Samsung SGH D900

In the past year or so we’ve read about the growth of obesity in America and around the globe. Fat is out and thin is in. Mobile telephony is experiencing a similar health problem. Since Motorola released the Q offered by Verizon, mobile phone manufacturers have designed and marketed the thinnest mobile phones possible deploying current technology. Just as anorexics starve themselves into non-existence, Samsung, Motorola and Rim, among many companies, compete to produce mobile phones less than 50mm’s wide with less powerful batteries, reducing talk time and data use. Samsung’s Blackjack, released by Cingular, even includes one extra battery. Running on its 3G network drains the Blackjack faster. T-Mobile’s Dash is slightly better on talk time while RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl provides better-than-average talk/data specs. Even Palm’s Trep 680, the upgraded version of the popular 650, requires daily charging. In fact, Palm recommends “topping off” your battery daily.

The Samsung SGH-D900, a quad frequency smartphone for worldwide use, continues the trend. It’s rated at 6.5 talk time hours; however, combining average data and voice use, I clocked about 3 hours before the battery drained, similar to the Nokia N80 superphone and most Verizon and Sprint CDMA phones. The new Ultra edition 12.9 offers an exceptionally gorgeous display. This slider phone fits easily into your pocket or purse and resembles Samsung’s Blackjack with its ergonomic,textured backing. Fitting comforably in your hand, the
D-900's 80MB of internal storage plus a memory chip expansion slot is quite sufficient. The slider smoothly opens to reveal the numeric keypad and offers easy access to every menu function by pressing no more than three keys, while the center D button offers quick access to three apps plus a short-cut menu. The latter menu accesses up to nine applications. The stereo speakers on the front of the phone are loud without distortion. Reception is excellent. The music player is decent and the camera’s 3.1MP lens with auto focus and fast zooming, combined with built-in picture editing software, takes excellent pictures and videos. On the other hand, the Openwave browser lacks true HTML. The single proprietary port for power charging and a mic/headset is inconvenient but acceptable. The built-in email client restricts downloads to 300Kb—sufficient for person-to-person emails but insufficient for lengthier messages. One caveat: My unlocked D900 roamed consistently off T-Mobile’s network to Cingular, T-Mobile’s roaming partner. This is only a concern if your carrier charges extra when roaming. In sum, the Samsung D-900 has many admirable qualities. If you're looking for a mid-priced smartphone and email and internet browsing are not high on your list, the D-900 is an excellent choice.