Review: Though integrated cameras have become quite common in cell phones, video capability is just beginning to make its mark in the handset world. Enter the Sprint VM-A680, Samsung's first stateside videophone/camera phone and one of the slickest and smallest we've seen recently for Sprint service. Offered by Sprint PCS, the handset offers a smart flip-phone design, high-resolution displays, and extensive multimedia features. At $309.99, it's more than a tad expensive, but you should be able to find it for as low as $149.99 with service--and at that price it's a great deal.
Editor' ...
Expand full review Though integrated cameras have become quite common in cell phones, video capability is just beginning to make its mark in the handset world. Enter the Sprint VM-A680, Samsung's first stateside videophone/camera phone and one of the slickest and smallest we've seen recently for Sprint service. Offered by Sprint PCS, the handset offers a smart flip-phone design, high-resolution displays, and extensive multimedia features. At $309.99, it's more than a tad expensive, but you should be able to find it for as low as $149.99 with service--and at that price it's a great deal.
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more. The first thing you'll notice about the Sprint VM-A680 is its tiny size. Samsung managed to cram a lot into a compact (3.3 by 1.8 by 0.9 inches) and featherweight (3.4 ounces) package. It's hardly noticeable when carried in a pocket or a bag, but it still enjoys a relatively solid construction and a comfortable feel. Styled like many of Samsung's latest flip phones, the VM-A680 largely resembles the bulkier
VGA 1000, with its shiny silver finish, rounded edges, and stubby antenna.
But the newer handset improves on the VGA 1000's design by boosting the external LCD screen to 65,000 colors. Bright and vivid, the screen shows date, time, caller ID (where available), battery life, signal strength, and picture Caller ID. It also doubles as a mirror when the backlight turns off; just watch for smudges. The camera lens and the flash sit just above the screen--a placement far more convenient than that of the rear-facing lens on the VGA 1000.
![]() Samsung VI660, you also get a handy voice-recognition feature (with six command options) that's powered by Sprint's Voice Signal Technology.
![]() Samsung SGH-E715. It offers a wealth of options, such as a self-timer, a multishot mode (for shooting up to 15 frames in succession), a 10X zoom, and a tiny but surprisingly bright flash. And for extra zing, there are six choices of shutter sounds, including the attention-grabbing Say Cheese and a Silent mode. The pictures weren't the best quality we've seen, but you can choose between six white-balance settings, eight color tones, three resolutions (640x480, 320x240, 160x120), three quality settings, and 14 fun frames. Fortunately, you can use the fun frames and the zoom at any resolution--a marked improvement over the Sprint VM4050.
![]()  Kent German As a senior managing editor for CNET, Kent German heads up the CNET Reviews team in San Francisco. Formerly a cell phone reviewer, he still blogs about wireless news and offers his take on the wireless industry. When not at work, he's planning his next trip to Australia, going for a run, or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really). Average User Rating 3.5 stars out of 112 user reviews Rating Breakdown -
5 star: 35 -
4 star: 48 -
3 star: 13 -
2 star: 11 -
1 star: 5 My Rating 0 stars click stars to rate product Most Helpful User Review 4.0 stars 3 of 4 users found this review helpful Pros Fully Loaded with picture ******** and messenging features Cons weak battery life Summary This phone has good sound quality and feature packed the bad battery is weak you have to recharge it everyday Summary: This phone has good sound quality and feature packed the bad battery is weak you have to recharge it everyday Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 112 reviews) Thanks for your submission!
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