Samsung M220 review (blue, Sprint)

The SPH-M220 shows nothing from behind.

The SPH-M220 shows a spacious and well-designed navigation array. There's a circular four-way toggle with a central OK button. The toggle is mostly flush but its bright silver color distinguishes it from the surrounding controls. You'll also find two soft keys, Talk and End/power buttons, and a Back button. These controls are raised above the surface of the phone giving them a pleasant tactile feel.

The beveled keypad buttons are spacious and tactile as well. Misdials were rare and we had no issues dialing or texting quickly. What's more, large numbers on the keys and bright backlighting helped eliminate problems when dialing in the dark.

Features
The SPH-M220 has a 599-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, a URL, an e-mail address, a nickname, and notes. You can pair callers with one of 20 polyphonic ringtones or you can compose your own ringtones using the integrated voice recorder. You also can assign callers a photo, but keep in mind that the image won't show up on the external display. Oddly, the SPH-M220 doesn't accommodate caller groups. That's a disappointing omission, even on a basic phone.

Other essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a scheduler, a task list, a countdown timer, a memo pad, a world clock, an alarm clock, and a calculator. Bluetooth is also onboard. That's always a welcome feature on a cell phone.

You can personalize the SPH-M220 with a variety of screensavers, clock styles, and greetings. You can download more options and additional ringtones with the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. The handset comes with demo versions of three games: Jeopardy, Galaga, and Burnout. You'll have to buy the full versions for extended play.

Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900) Samsung SPH-M220 in San Francisco using Sprint service. Call quality was quite serviceable and a stepup from the SPH-M320. There was little static or interference and we enjoyed enough volume. Our only complaint was that callers sounded slight breathy. There was a slight "fuzziness" to the voice quality that crept in from time to time. It wasn't a big problem, but it was there.

Callers said we sounded fine for the most part. Most could tell we were using a cell phone, but that's to be expected on such a basic phone. Some callers said the phone picked up a lot of background but that's wasn't a universal assessment. Automated calling systems could understand us most of the time. Speakerphone calls were about the same as regular calls, though the volume on our end was slightly lower. Also, we had to speak close to the phone in order to be heard.

The SPH-M220 has a rated battery life of 3.5 hours talk time. According to our tests, it has a tested talk time of 4 hours and 2 minutes. According to the FCC radiation tests, the Samsung SPH-M320 has a digital SAR of 1.08 watts per kilogram.