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Samsung T119 Phone T Mobile

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T Mobile Shadow Phone Sage T Mobile

Despite being a feature-rich, Windows Mobile 6-powered smartphone, the T-Mobile Shadow is designed to reduce the complexity often associated with many smartphones while maintaining all the powerful calling, messaging and picture sharing capabilities you expect. The Shadow’s enhanced user-interface is based on the Windows Mobile 6 operating system, which enables you to view and edit Word and Excel documents as well as view emails in their original HTML format and enjoy quick access to contacts with the ability to search a call history and contacts database.

This slider phone offers a large, brightly colorful 2.6-inch LCD screen and spinning scroll wheel for easy navigatoin. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth for handsfree communication and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (up to 4 GB), built-in Wi-Fi networking, quad-band GSM connectivity with EDGE data services, and up to 5 hours of talk time. The copper version of the Shadow comes with an extra extended life battery for even more talk time.

The easy-to-use T-Mobile Shadow smartphone provides access to personal email and IM buddies, ability to edit Microsoft Office documents, and quick connection to your Fave 5.

T-Mobile Service
The Shadow operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via T-Mobile’s EDGE network (which stands for “Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution”). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

It’s compatible with T-Mobile’s myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts–on any network, even landlines–without using any of your minutes. Learn more about myFaves from T-Mobile.

Download cool new games, HiFi Ringers (real songs by today’s hottest artists), MegaTones (instrumental versions of songs), and wallpapers quickly, as well as stay connected via the Web, instant messaging, and email.

With T-Mobile Contacts (formerly T-Mobile Address Book), you can store your phonebook on T-Mobile’s network so even if you lose your phone, you don’t lose your contacts. Contacts lets you import entries from Microsoft Outlook, .vcf files, or use .csv files to import from Yahoo!, Gmail, etc.; back up your phone’s address book on our server with enhanced safety features; and store additional contacts on the server.

The Shadow also features a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, and MicroSD expansion.

Phone Features
Teaming with manufacturer HTC, T-Mobile’s Shadow offers an innovative design and simple user interface that strips out the complexity of traditional multi-function phones for a quick learning curve to all of this smartphone’s communication and organization features. The 2.6-inch LCD screen has a 240 x 320-pixel resolution and support for a 65K color depth. The phone’s face has a scrolling navigator button–which you can spin for faster scrolling through applications and contacts–complemented by send/end, home, back, and two soft keys for navigation. It smoothly slides up to reveal the alpha-numeric keypad that uses Blackberry’s SureType keyboard layout, which places two letters per key.

The phone has an internal 140 MB memory, which can be expanded via optional MicroSD memory cards (up to 4 GB in size). The internal phonebook is only limited by the available memory, and it offers multiple fields for phone numbers, and email/IM addresses. A special myFaves feature is integrated into the shadow, where a lighted navigation wheel gets you to your Fave 5 quickly and easily, enabling you to call, text, email, or IM with a single touch. You can customize your Fave 5 witha photo and icons you create or purchase from T-Mobile, as well as choose a distinct ringtone for each Fave.

Access six email accounts–five personal and one work account–including Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail, Comcast, and AOL. Receive email the instant your computer does–no delay–and view attachments in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint plus Adobe PDFs.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking–surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server.

The 2-megapixel camera provides a range of five resolutions and four quality settings, and it features white balance and brightness settings, and several shooting modes. It will also capture video clips for as long as you have available memory.

The phone is compatible with text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messaging, as well as POP3 personal email accounts. It includes XT9 predictive text entry (the new version of the T9), with such features as a word prediction list and spelling correction that spots transposed letters and missed keys, as well as instant integration into all applications on the device.

Other features include:

• Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for fast web surfing on home/corporate networks and hotspots (not compatible with T-Mobile’s Hotspot @Home service)
• Music playback: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV
• Stay in synch with your Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks in Microsoft Outlook
• Send and receive instant messages with Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, or ICQ
• Reminder feature, so you never forget another friend’s or family member’s birthday or anniversary
• An array of lights and sounds that differentiate one function from another, whether you’re receiving an e-mail, picture message or calendar appointment notification
• Speakerphone
• Voice-activated dialing enables you to make a call with simple voice commands when your hands are busy
• Processor: Texas Instruments OMAP 850, 200 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM (140 MB user accessible)

Vital Statistics
The T-Mobile Shadow weighs 5.3 ounces and measures 2.1 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches. Its 920 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of talk time, and up to 144 hours (6 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

Powered by Windows Mobile 6
Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file.

