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Samsung D900 (a.k.a 12.9) Review |
amnesia
Joined: Jan 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Doha, London, Tokyo, Shanghai
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Many apologies for the delay in this review. I have had it for a week now and have been busy sorting some odd jobs now I'm back from vacation.
I'm recentely reviews the X820, an amazingly thin phone as many would agree. However, I'm the person who wants to take nice snaps now and then. I tend to always need to take a picture when I don't have my T7 Cybershot with me, even though that cam is equally as slim.
So you want to have the ability to take photos, plug it into a tv, have a fast UI and not sacrafice bulkiness I hear you say? Good thing Samsung have graciously given us the D900.
The Ultra range's boxes are all the same. Slim and nano like. The front of the box lifts up to 'reaffirm' that "yes you've just gone and bought a super slim phone".
Alright, lets open the box. Slipping the package out, we see that the contents are nicely packed in. You are greeted with the traditional configuration of plastic in plastic in plastic. No problem, I don't care about the plastic, give me the phone!
Holding it in your hands compared to the X820 isn't fair. It's double the thickness. Nevertheless, seeing it laying flat on the table is amazing as it's super slim. Add to the fact that it feels oh so rubbery (like the D600) and you've got a phone you just want to rub while it's in your pocket. Be carefull though!! You don't want people getting the wrong idea.
So who is this phone for? It's pretty much for anybody to be honest. Someone who wants to turn a few heads (before it's well known). It takes great snaps with it's 3MP camera, has an amazing crisp and smooth screen (QVGA), and a some features which you can't help but smile at.
The design is slim, as you should already know by now, it's a bit wide, but that's only because of the 'Razr effect'. You want something slim? It's got to be a bit wide. It's a mesh of rubber and gloss. The gloss does look nice, however as we all know, it's a finger print magnet. I wouldn't touch the phone with oily fingers either since you'll stain the rubber.
The screen is very very nice. The images are vibrant and very smooth. The brightness is also very good and reading messages in direct sunlight is good.
The new UI system is also something I like alot. The icons look nice and everything is organized. You no longer have the option of four color 'skins', you now have a dark theme and a light theme. It seems as if you may be able to install OTHER themes onto it. It comes with a theme called 'theme'. This makes the main wallpaper change depending on the time of day AND by country. Yes you heard me correctly. When I was in Qatar, it was a picture of a Sand Dune with a clear blue sky in the morning (how stereotypical, ah well), on my flight to the UK, it changed to a picture of Big Ben with birds flying in the sky. I was quite impressed to see that. When there is NO signal detected, the wallpaper changes to a green hill with blue sky. Additionally, when dialing a number, the background turns into a 'polaroid' and the numbers appear to be written underneath it with a pen. Very nice. I'd like to see some of the other themes though.
The 3 MP camera has a fast refresh rate and is indeed a marvel, this is only the case with alot of light. In low light areas, there is a lag. Yes there is a video option built in. The compression ratio is also improved compared to older models. You have the usual special effects and frames to mess with. Pictures do look very nice on the phone. I've yet to transfer any, I hope to add some soon though. You can change shutter sound, zoom sound, frames, effects, size, etc... The usual.
The speaker is very loud although, and this is a big although, some people do not like to REMOVE the plastic off the screen. If you do NOT remove the plastic off the screen, you'll end up blocking the speaker and the sound will not be clear at all. This means the speaker is also the ear peice, so sadly you'll either have to remove the plastic or cut it and place it back.
One of my favourite functions of the phone is that you can lock the menu. You can either lock it so that if someone tried to access the whole menu they need to enter a code, or you can lock the messages area only (or the files specifically). I love such a function! I don't know why other phones don't have this feature. It's now common with the new Samsungs.
It also has features such as Sonic Wellness (which plays a song and clip on your phone) which is supposed to make you feel better and relax you. It has a built in answering machine, for those who don't want to use their voicemail. Hmm oh, you'll notice, if you buy the phone, that the screen turns off and doesn't display a clock. They've done this to save battery. Holding the volume battery, you'll get the date, clock, missed calls and signal level. Nice little summary.
Yes there is loud speaker.
Yes you can choose vibrate and ring and the same time.
Yes you can select custom ringtones.
No you cannot select custom text message tones.
I also have quite a few greyed out menus which is strange.
Now I've covered the basics and given you all the story, I'll mention a few of the specs.
Specs:
80 MB internal memory, micro SD support.
Quadband
Features: mp3 player, bluetooth, PC Sync, Sound recording.
3MP Camera
Screen: 262K internal screen (QVGA)
System: Generic Samsung
Sound: one speaker.
Main feature: slim.
Battery Life Talk: 6.50 hours (390 minutes)
Standby: 260 hours (10.8 days)
Alright, what's in the box? You get the charger, cable to plug the phone into the tv, headphones, battery cover, battery, and syncing cd. Sadly, no micro card comes with it. I purchased one for around 20 pounds for a 1gb. I thought I'd need some more room.
When you first switch it on, you see a smooth animation and the phone automatically searched for the appropriate settings, if not available, it'll set the default.
It appears that this phone comes in grey and black. This is the black version which I have.
As mentioned, the keypad is great. It's nice to press, has a glossy surrounding and is easy to get used to the keypad layout. All is well.
When I slid the phone up, I noticed that sometimes it does not 'lock' into place. It may be the phone that I have, but when it doesn't lock up, it wiggles. Pressing firmly when sliding up solves this.
Sound Quality on the phone is great. No thinness of bass, no tinny sound, no problems that I could notice.
