Samsung SGH-D820

The Samsung SGH-D820 tries to cater to the slim craze that’s still persistent years after the RAZR was introduced, but with a twist: a slider form factor that Samsung is quite well known for. The yet to be announced [Motorola ‘Capri’->Motorola Capri: A Slider RAZR?] comes to mind when we talk of a slim slider, so let’s see if Samsung’s early offering is going to make a dent in the sales of the ‘Capri’. As mentioned, the SGH-D820 is a stylish black, slim, slider, but it still ends up quite wide and broad like the RAZR. At first look, it doesn’t look as sleek, but it turns out a lot smaller when slid up. The weight is more or less the same at around 100gm. The D820’s most apparent feature is its big, 2.1-inch, hi-res QVGA (240x320) display which is great to view videos photos and any other content, but in some cases, the fonts are too big so, for example, you can’t read a full text message in just one screen. If they had maintained the perfectly readable font size used in the 176x220 resolution phones, they would have utilized the resolution a lot better. In effect, it ends up being just a same-resolution but larger size screen. The keypad on the D820 is quite roomy and tactile, but the same can’t be said about the ‘C’ key which is rather wide but not tall enough. You may end up clicking the down direction D-pad button instead of ‘C’ a few times before you get used to it. The camera on the D820 is only 1.3 megapixel - a bit low considering the D600 had (has?) a 2.0 megapixel camera. But the D820 is cheaper than the D600, so there’s your explanation. The quality of the camera is also ‘just fine’ - not too great, not too shabby. The camera lens can be rotated inwards to take self-portraits, but it’s not too easy to do so as there isn’t any slider button like my SGH-E880 has. VCD-quality video recording is also possible. Media support is basic - an MP3 and AAC player is available. MP3 and AAC ringtones also supported. Quality is only fair - you can’t compare to the Sony Ericssons. The provided handsfree/earphones go well with the phone considering the “only fair” quality. There is no way to plug your own earphones to it directly, but you could try and connect the included AV cable audio jacks through an RCA to stereo jack wire to pipe the audio to your headphones! Storage space onboard the D820 is about 73 MB and there’s also a microSD memory card slot to add more. Unfortunately, there is no FM radio tuner in the D820. On the connectivity front, we have Bluetooth and USB. There’s no IrDA. Also available is TV out - videos and music on the phone can be played back directly on the TV using the composite AV cable provided in the box. Phone functionality wise, the D820 offers GSM/GPRS/EDGE support with an XHTML, WAP 2.0 browser. SMS, MMS, Email - everything is here. And last but not least, the battery lasted for an average of 3.5-4 days on standard usage. The Samsung SGH-D820 costs Rs 15,000 at the “Best Buy” price, which makes it a decent buy considering the screen size and the TV out functionality and, of course, the look and style. If you’re looking at a slightly more functional phone, consider the D600 with a 2 megapixel camera and, on the other hand, if you’re looking for something stylish only, maybe you’re better off with the RAZR V3i. Pros: Big high-resolution screen, stylish slim slider form factor, TV-output, decent price Cons: Camera is just 1.3 megapixels and relatively low quality, big screen space has not been utilitised properly, can’t connect own earphones/headphones to the phone directly. Rating: 3.5/5