D-lightful! (Samsung SGH-D900)

Member Name: oxonian

Product:	Samsung SGH-D900
Date:	24/09/08 (261 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Slim-line, attractive, good price and clear sound quality.

Disadvantages: Camera and Video quality could be better, but is still of a good standard.

There are certain essential requirements I prescribe when I am looking for a phone - an attractive appearance, high quality camera, video recording capability, excellent standard games and MP3 ringtones.

When I looked through the spec of the Samsung D900, it initially seemed to satisfy all of these criteria. Unsurprisingly I wasted no time in buying it. Would it ultimately prove to be the ideal phone?

Camera
======

Starting with one of the most important details - the D900's camera is a 3 Megapixel, which along with the Ericsson K800i, was one of the first to boast this standard. The quality of pictures is quite high when pictures are taken in bright daylight - they tend to come out focused, clear and clean. However, in dim settings, the phone struggles to take a crisp picture. The autoflash does not do much to enhance pictures and they occasionally come out blurry.

Furthermore, when you press the button to take the picture it can normally take a while for the picture to capture, which is a huge frustration, because your subject matter may have moved in that time, and you are left with a mediocre and unfocused picture. This is a significant flaw.

Video
====

The video recording function is a lot better. Again, in dim settings, the quality is poor. The playback of the video is quite blocky, and jumps a lot, meaning you do not see seemless motions. Fortunately, again, in brighter lights, the video's are of much higher quality.

With regards to sound, I have taken the D900 to a couple of major music concerts, and visually the playback of what I have recorded is of a superb standard. As far as the sound goes, it is incredibly muffled and sounds terrible. One could argue that with such loud sounds, it is unsuprising that it comes out poor, but as my partner used the K800i which had greater capability to record the sound, there is an evidential flaw here. Overall the video function is good, but I'd recommend you to not use it to substitute a camcorder.

Appearance
========

Appearance-wise, the D900 is immaculate. It operates as a slide phone, which impresses friends and relatives more than the ordinary standard headset format, and is slightly more revolutionary than the flip phone. Mobile phones are evolving constantly, meaning they get smaller and thinner every year. However, given it's release was in 2006, the phone is thin and you can forget it is in your trouser pocket when you are sat down, which is very good for comfortability. The menu screens are also visually beautiful and well colour co-ordinated.

Sound
=====

Call sound quality is very high too. There is clear clarity from the speakers meaning I can hear my callers very well when in areas of good reception, and they seem to be able to hear me very well too. There is a loud speaker as well for those times when you either cannot hear very well, or if you HAVE to talk to someone while you are driving and are not in possession of a hands-free kit.

Games
=====

As far as games go, you do not have to worry about the archaic likes of Snake. You are able to purchase the latest games via Vodafone Live/Gameloft or what ever provider you use. I have Guitar Hero III Mobile, Sonic The Hedgehog 1 part 1, Tetris, Weakest Link and other great titles on my phone which provide relevant entertainment in times of silence and boredom.

Ringtones
=======

Ringtones are excellent, and your own MP3 song files can be used as your ringtone. This however is presently standard on every phone that is produced these days. In the current market, you'd look pretty foolish if your phone rang audibly in the street and it was a polyphonic ringtone. Luckily this phone ensures that you avoid this embarrasment.

Extras
=====

Other extras are that you have Bluetooth connectivity, 60MB of internal memory and allowance to 1GB with memory card. You have 1000 entries available with the Phone's phonebook, and 100 with the Sim phonebook, and with messages you have an allowance for 200 with phone memory, and 15 with the Sim. There are speed dial options, Internet browser, Music player, Image editor and Voice recorder.


Personal opinion
===========

Overall, I fully recommend this phone, because generally it is very easy to use and does all the things you need a modern mobile to do. It is slightly out of date compared with the likes of the iPhone and Nokia N95, but it is still a modern phone with some excellent up to date features. However, if you are looking for exemplary camera and video quality, there are better phones on the market that offer more enhanced quality.

I purchased this phone for £60 on ebay, and it was in new condition. It has never let me down, had any buttons go missing or malfunctioned ever, so I have no complaints. There are better options, but they are not cheap. However you will find this at a lot of retailers at the £60 region for new condition.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Excellent general phone!

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Sound quality:
Variety of features: