Samsung MM-A880 review (Sprint)

The 1.03-megapixel camera takes pictures in 1,152x864, 640x480, 320x240, or 216x176 resolution. Other options include a flash; three quality modes; a 5X zoom usable at only the lowest resolutions; a brightness setting; a white-balance control; a 5- or 10-second self-timer; 10 fun frames; and seven color tones, such as Cool, Sepia, and Aqua. The camcorder can record 15-second videos with sound and editing options similar to the camera's. If you press and hold the camera button with the cover closed, you can use the external LCD to take a self-portrait.

When done with your photos and videos, you can send them via a multimedia message, upload them to Sprint's Web site, or save them to the phone's memory. You can even assign a stored video clip to play on the internal display during incoming calls. Like the Samsung MM-A800, the MM-A880 supports PictBridge, which enables you to connect the phone to a compatible photo printer with a USB cable. From the camera menu, a link to Fujifilm.com lets you order prints directly. Despite these nice camera-related options, we found the picture quality to be lacking, especially for prints.

If you'd rather be entertained instead of doing the entertaining, you can use the MM-A880's media player to download and play videos and music from Sprint. You can preview channels from Sprint TV, including NBC Mobile, Fox Sports, and the Weather Channel, before purchasing them for $9.99 per month. We watched some samples that we found entertaining, but the overall quality was blurry, and there were several hiccups. Since Sprint's videos run on a 2.5G 1xRTT network, data speeds are anywhere from 50Kbps to 70Kbps compared with to 300Kbps to 500Kbps on Verizon's 3G V Cast service. Also, since video clips play at 15fps, as opposed to the 30fps that you'd see on a television set, don't expect too much from the experience. In addition to video, you can stream music.

The MM-A880 can be personalized with a variety of screensavers and sounds. If you're bored with what's on the phone, you can download more with the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. You can also download ring tones and 3D Java (J2ME) games, but the only installed title is a demo of Ms. Pac-Man.

We tested the dual-mode/triband (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800) Samsung MM-A880 in the Chicago area on the Sprint PCS network. Call quality was good on our end, and callers had few complaints, saying we sounded clear even when we used the integrated speakerphone. On our end, however, the speakerphone volume was low, and cranking up the volume only caused distortion.

Battery life was also impressive. We reached 4 hours of continuous talk time from the lithium-ion cell, beating Samsung's rated 3.3 hours. According to FCC radiation tests, the MM-A880 has a digital SAR rating of 1.38 watts per kilogram and an analog SAR rating of 1.48 watts per kilogram.