Samsung SGH-D357 review (AT&T)

You can personalize the Samsung SGH-D357 with a variety of wallpaper, color skins, and tones. If you want more options, you can download them via the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. You get one Java (J2ME) game (Bobby Carrot) and demo versions of Tetris, BlockBreaker, and Jamdat Bowling. Of course, if you want more, you can always buy the full title. The phone's total memory for downloads is 4MB.

We tested the triband (GSM 850/1800.1900; EDGE) Samsung SGH-D357 in San Francisco using Cingular's service. Audio quality was clear, with little static and interference. Callers could tell we were using a cell phone, but they didn't report any significant problems. Call volume was another story, however. Although it was adequate for most conversations, we had a hard time hearing our friends in noisier environments, such as when we were walking along a busy street. It was also difficult to hear a call inside a crowded room, so users with hearing impairments should test this phone first.

Speakerphone calls were largely the same; there were clear signals but not enough volume. We successfully paired the Samsung SGH-D357 with the Plantronics Explorer 320 Bluetooth headset, and again, calls were clear, but volume was low. Push-to-talk calls were static heavy at times but sufficiently loud.

The Samsung SGH-D357 has a rated talk time of 5 hours and a promised standby time of 8.3 days. In our tests, we met the rated talk time but got a disappointing 5 days of standby time. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-D357 has a digital SAR rating of 1.37 watts per kilogram.