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| Samsung SGH-A777 |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung SGH-A777 is the perfect example of today's mid-range feature phone. The phone packs almost all of the features we like to see on a 3G phone, but none of them are terribly exciting. There's a few bells and whistles, but no real innovation here. In fact, in terms of hardware design, this is one of our least favorite Samsung sliders, as the company has produced some slick models in the past. For the price with a contract, we're not sure the SGH-A777 is worth the upgrade over the Samsung SGH-A737, as GPS navigation is just about all you're getting for $80 (at launch), but if that price drops to nil, this would be a better choice for someone who wants a basic, easy slider to just barely keep up with the Joneses. Release: December 2008. Price: $80.
Pros: Feature-rich slider with all of AT&T's standard 3G multimedia apps. Nice paint job.
Cons: Boring menus and interface design. Hardware didn't appeal to us as much as other Samsung sliders. Nothing exciting here, just the standard carrier stuff.
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55%
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| Samsung Behold |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Behold reminds us quite a bit of the Samsung Instinct. It's not quite smart enough to be an iPhone clone, but it's still a good phone in its own right. In fact, in terms of call quality and calling features, it's a great phone. But Samsung still hasn't nailed the touchscreen interface. In some areas, like the QWERTY keyboard, they've done a great job, and it works well. In others, like the home page widgets and the problems we had with scrolling and moving through lists, the problems make using the phone a real chore. The phone has a very nice music player, but lacks a standard headphone jack, which seriously hobbles its potential. It uses fast networking on T-Mobile's new 3G network, but the Web browser lacks the deeper options needed to unleash its full potential. It's a flawed device, but not fatally flawed, and hopefully Samsung will work out most of these TouchWiz UI kinks as more of these phones come to market. Release: November 2008. Price: $80.
Pros: Responsive screen. Great call quality and calling features. Fine music player.
Cons: Scrolling issues hurt using the interface. Widgets might not work at this size. Web browsing and video player both mediocre.
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63%
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| Samsung Rugby |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Rugby occupies a prime spot in AT&T's Push-to-Talk lineup. Unlike every other major PTT provider (Sprint, of course, and also Verizon Wireless), AT&T has focused primarily on smartphones for walkie-talkie use, including the Palm Centro, the AT&T Tilt and every model of BlackBerry device. The Samsung Rugby is the carrier's only real rugged phone, and this phone is indeed quite rugged. We washed the Samsung Rugby under a faucet, hit it with a motorcycle (check out our video of the incident, filmed up close and in slow motion with the Casio Exilim EX-FH20), and obnoxiously abused it, and the phone held on like a champ, though our small bike did dent and scratch it a bit. We were surprised to find the phone runs nearly the same multimedia interface as the Samsung Propel we recently reviewed, and we think it could use more of a corporate or workforce update to focus on features that walkie-talkie users prefer, like contact list with synchronization and corporate e-mail support. Instead, the phone has AT&T Music and a few e-mail presets, and even these are buried under the aging menus. It's a fine phone for calling and walkie-talkie use, but we think its time for AT&T to re-imagine their interface as they branch out into new phone categories. Release: October 2008. Price: $130.
Pros: Very rugged. PTT offers unique calling features. Good GPS service, surprisingly adequate Web browser.
Cons: We'd like to see more corporate and on-site features, like corporate e-mail and contacts sync. Multimedia features so buried, why bother?
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61%
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| LG Lotus |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The LG Lotus is about as smart as a phone gets before we call it a smartphone, thanks mostly to Sprint's excellent new One Touch menu application. Despite its haunting resemblance to a compact makeup mirror, we even like the form factor, as it provides a nice, comfortable QWERTY keyboard and keeps a classy look. The external screen is unfortunately an afterthought, even with the dedicated music keys, and call quality could have been much better. But for dedicated messaging fans, even those with corporate e-mail to read, this phone provides an interesting alternative to the more complicated smartphone set. Plus, with access to Google Docs, a capable (though not desktop-grade) Web browser and tethered modem support, maybe this phone is even smarter than we thought. Knock $100 off the price, and we'll take two. Release: October 2008. Price: $100.
Pros: One Touch is great looking and convenient. Keyboard is tall and comfortable. Capable Web browser. Surprisingly good (and corporate) messaging options.
Cons: Call quality isn't great. Interface could react more quickly to navigation. Camera is lousy. Phone is pricey.
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69%
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| Samsung Sway |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Sway continues Samsung's newest tradition of stealing phone designs from LG. The phone looks decidedly like the LG Shine, especially the slider version on AT&T. If you like the look of this phone, more power to you, because its shiny, brushed metal look and thin shell are this phone's upside. What really disappointed us, however, was an inefficient menu structure and less than great call quality. Furthermore, the phone didn't allow us to multi-task at all, denying us access to for instance text messaging while listening to music. The camera and Verizon Wireless' GPS navigation showed some signs of decent performance at advanced tasks, but with the lack of high-speed networking there are no other multimedia features of significance to be found, other than a mobile browser. Release: October 2008. Price: $70.
Pros: Nice design. Slim, tight slider shell. Camera was better than we expected.
Cons: Call quality suffered. Inefficient menu structure.
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49%
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