The Samsung SGH-i780 is a PDA (personal digital assistant) phone which packs a big touch screen, an intuitive optical joystick, a Qwerty keypad, a two-megapixel camera and is stylishly slim. Inside, there are more features such as HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) capability, Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS (global positioning system) and a multimedia player.

The SGH-i780 is more of a mini computer than a mobile phone.

The Qwerty keypad is comfortable, even for users who are used to alphanumerical keypads. The joystick is also a great tool for navigating menu items and moving the cursor without the use of the stylus.

Powered by the Windows Mobile 6.0 PPC operating system, the SGH-i780 is more of a mini computer than a mobile phone. A lot of useful programs are preloaded with the review unit, including Photo Slides, Podcasts, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Reader, Java, Bluetooth FTP (file transfer protocol), ActiveSync and Windows Live.

It also has extensive PIM (personal information management) features to help you organise. With Document Viewer enabling you to work with PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents, this model is ready to be your sidekick at the office.

You can take this gadget to Wi-Fi spots and access Internet with ease. It is easy to get connected, and if you are within areas where signal is stable, you can enjoy surfing, blogging, social networking and photo sharing quickly. Apart from Internet Explorer, the Opera browser is also preloaded in the review unit.

Another interesting feature in the SGH-i780 is GPS. As long as you can get good signals from satellite radio and your data subscription is on, you are good to go. This feature is handy for jet-setters and travellers who need help getting to new places.

The phone’s camera takes wonderful single, multi or mosaic shots. Still photos can go as big as 1,600 by 1,200 pixels at super fine quality setting. With photo effects, there is some room to be creative as well. There is also a three-, five- and 10-seconds timer function.

The camcorder function delivers video at 320 by 240 pixels in fine quality at its best. You can also make use of effects provided for the camera function.

There is a Windows Media Player and the less battery-consuming Mini Player to keep you entertained. With 120 megabytes (MB) of built-in memory, you can store a number of music and video clips. For more storage, the expansion slot is ready to take microSD card with capacity as big as 16 gigabytes – this is a value-added feature, considering other models available today allow up to 4GB expansion only.

Transferring data such as photos, music, video clips, and even work files to and from your PC should not be a problem, it is easiest and fastest via the USB (universal serial bus) connection.

The SGH-i780’s battery lasts for four days in idle state, while with typical communication activities including video call, Bluetooth and Web surfing, the phone can last for three days. With Wi-Fi activity, the SGH-i780 can last about two days.

Product: Samsung SGH-i780

Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics

Enquiries: Samsung Contact Centre

(Tel: 1800-88-9999)

Price: RM1,899

Specifications

Band: Tri-band

(GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz)

Network and data: EDGE Class 10, HSDPA

Operating system: Windows Mobile OS (v6.0, PPC)

Weight: 120 grams

Dimensions: 115.9mm by 61.3mm by 12.9mm

Display: 320 by 320, 2.55-inch, 65,000-colour TFT

Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Outlook Sync, PC Sync, Wi-Fi

Camera: Two-megapixel with digital zoom, brightness control, photo effects

Internal memory: 120MB (expandable to 16GB)