviews of all three models in the next few days.
Samsung Impact
(Credit: Samsung)Having sold 161 million handsets worldwide last year, the Korean phone maker certainly has its sights set on consolidating its number two position with a strong lineup of handsets for the second half of 2008. Among the new handsets showcased at CommunicAsia this year are the recently announced Omnia (or i900) PDA-phone, a candy-bar version of the Soul slider called Soulb, as well as the new bar-type L700 handset.
Samsung has also added two new entries to its Connected phone series, the 3G-enabled J800 slider and entry-level M150 candybar, and beefed up its Essential category lineup with the Samsung Impact, Impactsf and Impactb. (Samsung currently splits its phone offerings into six different categories: Style, Multimedia, Connected, Essential, Infotainment and Business. The Omnia is under the Infotainment series, while the Soulb and L700 fall under Style.)
The new mobiles are expected to launch in selected markets across Asia over the next few months. The Korean chaebol will also be demonstrating its latest Mobile WiMAX technologies, including the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over the Mobile WiMAX service.
Samsung Instinct
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)The Samsung Instinct, Sprint's answer to the iPhone, finally has arrived. It's been two months since we first saw the slim touch-screen cell phone with a boatload of features, but now we've had the opportunity to kick its tires and run it through its paces. What we found is an innovative, powerful and easy-to-use device that matches the original iPhone in many ways. The Instinct's appealing design and plentiful features, particularly in the messaging and GPS areas, push it to the forefront of Sprint's lineup. Things got a little shaky on the performance side, but on the whole the Instinct is a cell phone worth knowing. It goes on sale June 20 for a still undetermined price, but we know it will cost less than $300 and it will require a Sprint "Simply Everything" plan. Until you can get one of your own, you can check out our full Instinct review or you can peruse our Instinct slide show.
