Samsung U700

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39030107,49292405,00.htm

Reviewed 24 August 2007

Reviewed by Patrick Wignall

The U700 is the latest in a long line of slim slider phones from Samsung that boast supermodel looks. But this handset has brains as well as beauty, thanks to support for the latest ultra-fast 3G standard.

Our phone was supplied by Vodafone, which offers it free on contract.

Strengths
The first thing you notice about this handset is its brilliant display. Not only is it big, bright and colourful but it also has a crisp 240x320-pixel resolution that's ideal for viewing Web pages using the built-in browser.

In fact, access to the Web is one of the areas that this phone excels at. Sure, the large screen is a bonus in this regard but what's even better is the support for HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), the next generation 3G standard. It allows the handset to connect to the Web at speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, and certainly it felt blisteringly quick while we were browsing sites via the Vodafone Live service.

As this is a 3G handset it's also equipped with twin cameras for video calling. The one on the front is the usual low-resolution affair but once you open the smooth slide mechanism the rear mounted 3.2-megapixel snapper is revealed.

This has both a micro mirror for taking self portraits and also a flash for shooting in low light. The shots it takes are above average as the autofocus keeps everything nice and sharp and images have natural-looking colour. A slight bit of smearing in the detail means it's not going to replace a dedicated camera but it's still pretty impressive.

The handset's slim and light design means it feels comfortable to hold, and battery life isn't too bad either -- you'll get around five hours of talk time out of it.

Weaknesses
The version of the phone we had was decked out in a silver and grey colour scheme. From a distance it looks a million dollars but when you're up close the finish is actually a bit plasticky. If you're thinking of purchasing the handset you might be better off opting for the alternative dark grey and black version.

Another issue we had was with the controls. The touch buttons that are positioned under the screen look great but you don't get any tactile feedback from them, so they feel a little bit strange to use at first. Sometimes there's also an annoying lag between tapping the buttons and the phone registering the key press.

Also, although the centrally mounted dial acts as both a scroll wheel and four-way navigation key, it doesn't work well at either function. Often you'll find yourself skipping over icons in the main menu that you are trying to select.

The handset can be used as a music player but it's not a very good one. Although the supplied headphones have decent sound quality, navigating tracks is a nightmare.

The phone doesn't present you with artist, track and album menu options. Instead it just lists all the tracks held on your memory card and then allows you to manually sort them into artist and album categories. Most of the time, you're left just scrolling through very long lists of track names until you find the one you want to play.

Conclusion
The U700 is a bit of a mixed bag. It looks good, has a brilliant screen and really is a blistering performer for viewing Web sites. However, there are times when the touch buttons and wheel make it feel quite awkward to use. The interface for the music player is also woeful. It's certainly not a bad handset but we don't think it's a great one, either.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday