There really are things that go bump in the night; Jørgen Sundgot and Samsung's SGH-Z300 3G music phone is one of them.
Cranking out phones like there's no tomorrow, it appears Samsung is trying to get an edge on every possible handset niche out there. Camera phones, 3G phones, swivel phones, smartphones, slider phones, music phones - you name it, they've got it. Merging two of these niches is the brand spanking new SGH-Z300, which is not only a petite 3G phone, but also incorporates dual stereo speakers for that little extra thump.
Focusing on music, the SGH-Z300 - not unlike the SGH-Z130 and SGH-Z500, two other recently introduced 3G handsets - has an MP3/AAC/AAC+ audio player and roomy internal memory; 50 MB, in fact. Where it differs is in its inclusion of dual stereo speakers, as well as an equalizer and overall improved sound quality. If you want to groove to the tune of your pants or simply impress those lowly ringtone wannabes, the SGH-Z300 is as elite as you'll get.
 | | Samsung SGH-Z300 |
It doesn't exactly hurt that the 89 x 47 x 26 mm handset also manages to pack a large, bright and typically excellent 262K colour TFT Samsung screen into a package weighing a modest 110 g either. There's also dual lenses; one 1.3 Megapixel and the other 0.3 Megapixel, proffering video calls as well as taking stills and recording video. The viewfinder is a tad on the slow side, but given the broad imaging functionality it's easy to forgive such a minor faux pas.
Like its recently introduced siblings, the SGH-Z130 and SGH-Z500, the SGH-Z300 offers an ergonomically sound and surprisingly large keypad with good tactile feedback and a so-so blue backlight. Almost flush with the interface, it lets users navigate the limited user interface, behind which runs a 3D accelerator - not that I could see any use for it, though. A microbrowser supporting WAP 2.0 is also present, as is support for J2ME MIDP 2.0.
 | | Samsung SGH-Z300 |
Last, but not least, Samsung can also revel in the praise I'm about to lavish on the company for opting for a mini USB connector as opposed to a proprietary solution in a mass-market handset: finally, a major handset maker that just gets it. Sadly, I'll also dole out an equal amount of scorn for Samsung choosing the highly unpopular TransFlash memory card format - but hey, they can't get everything right, either.
Due out this June in Europe, the SGH-Z300 will offer GSM tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz and WCDMA 2100 MHz connectivity when hitting shelves; as for its price, your guess is as good as mine.
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