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| Samsung SGH-A777 |
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 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 Saga |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Saga may not be the powerhouse update to the Samung BlackJack II that we saw in the Samsung Epix on AT&T, but its still a likeable phone nonetheless, and in a couple surprising ways it actually trumps its GSM brethren. The Saga is actually larger than the Epix, but it's styled better, with a nicer paint job, a wider, circular optical mouse and a great QWERTY keyboard. We were especially fond of the messaging features, though some of these come at a premium. The Samsung Saga is one of the few dual-mode phones on Verizon, so if you must use The Network, with the Saga you can use it abroad. It's also one of the few Verizon Wireless phones with Wi-Fi, which it uses well with the Opera mobile browser. There wasn't much to alleviate the pains of Windows Mobile on this phone, but for WinMo fans, this phone is a-ok. Release: November 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Nice design, with a larger optical mouse than other Samsung phones. Great keyboard. Opera mobile browser is top-notch.
Cons: Nothing added to make Windows mobile easier to use. Web browser is nice, but why no add-on media player, or Instant Messaging apps?
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67%
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| Samsung Omnia |
| Full review » Scoreboard » Features » Gallery » |
 The Samsung Omnia is the latest in Samsung's TouchWIZ phones for the U.S. market, and also the most advanced, as that TouchWIZ interface here runs atop Windows Mobile 6.1 instead of a standard carrier OS. This idea of creating an overlay to improve Windows Mobile is all the rage right now, but instead of making things easier, the Samsung Omnia is more confusing and difficult to use. There are a few things this phone does well, including DivX movie playback and Web browsing, courtesy of Opera. But for the most part, there are better all-touch smartphone options for Verizon Wireless. All in all, we think the concept of TouchWIZ on multimedia phones works better than using the widget-based UI to turn a Windows Mobile phone into a multimedia powerhouse. There's no doubt about its potential, but eventually the overall experience left us feeling seriously annoyed. Release: November 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Good Opera Web browser with cool 'upshifted' navigation. Fine camera with auto focus and loads of pixels.
Cons: TouchWIZ experience disappoints when running atop Windows Mobile. Confusing redundancies in the interface.
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64%
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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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