The world's thinnest slider phone (for now) also boasts a 3-megapixel camera and a stylish interface. Does the sleek Black Carbon belong in your pocket?
Review summary of the Samsung SGH-D900:
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 As a stylish slider, the Samsung SGH-D900 "Black Carbon" is worth a look, if you can overlook some imperfections. The menu system is very convenient, and the interface in general was a pleasure to work with. The 3-megapixel camera puts the phone ahead of the mass of camera equipped handsets, but the slow interface resulted in many failed shots, and the lack of good software on the PC means this camera phone is not for novices. This may make a great companion for those who want a sidekick to their larger digital SLRs, but don't toss your mid-range digital for this phone. Stereo Bluetooth support is great, but we could do without the tiny document viewer and too-technical e-mail setup. Release: October 2006. Price: $400.
Pros: Ultra-thin design; 3-megapixel camera; stereo Bluetooth headphone support.
Cons: Poor reception; no IM support; camera requires a steady hand while focusing; sup-par management software for the PC.
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Full Samsung SGH-D900 Review:
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Design
Samsung released the Black Carbon with the claim that it is the world's thinnest slider, and, at press time, we couldn't find anything thinner than the SGH-D900's half-inch (12.9mm). The phone has a glossy, fingerprint prone front with rubberized sides and backing. An easy-to-grip bezel helps open the slider with a crisp snap, revealing the 3-megapixel camera on the back. Similar in form to the Samsung SGH-E900 (read our full review)
, the D900 is a bit taller and wider, though about 5mm thinner.
Calling - Very Good
Calls on the Black Carbon sounded very good; our buddies heard us loud and clear. However, we encountered a slight hum on calls, which careful searching through the phone's menus chalked up to a "Voice Clarity" setting. Turning the feature off eliminated the problem. Samsung is selling the phone as a global phone, which means it is available unlocked without a carrier. In our tests in New York City, we found the phone got fairly weak reception on T-Mobile's GSM network, two or three bars on average, though this didn't offend the sound quality. Conference calling was inconvenient, requiring some menu digging, but Bluetooth setup was easy and the speakerphone was clear and fairly loud. The address book is rather robust for a non-smartphone, with while-you-type searching and several fields for contact information.
Messaging - Good
The Black Carbon does a fine job handling SMS and MMS messaging, though it lacks any IM client. Incoming texts displayed a healthy 120 characters, still shy of our preferred 160, but we were happy with the ability to resize text on outgoing messages, allowing us to fit a full 160 on screen. The phone is capable of checking POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail accounts, but setup was difficult. The Black Carbon's keypad is elegantly backlit in white and sits completely flush with the bottom half of the phone. But typing was harder than it looked and accurate typing required us to keep an eye on our fingers. Unlike the flush keys on the RAZR, the SGH-D900's keys have a soft, comfortable feel with plenty of action.
Camera - Good
The Samsung SGH-D900 features a 3-megapixel camera capable of very good images, if you can hold it very still. Unlike most digital cameras that let you focus by pressing the shutter release half way, the SGH-D900 begins a lengthy focus and shutter routine after you click, requiring a steady hand while it works. We took solid landscape shots outdoors, but portraits or low-light pictures ended up blurry or stretched as we pulled our hand away too soon. The camera also lagged from shot to shot, with about a three or four second load time. Strangely, images go to the phone's ample 60mb of memory, instead of your memory card, and you have to copy them to the card later. The Samsung PC studio is lousy at photo management, unreliable at transferring files and lacking in any organizational editing software for images, which keeps this handset from being a real camera-phone contender. PictBridge printing via USB or Bluetooth is a nice addition, but we prefer working off our PCs.
Odds and ends
The menu system on the phone is similar to that on the Samsung SGH-E900, with embedded pop-up menus that show two levels at once, saving some digging. It is a convenient way to navigate menus that we'd like to see more often. The phone also features a music player, capable of handling not only AAC and MP3 files, but also Stereo Bluetooth headphones, the setup of which is a snap. An included document viewer, a variant on the Picsel software we admired on Samsung's IP-830w, handles Office documents and PDF files cleanly, though zooming was a multi-step process and input is out of the question.
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Samsung SGH-E900
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Score: 67% When: June 2006 Worth: $400
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With its slick look and touch-sensitive buttons, the import Samsung SGH-E900 slider lives on the cutting edge of style. Will its stereo Bluetooth support help it tackle the music phone behemoths?
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Samsung SGH-T629
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Score: 55% When: September 2006 Worth: $100 - $250 Carrier: T-Mobile
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A sleek slider that boasts Bluetooth, 1.3-megapixel camera, and an MP3 player, the SGH-T629 is full of fun features. But how good is this fashionable handset for making routine calls?
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Price and availability
Available immediately directly from Samsung for $399.99.
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