With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC’s Microsoft Office suite. You’ll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting–without affecting tables, images or text–as well as view PowerPoint presentations.

• Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
• With Excel Mobile, you’re not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
• PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
• After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Piece of garbage
When I first received this phone for a birthday gift, I thought “WOW what a great gift/awesome phone etc.” It worked fine initially…fast forward to the present and 4 phones later…I am about to get my 5th phone as the fourth phone stopped working.

I put up with the terrible battery life and all the other cons. I even loved it in spite of them. However, going on to my fifth phone…I have to say, I will never buy another HTC product again.

Let’s list the problems with my last phones (keep in mind I have never dropped them, spilled anything on them and I treat them with the utmost care) [I work customer service at a tech place so I know about hardware]:

- Buttons mysteriously stop working….permanently

- It stops being able to make phone calls….permanently

- The screen goes black and you cannot get out of this

- After some error, you cannot exit a call by hanging up…only restarting the phone (really now)

- It can no longer locate “signal” despite the fact I have not gone anywhere…it claims the sim card does not work (works just fine tried it on another phone)

- AND MORE!

I am so fed up with this phone that I would have literally run it over with my care by now if T-Mobile did not need me to send it back to get a replacement.

What a piece of crap. F you HTC.

4 Stars Best Phone I’ve Had Yet
So, yes other customers are right. It has a slow processor but trust me, it’s not THAT slow! It is slower than most phones, but is expected since it is a smartphone. Considering how many applications it’s holding, it isn’t a surprise. The best features for me have to be the Windows applications on this phone. Now I can travel with my documents from my PC and not worry. The battery life is another thing that’s a little sketchy. It does NOT have a horrible battery, like the Samsung Blast, but it could be better, in which case the Shadow’s battery lasts about a day and a half. Another idea is, if your not using your wifi, turn it off! It will save your battery. The formats on the phones applications highly make up for it, in which case they are quite amazing. The slider itself is quite durable and I’m confident that if I dropped it, it wouldn’t be shattered all over the floor. I haven’t had any problems hearing anyone on the other line, and there isn’t 7 buttons that send a text (i.e. Samsung Trace). Overall it is the best phone I’ve owned, and smartphone wise it’s a good deal (especially if you get it from Cartoys and not T-mobile itself).

4 Stars Very Slick Phone
t-Mobile Shadow

I have had my t-mobile shadow now for 4 months. I absolutely love this phone in spite of its shortcomings (which are significant). Let me give you the simple break down.

Pros:

-Form factor rocks! I have yet to find a smart phone on the market that comes even close to being as comfortable to use and easy to function with one or two handed operation. The size, look, and feel of this phone rocks in every way. It also seems like it is holding up fairly well considering how hard I am on equipment.

-Screen brightness and readability are superior to any phone I have used before.

-Phone Call Clarity is very nice on this phone. I have no complaints about volume or audio quality, and the phone seems to get fairly good reception.

-The custom interface that t-mobile has included for the MyFav’s is nice but I disabled it since I prefer the standard Windows Mobile interface and I don’t use my favs.

-MicroSDHC support. The phone uses the MicroSD cards and supports the HC cards so I currently have a 4gb card that works great. I haven’t tried the 8gb cards yet.

-Qwerty Keyboard is awesome. I have had not problem at all with the fact that there are two characters per key. The recognition system is awesome and after a week of use I am actually faster on this keyboard than I was on the full Qwerty keyboard on my BlackBerry.

Cons:

-Battery Life is my single largest complaint about this phone. If you plan on using a phone for two days or more without charging then this is not the phone for you. I use my phone to check email about 20 times a day and I make about 15 phone calls per day, I send about 10-15 text messages per day and that pretty much burns the entire battery by Midnight each day. For how much I use the phone I can expect about 18 hours of use before a recharge is required.

-Scroll wheel. The scroll wheel seems like it would be a nice addition but you have to turn it almost half a rotation to get it to scroll one position, so it is faster just to use it like a d-pad than a scroll wheel. I am hoping that a firmware update someday will fix this.

