CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Phones
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Laptops
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» TV: Cameras
» infoSync TV » Review Center
» Digital Frontier » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Cell phones
Samsung SCH-A960, SCH-A930 hands-on impressionsBy Ben Patterson, 10 April 2006
GALLERY
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
It's hip to be square - and round. We get up close and personal with Samsung's newest music phones, the clamshell SCH-A930 and SCH-A960, both of which sport external track displays, microSD and more.

Samsung SCH-A960 hands-on impression

Samsung’s elegant SGH-A960 music phone boasts speedy network capabilities, a 1.3-megapixel camera, an integrated music player and a perfectly round external display. While it wasn’t officially on display at CTIA last week, we still managed to get a sneak peek.

Design

Talk about class: with its black-and-silver design and round external display that’s tucked in the upper-right corner of the phone’s face, the A960 makes a great first impression. The small external OLED displays the time in a variety of formats, including an elegant Roman-numeral analog clock and a red-and-blue digital clock, as well as song info when you’re cranking your tunes, while a small silver button just below the display lets you pause your music. Flip open the phone and you’ll find the navigational keys and the numeric keypad; we liked the sleek, rounded design of the keys, which are (thankfully) big and flat for easy tapping, while the sharp, detailed 262,000-color, 176 x 220-pixel internal LCD does an impressive job of displaying snapshots. At 3.5 by 1.8 by 1 inches and 3.5 ounces, the A960 fits nicely in a jeans pocket.

Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A960
Enlarge

Features

The A960 comes loaded with a strong feature set, including EVDO capabilities for speedy Web browsing and music downloads, a microSD flash-memory expansion slot, Bluetooth, PictBridge photo printing, and a speakerphone. Even better, the A960 comes with motion-detecting sensors that will, for instance, let you roll the dice in the handset’s dice game with a flick of the phone, according to a Samsung rep (we weren’t able to test this feature on the show floor, unfortunately).

Pricing and availability

The A960 is set for release in the second quarter of 2006 (despite the Sprint branding, no U.S. carriers have been officially announced); pricing has yet to be determined.



Samsung SCH-A930

Music fanatics who want an MP3-player look-and-feel from their music phones should check out Samsung’s SCH-A930, a new clamshell handset with a long, vertical external OLED that makes it easy to read track info for your tunes. We fired up the A930 on the CTIA show floor and cranked the volume.

Design

While this black-and-silver clamshell is almost exactly the same size (3.6 by 1.9 by 1 inches) as the A960, Samsung’s other new music phone, the A930’s clunky design makes it feel a bit more bulky, and at 4 ounces it’s about a half-an-ounce heavier. The phone’s vertically oriented external OLED sets it apart from the pack; while the long, monochrome display certainly didn’t blow us away in terms of resolution, it does a good job of displaying full track names and artist info (much like the old-school MP3 players of yore). A trio of buttons just below the display let you play, pause and skip your music tracks, while the swiveling camera lens up by the clamshell’s hinge makes it easy to snap self portraits. Flipping the A930 open, we liked the crisp 262,000-color internal display, and our fingers had little trouble with the big, flat numeric keys.

Samsung SCH-A930
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A930
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A930
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A930
Enlarge
Samsung SCH-A930
Enlarge

Features

The A930 comes with all the features we’d expect on a music phone, including EVDO for fast music downloads, a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a microSD flash-memory expansion slot, and a speakerphone with dual stereo speakers.

Pricing and availability

The A930 is slated for release sometime in the second quarter of 2006; while the phone’s interface looked suspiciously Verizon-like, no carriers (or pricing details) have been officially announced.
Best Multimedia phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Sony Ericsson W760 72% $360Unlocked
Samsung Instinct 72% $230Sprint
LG Chocolate 3 71% $100Verizon Wireless
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic 70% $50T-Mobile
LG Muziq 67% $150Sprint
Nokia 5610 XpressMusic 67% $100T-Mobile
LG VX8550 Chocolate 66% $100Verizon Wireless
Sony Ericsson W580i 66% $80AT&T
LG Decoy VX8610 65% $180Verizon Wireless
Helio Fin 64% $125Helio
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
RECOMMENDED
BlackBerry Storm vs. iPhone 3G vs. Omnia vs. Touch Diamond
 
T-Mobile G1: Will it kick some Xperia/Touch Pro ass?
 
CTIA blog: Hot hands-on previews
 
TOP STORIES
Six new cell phones and smartphones are now shipping
 
Top 15 smartphones
 
Top 15 cell phones
Best upcoming touchscreen smartphones
 
Hottest smartphones and cell phones coming in October
 
T-Mobile G1, Google Android in-depth look
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
» Top 15
QWERTY phones
 
All-touch phones
 
Touchscreen phones
Business phones
 
Multimedia phones
 
Concept phones
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
More...
» Search (New!)
Search by cell phone features
» Manual comparison (New!)
Select up to 4 cell phones side-by-side
» By release
September 2008, Q4 2008
» Top 15 by carrier
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Helio, Alltel
» Top 15 by user type
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
» Top 15 by brand
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Other
» Top 15 by platform
Palm OS, Symbian S60, Symbian UIQ, Windows Mobile
» Top 15 by cell phone type
Business smartphones, Multimedia smartphones
Consumer QWERTY phones, Multimedia phones
Concept phones
NOW IN PHONES
Pantech Matrix, Sony Ericsson W760 released by AT&T
 
LG Prada 2 slides out a QWERTY thumbboard
 
BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 review
 
BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 video review
 
Six new cell phones and smartphones are now shipping
Top 15 smartphones
Top 15 cell phones
Which is the best U.S. wireless carrier for your dollar?
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
HDTVs
CAMCORDERS
Refreshed VZW lineup
Hot WinMo Gear (!)
Touch me, if you Dare
MOTO flips out
Yes, Palm still makes good smartphones
Connecting People U.S. Tour
Chocolate to the masses
Who needs cell towers nowadays?
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2008 © infoSync World