You probably wouldn't expect much from a phone that cost only about $10 with a service contract. Chances are, you'd be downright suspicious. But the Samsung SPH-A560 for Sprint PCS may surprise you. It isn't anything James Bond would be caught carrying, but with a speakerphone and voice dialing, it offers more than you might assume. On the downside, the minimalist design will disappoint everyone but the most basic user. Also, the Samsung SPH-A560 lacks a Web browser, and its voice quality is unimpressive. We would pass on it for frequent chatting or if we had to pay the full price of $169, but if you can get it for nearly free and plan to use it only for emergencies, it's not such a bad choice. The compact Samsung SPH-A560 (3.54 by 1.85 by 0.99 inches and 3.35 ounces) has the same wedge-shaped top hiding its antenna as its similarly shaped but better-endowed cousin, the
Samsung PM-A840. Encased in a navy blue, matte-plastic faceplate with smooth silver edges, the A560 lacks any external adornment save a volume toggle and a headset jack on the left spine, a speaker grillelike design on the front (which is is actually a red message-waiting LED), and a real speakerphone grille behind the right shoulder. The phone has no external display, which means you have to open it to see the caller's identity.
Bare bones: The Samsung SPH-A560 has a simple design.
Inside you'll find a pedestrian display. Though it is bright and supports 65,000 colors, it's relatively small at 1.75 inches diagonally. You can, however, change the contrast and the backlighting, and larger fonts will help the vision-impaired make sure they've hit the correct keys. As with the Samsung PM-A840, you can program the five-way navigation toggles for direct access to specific functions. The phone also has two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, and a Back key. Above the toggle is a small speakerphone button.
The unimaginative but functional ice-blue-backlit keypad is a mixed bag. Raised ridges bracketing the 5 key barely make up for the nearly flush buttons, which make dialing by feel difficult. That said, the keys are a bit larger than those on the A840, lessening the chance for misdialing.
The Samsung SPH-A560's surprisingly--and probably unnecessarily--expansive phone book has room for 299 entries, with room for up to five numbers, an e-mail address, and a Web address for each. You can organize contacts into groups or pair them with one of 15 polyphonic ring tones, 20 polyphonic "melodies," and 9 monophonic tones.