-Slightly slower performance. I have noticed that the phone does not handle some of the bigger applications I use as well. I use terminal services to remote manage some Microsoft servers that I have and it doesn’t work very well on the phone. Most of the standard mobile apps work just fine though.

I hope this was helpful. Good Luck!

4 Stars Not that slow really, good feature set, battery life not great though
Windows Mobile 6 has a lot of improvements over 5, but it still takes some navigation to get to some things. Recently upgraded the ROM to 1.11 via T-Mobile support, which had some tweaks that improved battery life a bit. Still can’t get it to sync with Exchange Server over GPRS, though it works fine over WiFi (server issue, maybe?), but everything else is good..nice keyboard, not a bad camera, large contact and calendar capabilites, good web browsing for a phone, ActiveSync mostly works very well, syncs with Exchange fine (except for the DirectPush issue, which I think will get solved), and more…T-Mobile does indeed have good customer support, probably the best in the cell phone biz that I know of, and I’ve worked with a lot of them. So even they can’t help me solve the GPRS/Exchange sync issue I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting a credit for the GPRS fees I’ve run up, not that they amount to much.

1 Star Horrible phone
This is a terrible phone. The sound was very low on the internal speaker. Well it was very low, it stopped working after about a month. So now I’m speaker phone only; or my bluetooth headset. Which is why I didn’t take it right back while it was still under warranty, because I use my bluetooth headset all the time anyway. Still it’s a hassle using speakerphone for every call when I’m at work where I can’t wear the headset.

Now they’ve updated the firmware and now the bluetooth doesn’t see any devices. So of the two of three ways you can listen to a call I’m now down to one way; speaker phone only.

The battery life is slow, and it’s not helped by the horrible OS where when you close a program, you’re not really closing the program you’re just putting it in the background. To really close a program you have to go to the task manager and close it there. And that just gives a small bump in battery life.

Or how about the time ActiveSync synced my blank pc outlook address book to my smartphone and erased all my contacts. That was clever. Didn’t these geniuses at M$ ever hear of a concept called “union” as in the union of two sets? Too bad apple does the same thing with their ipods as M$ does. The new version of ActiveSync now at least asks which way you want the data to go. I guess I had an older version, I never imagined sync means some thing else entirely than what I thought it meant.

And you see those pictures of your ‘friends’ in the circle in the product picture? You think, oh well that’ll be kind of cool, use the wheel to wheel around to whoever you want to call. I can’t review if that’s cool or not because with tmobile; that’s extra. I know this much, it ain’t 4 bucks a month cool.

I’m so sick of these mobile phones with all their locked out or charge extra features.

Buy/More Info

Nokia 1680 Black Phone T Mobile

A great choice for those looking for a simplified cell phone for on-the-go communications, the Nokia 1680 classic offers essential mobile phone functionality with the added benefits of a basic digital camera. It offers a VGA camera with video recording capabilities, and it features one-touch access for photos and videos. It’s compatible with T-Mobile’s MyFaves service for unlimited nationwide calling to your five favorite people. Other features include access to personal email as well as text and multimedia messaging, speakerphone for handsfree communication, web browser, and up to 4 hours of talk time.

T-Mobile Service Options
The 1680 operates on GSM 850/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via T-Mobile’s EDGE network (which stands for “Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution”). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

It’s compatible with T-Mobile’s myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts–on any network, even landlines–without using any of your minutes. Learn more about myFaves from T-Mobile.

Download cool new games, HiFi Ringers (real songs by today’s hottest artists), MegaTones (instrumental versions of songs), and wallpapers quickly, as well as stay connected via the Web, instant messaging, and email.

Enjoy access to personal email and instant messaging via popular services as well as SMS/MMS messaging.

Phone Features
The candybar-style Nokia 1680 has a color LCD screen with a 128 x 160-pixel resolution and 65K color depth. It has a standard alpha-numeric keypad, five-way navigator, send/end keys, and two soft keys for navigating the interface. The phone has an internal 32 MB memory, which isn’t expandable. The internal phonebook can store up to 1000 contact entries, with multiple numbers per entry and support for caller groups and ringer/picture ID. Additionally, the phone displays the most recent 20 dialed/received/missed calls.

