The VGA camera takes pictures in four resolutions and three quality settings. Editing options include a self-timer, four white balance settings, eight color effects, a night mode, spot metering, and three shutter sounds. The SGH-A167 does not record video. Photo quality was poor, unfortunately--colors were muted and most shots were blurry. The SGH-A167 has 4MB of user accessible memory.
You can personalize the A167 with a variety of wallpaper, background colors, and greetings. More options and additional ringtones are available from AT&T's Media Mall service using the wireless browser. The handset includes demo versions of three games--Platinum Sudoku, Ms. Pac Man, Super Jewel Quest, and Tetris--you'll have to purchase the full versions for extended play. You also get trial versions of three applications: WikiMobile, Mobile Banking, and The Weather Channel.
Performance
We tested the Samsung SGH-A167 in San Francisco using AT&T service. Keep in mind that as a dual-band (GSM 850/1900) phone, it will not work outside North America. Call quality was generally good. Voices sounded natural and the signal was free of interference, but the volume was a tad low. We could well as long as we were inside, but we had more trouble in places with a lot of background noise.
On their end, callers could tell that we were using a cell phone, but they didn't report significant problems beyond a couple of audio cutouts. It should be fine for occasional use, but we wouldn't recommend the SGH-A167 as your only phone. Speakerphone quality was average. The audio could get loud, but it was distorted at the highest levels.
The SGH-A167 has a rated battery life of three hours talk time and 10.5 days standby time. Our tests showed a talk time of 3 hours and 2 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-A167 has a digital SAR of 0.452 watt per kilogram.
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