Samsung U600 Review by 3G.co.uk editorial staff.
Samsung has built on the success of the Ultra Edition range launched in July 2006 with its new Ultra Edition 2 handsets launched at 3GSM 2007.
The Samsung Ultra Edition 2 portfolio consists of two stylish and functional sliders, the Ultra Edition 10.9 (U600) and the Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700); a metallic clamshell, the Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300); and a candy bar handset, the Ultra Edition 5.9 (U100).
We are reviewing the Samsung U600 which is a quad band GSM compatible, with GPRS / EDGE data capability. The 3G version of the U600 is the U700.
We immediately confirm that the U600 is the slimmest slider we have seen to-date. At only 10.9mm deep I wonder if we are approaching “Size Zero” for mobile phones ( “size zero is well known in the fashion industry where thin models strive to become size zero ).
The Samsung U600's vital statistics are :
Length : 106.4mm
Width : 43.6mm
Depth : 11.7mm
Weight : 81 g
So, the U600 gets off to a storming start in the beefcake stakes. However, don’t forget the length of the U600 does expand to around 146mm with the slider open.
We really do wonder how much thinner phones can get without skimping on the much wanted feature set. So have Samsung skimped on features – let’s find out.
Firstly colours. Samsung has confirmed a range of colors including sapphire blue, garnet red, copper gold and platinum metal. The only colour currently available in the UK is the sapphire blue version.
3G Shop is currently selling a lot of the Samsung U600s and it's main selling point is that it’s a small, good looking and well featured handset.
Like the majority of sliders, the U600 has a spring loaded case which seems to operate smoothly and functions well. Only time will tell if the slider action will deteriorate, which sometimes happens with certain slider phones, as reported by members of our 3G Forum.
I hear alarm bells ringing when I look at the slider spring ( see photo 5 ). It is visible when the slider is open and holds the whole slider together. If the spring fails or falls off then the slider action is seriously impaired. You have zero chance of refitting this yourself. Lets hope that Samsung’s quality control is therefore up to par for this spring and the spring mechanism design.
For a small slider phone, the Samsung U600 has a generously sized screen :
- QVGA resolution : 240 x 320 pixels
- 2.22 inches corner to corner : 34 x 44mm
- 262,144 colours : VGA TFT LCD
A useful feature for outside use is the “Sunlight Mode” which effectively gives optimum contrast setting for outdoor use in bright light conditions.
I do not intend to relay where which controls / buttons are etc. as they can clearly be seen on Photo 4. Suffice to say that the left and right touch sensitive soft keys, navigation keys and the touch sensitive End and Send keys are designed for ease-of-use and this works for me.
However, some people may not get-on with these as there are quite sensitive and you may require some time to adjust these.
I think the keypad is nifty. Its a flatbed design with partioning ridges so in theory you could use it in the dark with no backlight. The backlight does however make reading the keypad numbers highly visible in white.
The 3.2 megapixel is located rearside ( see Photo 5 ) and becomes visible with the slider open.
The main attributes of the camera are :
- 3.2 megapixels, Digital zoom x4, LED flash, autofocus, fullsize portrait/ landscape view, single / multi / Mosaic shot, white balance / ISO. A very impressive list indeed. The maximun resolution for the camera is 2048 x 1536 pixels.
Of course, a xenon flash would produce better results than a basic LED flash but that’s Samsung’s call. The camera is a good example of what’s expected these days. The resultant photos were found to be more than adequate in the viewing and focus stakes. The brightness level was fine and the colours were natural looking.
The feature rich U600 plays multiple audio formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, and WMA. You can utilise the U600's Bluetooth capabilities with a wireless stereo headset, allowing you to remotely control your music player, or transfer your music at fast speeds using USB 2.0.
Alarmingly, you can’t use your own headphones via a 3.5mm socket or adapter because there ain't one - so you are stuck with the supplied stereo earphones plugged into the multi-function jack.
On-board is an ICEpower Mobile chip which seems to be a stand alone amplifier for music playback – something to do with increased volumes with better noise reduction. There is also an FM radio included. The overall comment with regard to the music player is that it’s no music maestro but produces acceptable results.
The phone has 60MB of user memory itself whilst a microSD card will provide up to an extra 2GB. A microSD card is not supplied which seems excessively mean. Hot swapping is enabled. Samsung has allocated a maximum storage allowance for 200SMS and 1000 phone book entries. A 2GB microSD card would provide up to 150 of your tunes to be stored at any one time.
USB connection has three modes : PC studio, modem and mass storage. Usual method of attachment via USB to your PC. Bluetooth 2.0 is provided for a number of functions such as hands free, headset, file transfer, printing, A2DP plus more.
A nice feature is that search, email, and instant messaging is available through Yahoo. This is offically called Smart UI / Smart Search / Smart Messaging / Smart LCD. This also allows you to search your phone for files like with a PC.
Also included and worthy of mention is : calender, scheduler, calculator, document viewer, mobile printing, converter and OPUS (Optimized Power Usage Solution).
Supplied in the box we found : User Manual, Standard battery, Travel adaptor, Stereo headset, OC datalink kit and Sansung PC Studio CD-ROM.
The power situation seemed good with the battery lasting over 50 hours of our testing. Please note we did not play much music. Just to confirm that the Samsung specification confirms a Talktime of 4 hours and Standby time of 270 hours with a recharge taking about 2 hours. Battery life duration is assisted by the Optimized Power Usage Solution (OPUS) which has been added to Ultra 2 handsets.
The Samsung U600 is a definate step-up from the Ultra 1 handsets. It’s a handset that may be approaching size zero and yet fully loaded in terms of a feature set. It will sell well because it’s a likeable slider.
Our verdict – a straight down the middle slider handset which will appeal to the masses. Probably more favoured by men than women – at least until they bring out the garnet red version. |
