Review of Samsung Magnet SGH-A257 – low end messaging phone

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Good call quality, slim design, gQWERTY keyboard is comfortable to use, the handset has preloaded messaging clients, has the capability to sync numerous e-mail accounts.

Thumbs Down:

Low end camera, the orange body color makes the phone unattractive.

Inside the Trunk:

Technology: GSM
Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)
Phone design: Candy bar
Caller ID: Yes
Other features: Speakerphone, Voice recorder, Vibrating alert, VGA camera,

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Samsung Magnet SGH-A257 has a 2.2 inch TFT LCD display which gives a resolution of 176×220 pixels or 65k colors. Display languages include Spanish, English and French.

The 800 mAH battery of the handset has a rated talk time of 300 minutes and stand by time is 250 hours. The 0.3 mega pixel (VGA) camera of the phone can take image in 2 resolutions of 640 x 480 and 320 x 240, has 4x digital zoom and self timer delay is 10sec, 5 sec and 3 sec.

Downloadable content include screensavers, video files, audio files, wallpapers, ring tones and games. The device comes preloaded with messengers like Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger), AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM) and Yahoo! Messenger.

The phone book has a capacity of 500 entries with 20 entry memory each for missed calls, received calls and dialed numbers.

Razzle Dazzle:

Samsung Magnet SGH-A257 is a really slim phone with an unusual orange color on the body. We didn’t like the color much, we prefer phones in black or white. The handset is 0.4 inches thick, 2.3 inches wide, 4.2 inches tall and weighs 3 ounces. We won’t call the phone sexy or even pretty looking but the slim design fits comfortably in the tightest of pockets.

Inside Dope:

Samsung Magnet SGH-A257 is a phone for people who need a good messaging phone but aren’t enthusiastic about other features much. Usually such intimidating full size QWERTY keyboard is seen on high end smart phones and Samsung has given us an entry level messaging phone with QWERTY keyboard. Phone manufacturers are mostly making slider phones for QWERTY keyboard and a candy bar phone with such full set of keys is rare.

The display of the phone is a very tiny, it measures just 2.2 inches and gives a relatively small display of 176×220 pixel resolution. Considering this is an entry level messaging phone, the tiny screen will do. However, the display isn’t sharp, the text isn’t clear but it is still readable. You can change the backlight time, wallpaper, and menu themes and styles.

Below the display there is the navigation array which consists of four way directional button with a center OK button, message shortcut, clear and back button, end and talk button and two soft keys. The soft keys and the end/talk buttons which are located outside were easy to press but the rest of the buttons which are on the inside are cramped. We pressed the wrong button lots of times in our lab tests.

The phone is made for people who message a lot and it will be clear with the full size QWERTY keyboard on its body. We expected the Magnet to have a good keyboard because it is a messaging phone. We were disappointed; the keys are decent but were a bit stiff to press. The number keys are colored in orange and are dedicated keys at the bottom for applications, games, instant messaging and camera.

The phone is good when it comes to messaging capabilities, it has Mobile Mail app to connect to variety of accounts like Earthlink, Comcast, Windows Live, AOL, Yahoo, etc. We tried syncing the handset to our Yahoo account, it gave us a “communication error” at the first attempt but we tried once again and everything went fine. It takes a long time for the phone to retrieve messages. The phone comes preinstalled with three messengers, Windows Live, Yahoo and AIM.

On the side of the phone, there is a proprietary jack for power connector and headset along with the volume rocker. Reference material and power adapter come bundled along with the device.

The phone has a 500 entry limit phone book (we would have preferred a 1000 limit) a single entry takes multiple numbers, notes and e-mail ID. Photo caller ID, custom ring tones and group ID are all supported on the handset. Other features on the phone include currency converter, task list, calendar, WAP browser, multimedia and text messaging, vibrate mode, speakerphone, three-way calling, quad-band world roaming and Bluetooth.

The Magnet has a VGA camera with self timer and 4x digital zoom. There are three choices to choose from and you get settings for effects and white balance. Picture quality is awful just like a standard VGA camera. For storing your photos, the handset has 16 MB of internal memory.

We tested the Magnet for call quality and it was excellent. There was no background noise when we were on calls and the audio was clear and crisp. Our friends too gave similar results; they said they could hear us clearly. Speakerphone quality too was really great, we didn’t have any problems of echo and there was no sound distortion when the volume was pushed to the limit. Bluetooth calls too were very clear.

800mAh lithium ion battery of the phone gives talk time of five hours and standby time is ten hours. In our labs, the battery lasted for about 12 hours which is more than double the rated talk time.

Nitty Gritty:

Samsung Magnet SGH-A257 is a good messaging phone; it is made just for messaging, calling and nothing else. Get this phone if you are looking for a low end messaging handset.