The struggle between designing compact cell phones and featuring large screens has prompted manufacturers to come up with innovative form factors. Initially flip phones were ideal, conservative in form, giving twice the surface area while keeping the same small size. But as the need to stay fresh, manufacturers came up with the slider, taking the same concept and applying a fun and hip new twist. Samsung SGH-P777 ClosedClosed, the SGH-P777 measures 92 x 46 x 24 mm and weighs 96 g; not tiny but comfortably small for fitting in a pocket. Having a metallic high-tech finish, the front contains a large 176 x 220 px screen capable of displaying an impressive 262K colors. Situated below, a 5-way navigation keypad is flanked by Dial / Menu Confirm, Power On / Off / Menu End, Cancel / Correct, and Left and Right soft keys. In idle mode, pressing the keypad activates the WAP browser. Turned around, the back features the lens to the built-in 1.3 megapixel camera. A mirror, revealed when the SGH-P777 is slid open, is located above allowing users to take self-portraits easily, while the flash and pin-sized hole for the camera microphone are situated to the right of the lens. Along the right side, an infrared port provides wireless transfers and synchronicity between PCs, while Camera and MP3 shortcut keys allow easy access to multimedia functions. Quick keys on the left side control ringer and speaker volumes during standby and calling modes, adjust keypad tone in idle, and is used as up and down navigational scroll. A proprietary 2.5 mm headset jack provides convenient hands-free access, while a port along the bottom provides charging and PC data link capabilities. Slid open, the backlit numeric keypad is revealed, otherwise tucked away to avoid misdials. While fairly standard, unfortunately the keys are flat to accommodate for the top sliding over, so there is not much feel while text messaging. Out of the box, the Samsung SGH-P777 comes with a standard 800 mAh Li-Ion battery, handsfree stereo headset, travel charger, USB data cable, hand strap, Software CD, and user manual.
The continual development of the latest mobile camera phones means that the future for both mobile phone and camera usage looks increasingly exciting. An innovative new device from Samsung is set for release in the Korean market and its design and specifications provide an interesting insight into the future of our multimedia handsets. In a stunning enhancement on the Samsung Pixon 12, the Samsung AMOLED 12M looks like successfully following on from its top-end predecessor. The most impressive addition to this handset is its 12.0 megapixel camera unit, complete with 3x optical zoom. On the face of it, to all intents and purposes this device looks like a genuine digital camera. Yet complete with its whopping 3.3" AMOLED touch screen, Samsung's AMOLED 12M does begin to look and feel like a mobile phone after all - so much so that they named its proud touch screen enhancement after the handset! Understandably the most advanced features of this phone are related to the camera. The AMOLED 12M boasts two LED and Xenon flashes, perfectly suited to day and night-time photography. If you are a particularly happy snapper, how does a two second shot-to-shot delay sound? Darn well impressive by any stretch of the imagination. The ability to stream terrestrial television via a receiver and a wide variety of online multimedia brings the Samsung AMOLED 12M into the next generation of camera phones. Mobile phone storage has been enhanced in line with the latest digital cameras, with expandable storage of up to 32GB with microSD cards to hold endless amounts of imaging, video and audio. At present it appears that this latest jewel in the Samsung crown will remain in the Korean market for the foreseeable future. However, do not rule out the possibility of this camera unit and its specifications appearing in the UK as the natural successor to the Pixon 12 in the not too distant future. |




