Samsung SGH-T709 hands-on impressions
Samsung made a big splash at CTIA with the T709, which is among the first UMA-equipped handsets (allowing for seamless Wi-Fi-to-cellular handoffs) to arrive stateside. Our first impression? Surprisingly small and light, with a comprehensive set of wireless configuration options.
Design
We went to our T709 demo expecting this sliderphone to be a big, ungainly black brick, but while the handset isn’t as pretty as, say, the svelte T509, it cut a surprisingly small figure. Measuring 3.7 by 1.7 by 0.9 inches and weighing in at just 3.3 ounces, the T709 felt compact and light in our hands. The phone slides open with a smooth, satisfying spring, revealing the keypad and a series of navigation buttons. The funky curved design of the numeric keys was a little tough on our fingers, but with a little practice we got the hang of it. The T709’s 262,000-color TFT display looked bright and vivid, but appeared a bit pixilated to our eyes.
Features
Seeing as the T709 was tethered to the Samsung display, we didn’t have much of a chance to roam with it between wireless and cell zones. However, we found plenty of promising options in the phone’s wireless settings, such as the ability to save network profiles and connect to encrypted access points. The EDGE-enabled T709 (no UMTS support, unfortunately) also boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera, an MP3 player complete with an equalizer and simulated surround-sound settings, and a speakerphone. Where’s the Bluetooth, you ask? Good question.
Pricing and availability
The T709 should arrive in the U.S. sometime in the second quarter, according to Samsung; pricing has yet to be announced.
Samsung SGH-T609
Following the unveiling of its ZX10 and ZX20 high-speed handsets, Samsung has announced the upcoming introduction of the SGH-T609 and SGH-T709 handsets later this year. A modest clamshell business handset and a high-end slider, respectively, the two sliders make for the latest addition to an increasingly expansive range of handsets from the Korean maker.
To join existing handsets such as the super-slim SGH-T809 slider and
the similarly anorectic MM-A900 clamshell, the SGH-T609 is a more paired-down handset with its quad-band GSM support and EDGE. Featuring dual colour screens, the internal of which is of the 262K colour variety, the handset offers an integrated e-mail client along with SyncML DS and DM support, enabling synchronization and transfer of PIM information as well as remote configuration by carriers.
Also equipped with a 1.3 Megapixel camera, the SGH-T609 shoots stills and records video to either its 32 MB of internal memory or microSD cards, from where the media player of the handset can also play back MP3 tunes and other media. Compatible with instant messaging services from AOL, ICQ and Yahoo!, the SGH-T609 is due out in the third quarter of 2006; no details on pricing as of yet.
The SGH-T709, meanwhile, offers nearly the exact same feature set as the SGH-T609 albeit with a few significant differences. First of all, the SGH-T709 is a tri-band GSM handset, and also lacks the microSD expansion of the SGH-T609. To mitigate this, however, it boasts something as unique as Wi-Fi connectivity, rendering it Samsung's first non-smartphone with such support for Western markets, and also supports video messaging.
Also equipped with speakerphone functionality, the 3.7 x 1.7 x .9 inch, 3.3 oz handset is due to hit shelves in the second quarter of 2006 - alas, with an as-of-yet unknown price tag.
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