Video:
Video was actually pretty good. It was smooth and didn't show much pixelation. Good thing it has a high frame rate. 29fps I think.
Organizer.
Calendar, tasks, notes, secret memo, alarms, timer, stopwatch, record sound, calculator and world times, and a few games. Oh and don't forget the menu lock.
Phonebook
The phone book is nice and simple. A few taps and you're away.
Settings
Also known as the Control Panel. Anything is accessible. From brightness of the screen to sound quality.
You are able to change skins, wallpapers, ring tones, and even the sound the phone makes when you dial a number, switch the phone on, or cycle through menus.
Pros
Amazingly thin..
Fast bluetooth.
Great screen.
Very fast menu system. (VERY VERY VERY fast)
3MP
Cons
No radio (not really needed but would have been nice)
Slide doesn't lock all the time (might be just my phone)
My verdict? It's battery holds on long enough for me, it looks nice, has a great screen. What else could you want. Get this now or wait for the 3G version in december.
the best place to get a great deal is Fluid Mobile 
http://www.fluidmobile.com
or Compare a Deal
http://www.widgx.net
Here's a bunch of pics.
TIP:
to everyone, there IS a full screen view. Samsung just doesn't mention it on the phone.
Pressing 1 changes the phone to full screen view
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[ This Message was edited by: amnesia on 2006-08-21 03:10 ] | |
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fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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my review not good enough for you?? 
fatreg
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amnesia
Joined: Jan 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Doha, London, Tokyo, Shanghai
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there's always room more reviews. I personally can't get enough of them.
I love seeing loads of pics and various opinions when researching.
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fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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fair point..
one thing i find fooking annoying is i cant out the charger in that easily.. i cant get the cover off with ease at all..
think its coming off for good soon..
fatreg
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amnesia
Joined: Jan 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Doha, London, Tokyo, Shanghai
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mine is alright, but then again, I've got small hands.
Does yours not 'click' properly when you slide it up sometimes?
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Miss UK
Joined: Jan 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
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Whats it like in comparison with the D600? Is it the same or bit different
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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call me narrow minded but i just can't seem to get into these funny looking slim samsungs that are hitting the market at the moment...not my cup of tea at all.
I'd rather stick with my phones with some pedigree..no prizes for guessing which ones.
[addsig] |
amnesia
Joined: Jan 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Doha, London, Tokyo, Shanghai
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@miss uk, it's much better than a D600, think of it as a major upgrade.
(side note: sorry for not getting back to you about the perfumes, I only had a few days left and a ton of jobs to do)
to everyone, there IS a full screen view. Samsung just doesn't mention it on the phone.
Pressing 1 changes the phone to full screen view
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Miss UK
Joined: Jan 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
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Amnesia,
It's looks alot like a pancaked out D600..
it also has similar specs aswell of what ive read upon it only thing thats different is the camera (Correct me if im wrong)
has it got the animated menu?
what about option to change and download more sms tones?
that really bugges me about the D600 but nothing else tbh... 
Did you buy the Micro SD from your hols?
£20 is cheap for a 1GB I paid "25 for a 256 enn at start of yr when I got the D600 
Bout the perfume,
Thats was al'rite you couldn't get it cos as it was my birthday last tuesday my friend bought me a bottle of it
An "Apple" a day keeps the Doctor at Bay! |
fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@ amensia is yours a european model?
i didnt get a tv cable with my phone...
fatreg
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Miss UK
Joined: Jan 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
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is your's on orange reggie?
if so perhap they nicked it out the box lol
my D600 has a Tv cable int even touched any of the wires/headphones with it tbh, but it is unlocked good thing about o2 that 
An "Apple" a day keeps the Doctor at Bay! |
fatreg
Joined: Jul 26, 2003
Posts: > 500
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well its fro orange miss uk but its generic...
so i dunno..
fatreg
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Miss UK
Joined: Jan 11, 2003
Posts: > 500
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o2 seem to have the sim free boxes of phones and all they do is add a few o2 startups onto there handsets so becoz orange like diddling bout I guess they have got there own box and have took the cables out
that has always put me off bout orange that,
even with the sims they charge you £15 if you loose emm rite?
ive had 2 sims this yr off o2 nil charge
btw get back on this phone,
is it really that better that I should upgrade to it December?
it looks nice buit it looks to much like a D600 still and it's basically the same features
Anyone know if Samsung is bringing anything else out before I upgade bigger internal memory or sumat? or 5 Megapix camera lol I'll be lucky
Laters
An "Apple" a day keeps the Doctor at Bay! |
amnesia
Joined: Jan 15, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Doha, London, Tokyo, Shanghai
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@miss uk, the UI is completely different from the D600, has quite a few nice options as mentioned above.
The screen is also QVGA, super smooth. I think it's a major jump compared to the D600. However if you can hold out to december and can sacrafice .6mm wait for the 3g version
@fatreg, it's the middle east version. Asia and Middle East models have the tv cable. Europe and US dont get it. Strange, the phone is 190 pounds in Qatar, it costs less than the UK and we get more
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[ This Message was edited by: amnesia on 2006-08-21 23:33 ] |
Mulder7
Joined: Apr 01, 2006
Posts: 221
From: Never, Never Land
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I wonder how this would look compared to the LG chocolate? I have been eyeing up an upgrade and I have gone from the K800 to either this or the LG. Still not sure and reviews like this really do help me. Thankz amnesia
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Posted: 2006-08-21 00:32
