Samsung SGH-D840 Metal cellphone review

Written by me for ComputerActive magazine India

Specs:
Screen Details: 240 x 320 pixels - 262,144 colours
Network: GSM
Camera: 2 megapixel with in-built flash
Memory: 80 MB internal memory and External memory up to 2 GB
Connectivity: Bluetooth, In-built modem, USB
Media: MP3 players and video recording facility
Stand-by: Up to 220 hours
Talk time: Up to 3 hours 30 minutes

Flashing a silver body, a slider and thinnest dimensions, Samsung’s SGH-D840, a GSM Triband, immediately catches the wandering eyes. One of the three products launched in the ultra range ‘Metal series’ by Samsung, D840 slider is a mix of both metal and plastic. The metal feel is rendered to the overall body and the silver hue immediately reminds one of LG’s Shine. However, there is less of Metal in Samsung’s line up with much of the casing on the D840’s sides and back made of plastic. Only the front sliding section incorporates significant amounts of metal.

The forte of Samsung and its market strategy has always revolved around dimensionally sleek and thinner handsets, D840 being no exception. Overriding theme is of thin and sleek mobiles Samsung claims that the SGH E840 is the world’s slimmest slide-up metallic phone in the world. The phone is equipped with full mirror LCD, hidden touch keypad and 2.22” wide TFT LCD screen. The fairly wide screen has good display and is clear and bright. Inspite of its sleekness, this is a well built sturdy model
for those with butter fingers.

Sporting a large LCD display and minimalistic key pad on its front slider panel, D840 looks clean and stylish. Samsung’s hologram along the top of the screen adds up to the effect. Besides the elegant look, the phone is incorporated with high end multimedia features such as 2 mega pixel camera, FM Radio, MP3 player, Bluetooth, Mobile printing, document viewer and 80 MB internal memory with expandable microSD T flash external memory (upto 2 GB).

It features a good and easy to use interface. There is a little ridge just below the screen which you can grab with a thumb and the slide mechanism itself is ‘assisted’ – just a gentle push is all that’s required. Vibrancies in the colour display stands out and makes the screen look very appealing. The date and time are nice and large so they can be seen at a glance. The screen can however become smudged very easily through, especially from fingerprints.

As the slider slides up, beneath are a soft touch numerical pad. These soft touch buttons are smooth on your fingers with appropriate feel. Aligned below the screen are bunch of standard navigation buttons which are nicely designed and easy to use. Call and End buttons are fairly large and convenient to use. The menu keys, four in number, aggregate around the ‘i’ (OK) button. The ‘i’ button functions as central select key which doubles to start the Internet browser running. Under the navigation button is a long, thin delete key. Other features are similar, including a QVGA display, EDGE high-speed data,
music player, memory card slot, and USB with mass storage mode.

The camera quality, 2MP, as always with Samsung is a notch up. The flash assisted camera has good resolution and a clear display and incorporates a multi-shot feature too. Similarly, the Video recording offering four qualities achieve optimal results as well. The frame rate is appreciated. Sound quality even though not exceptionally good, is fair enough with disturbances at higher decibels.

Even though thin, the wide dimension can be a bit bulky on your pocket, however fortunately the weight is not a concern with approximately 100g on it.

Overall, this slimline from Samsung scores a definite plus and is surely worth a buy for all the features and quality it offers beside a perfect blend of style, function and durability.