The 1680 offers a full range of email, text, and multimedia messaging options. It includes support for IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP email. In addition to SMS text and MMS multimedia messaging, this phone incorporates Nokia Xpress audio messaging, which allows you to personalize messages in a spontaneous and creative way. By using a specially designed menu, an audio message can be recorded and sent with only a few clicks of a button. Xpress audio messages can be sent to all MMS-enabled GSM handsets, and can also be shared with multiple recipients.

Other features include:

• Send and receive instant messages with Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, or ICQ.
• Organizer with local calendar, Expense Manager, advanced calculator, Converter II
• WAP 2.0 web browser (XHTML)
• VGA camera for still photos up to 640 x 480 pixels
• Capture and play back short video clips
• Integrated speakerphone
• 2.5mm headset jack
• Ringtones: Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3

Vital Statistics
The Nokia 1680 weighs 2.6 ounces and measures 4.26 x .59 x 1.81 inches. Its 700 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of talk time, and up to 432 hours (18 days) of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Ok phone to tide me over
Short: This phone works fine as a basic phone, if that is all you are looking for.

Long: My old phone’s LCD croaked on me, and I wanted to wait a bit before buying an HTC Dream, so I went with this cheap phone. Complaints: Menu/key response is sometimes slow. No way to get data to phone via USB cable, at least if you live in the US.

It seems like a USB cable exists (in Europe, Asia and Australia) but it costs about as much as the phone itself does after exchange rates. If you go to [...], they talk about cable CA-126, which works with the 1680. It has a regular usb connector on one end, and a Nokia microusb & 2.5mm charger plug on the other. The US Nokia manual says the Microusb port is for “authorized personal only”, which to my mind says that the carriers in the US wanted to force people into getting things onto the phone via some $$$-chargeable method.

In any event, I’ll be getting a new phone in a few months so I’ll live with this phone for now. But the limitations it has makes it so that it is only suitable for those who are not looking for anything other than making/receiving phone calls (like my parents).

4 Stars Good basic phone for the money
I needed a replacement phone, and did not want to sign up for a new contract, so I bought a Nokia 1680c at the full retail price. This phone is a good value. It rings loud & clear, and the speakerphone is easy to hear. People I’m calling say my voice is clear, though they can tell I’m on a cell phone. It has a lot of neat software features; for example, you can configure a shortcut action for the left and right softkeys, as well the Up-Down-Left-Right buttons. There is no dedicated rocker switch on the side for volume up & down; during a call, the volume is adjusted by the Left and Right buttons. The phone is constructed well, but feels too light. Battery life is very good. The screen is bright and clear. Navigating menus can be a little sluggish. The keypad is stiff, making text messaging a chore. No Bluetooth connectivity, so forget about using one of those fancy headsets. The box does include a wired earbud/microphone with integrated call answer/end button. Something that annoyed me was how it saved numbers to the address book from an incoming call; the Nokia software puts a “+” symbol in front of incoming call numbers. That gets saved to the address book — for example “+15551212121″ — a minor thing, and something probably more useful for European phone numbers, for example. Overall, I like this phone, and will probably keep it until I someday feel the need to get a smartphone-type slab of electronics.

Buy/More Info

Palm Centro Black Phone ATandT

Life starts after five o’clock. Not coincidentally, that’s also when the Palm Centro smartphone comes alive. Not only does the Palm Centro handle all your favorite voice functions, but it also offers text, IM, e-mail, and web access–all in a body that’s a lot smaller than you’d think. Add a 1.3-megapixel camera, 64 MB of internal memory, Bluetooth connectivity for headsets, MicroSD expansion, and a full QWERTY keyboard and you have a terrific smartphone for all your messaging and personal needs. You’ll be able to get to where you’re going fast with support for TeleNav GPS Navigator software (which requires an optional Bluetooth GPS receiver). And this quad-band GSM version of the Centro for AT&T also features walkie talkie-style Push to Talk (PTT) communication in addition to voice dialing and speakerphone capabilities. The integrated Palm OS 5.4.9 operating system also plays nicely with Windows XP and Vista as well as Mac OS X 10.2 and higher.

The Palm Centro’s full QWERTY keyboard makes it easy to type text messages, IMs, and e-mails.

