CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/22/2005
There's a postage stamp-size screen on the front cover of the Samsung SGH-D307 that shows the date, the time, signal and battery strength, and caller ID (where available), but we were disappointed by the fact that it's monochrome. For a phone of this class, we would have expected at least a 4,096-color display. That said, the text--the date, the time, signal strength, battery life, and caller ID--is clear, and it's always readable even if the phone isn't in use. There isn't too much else to the exterior of the phone: On the left spine, there's a headset jack, as well as a volume rocker, which you can use to manipulate the easy-to-use menu, while a lone voice-recorder/speakerphone launch button sits on the right.
So everything about the Samsung SGH-D307's design has been standard so far, right? Well, it's time to move on to the twist. The mobile features an innovative dual-flip hinge so that you can open it like a traditional flip phone or to the side to view the display in landscape mode. And once you do open the phone, you're presented with more treats: a gorgeous 2-inch-diagonal, 262,000-color screen and a mini QWERTY keyboard. The display is bright and sharp, as well as great for playing games and viewing Web pages. It's too bad the SGH-D307 doesn't have a camera, since the display would be ideal for viewing photos.
While we love the screen, we were less enthused with the navigation controls of the Samsung SGH-D307. To make way for the QWERTY keyboard, Samsung did away with the traditional soft keys and navigation toggle. Instead, the Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows are paired with the A, D, X, and W buttons, respectively; they also serve as shortcuts to Messaging, Address Book, My Media, and IM. In the center of it all is the S key, marked in orange, which acts the part of the Select key. The Talk and End/power keys (V and R) flank the Clear button (F), while the two soft keys are marked by three tiny dots above the Z and Q buttons. We certainly appreciate the keyboard and sleekness of the device compared with that of similar phones such as the LG VX9800 or the Motorola A6340, but this layout is confusing and takes some getting used to. What's more, when in landscape mode, the setup is even more perplexing because it's not clear which keys perform which functions indicated on the display. There are also no dedicated number keys when in landscape mode, and you can access only certain menu items and others not at all. We recommend that you sit down with the user guide to get acquainted before using the phone and firing off messages.
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