Beyond the basics, the Messager II has Bluetooth with a file transfer profile, voice commands and voice dialing, USB support, and can run a handful of applications including Loopt, MetroNavigator, Mobile IM, @Metro e-mail, premium directory assistance, Pocket Express, and MetroBackup. Your exact selection will vary by carrier. The handset also supports additional content downloads through the WAP Web browser and MetroWeb. The Messager II has 40MB of internal memory, but you get additional storage with an external memory card.
The 2-megapixel camera takes pictures in five resolutions, from 1,600x1,200 pixels down to 176x144 pixels. Other editing options include five quality settings, four color tones, an adjustable ISO, a night mode, a self-timer, three white balance settings, spot metering, series and mosaic shot modes, a digital zoom, and adjustable brightness. Its camcorder options are similar, though not as plentiful. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at 30 seconds, but you can record video for a much longer time in standard mode.
When finished shooting, you can save videos to the phone's internal memory, or you can transfer them off the handset in a multimedia message or via the memory card. Its photo quality was quite good for a 2-megapixel shooter. Our photos showed natural colors and not too much noise. Lighting was a bit tricky--either too much or not enough--but that's expected on a camera phone. Its video quality was just average.
The Messager II's music player is standard for a Samsung device. The interface is simple and easy to use, and the scroll wheel is convenient for scanning through a long list of songs. The player supports album art and even lyrics for some songs. You also can set an equalizer visualization. Additional features include playlists and shuffle and repeat modes. However, its music quality isn't great over the external speakers, so we suggest using a headset.
You can personalize the Messager II with wallpaper, alert tones, and a banner. Additional customization options and more ringtones are available. The handset doesn't come with any games.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1,900; AWS) Samsung Messager II SCH-r560 in San Francisco using MetroPCS' service. Call quality was mostly satisfactory. We enjoyed clear conversations with enough volume and little static or interference. Voices sounded mostly natural, through there occasionally was a robotic effect on our end. It wasn't a big deal, but it was there. Its speakerphone calls were loud and relatively clear.
On their end, callers reported few problems beyond some background noise. Most of our callers were satisfied with the voice quality. They could tell that we were using a cell phone, but that's a common experience. If we were in a loud place, we had to speak at a loud volume to be understood. Calls to automated systems were fine, but we had to be inside. Bluetooth headset calls with the phone were decent.
The Messager II has a rated battery life of 4 hours talk time and 12.5 hours standby time. in our tests, we found that the Messager II has a rather short talk time of 3 hours and 1 minute. According to FCC radiation tests, the Messager II has a SAR of 1.10 watts per kilogram.
What You'll Pay
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