AT&T Service
This phone operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T’s EDGE network (which stands for “Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution”), with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. This third-generation, high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T’s MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. The AT&T Mobile Music platform includes the ability to sideload music with Napster and eMusic with the built-in Pocket Tunes Deluxe application, listen to live radio with XM Radio Mobile, discover new songs with MusicID and more. You can also access XM Radio Mobile, which provides 25 of the best XM Radio channels, featuring commercial-free rock, hip-hop, country, jazz and more (additional monthly fee; free three-day trial included).

With a database of more than 3 million artists and titles, you can use MusicID to identify an unknown song. While holding the Centro up to a speaker, the MusicID application returns song information such as title, artist and cover art, if available. It also keeps track of previous IDs and allows users to share song information with friends via text messages (additional monthly fee; free three-day trial included).

It’s also MobiTV capable, which enables you to watch live television, premium and prime-time programming, video-on-demand clips and satellite and digital music services from the top broadcast and cable television networks and major music labels (additional monthly charges are applicable).

You can take advantage of the TeleNav GPS Navigator software, the full-featured premium navigation application that includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and re-routing options, and 3D moving maps. It comes as a 30-day trial version, and it can be downloaded via the TeleNav web site or via virtual pre-load icon (VPL) after activation.

You can also instantly talk across the largest Push to Talk (PTT) network coverage area in America. Push to Talk works like a walkie-talkie to talk to an individual or a group of up to 29 users. With status icons that clearly indicate the availability of friends and family, Push to Talk customers will know who is free before they call. You can purchase unlimited Push to Talk minutes with with single or family plans, or use Push to Talk on a pay-per-use basis that’s charged by the minute.

Click to see even more details.

Design
The Palm Centro boasts a sleek glacier white housing that measures a mere 4.2 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 4.2 ounces. It’s notably smaller than many competing smartphones, yet doesn’t sacrifice functionality at any point along the way. Users will also love the 320 x 320 touchscreen (up to 65,000 colors), which offers a crisp resolution for photos and videos. And thanks to the full QWERTY keyboard, you can say L8R to those tricky keys on your old cell phone.

Phone and Messaging Functions
The Palm Centro smartphones offers a ton of ways to stay in touch with friends, whether calling, firing off a quick text, instant messaging, or sending an e-mail. From a phone perspective, the Palm Centro lets you dial people right from your address book, set up three-way calls from the touch of a button, or use the speakerphone to talk hands-free. The keyboard, meanwhile, makes it a breeze to type complete messages whether you’re sending text, pictures, or even audio or video clips. Plus, the Centro keeps all your messages in a chat-style view, so it’s easy to keep track of the conversation.

Want to keep up with all the latest gossip when you’re away from the computer? Turn to the Centro’s instant messaging functions, which support all your buddy lists on AIM, MSN, and Yahoo. It also supports Good Mobile Messaging after an over-the-air (OTA) download of the software.. Similarly, the Centro lets you access your personal e-mail accounts, such as Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo. As a result, you can reply to invites and answer e-mails when you’re out and about.

Web Functions
Whether you’re keeping up with friends on Facebook or looking up directions to the new bistro across town, the Centro’s touchscreen and keyboard make it fun to navigate around the web. The Centro includes a fast built-in web browser that lets you check out photos on Flickr quickly via AT&T’s EDGE data network. The Centro is also compatible with Google Maps, making it simple to get directions or see which freeways are clear and which ones are parking lots. Google Maps shows you red, yellow, or green traffic routes in real time.

Organizer Functions
The Palm Centro includes a complete organizer for keeping track of all your daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. The contacts list gathers all your friends’ phone numbers, addresses, and more, while the calendar keeps you from missing upcoming meetings, events, and parties. You can even enter a friend’s birthday in the contacts list and will automatically show up in your calendar. As with the best organizers, the Centro also offers a to-do list that lets you check off items when they’re complete. As a result, it’s easy to keep track of what you did and still need to do. And should you come across a tidbit that doesn’t have a logical home, simply turn to the memo function, which lets you store random information such as hot spots in Vegas or the names of movies you’d like to rent. Say goodbye to carrying around crumpled scraps of paper in your pocket or purse. Finally, it’s possible to save a copy of all those names, numbers, appointments, photos, and videos on your computer thanks to the sync function.

Multimedia
Whether you want to take pictures, play videos, or listen to music, the Palm Centro has got you covered. The 1.3-megapixel digital camera (with a 2x digital zoom) lets you shoot pictures and send them to friends, store digital albums, or shoot videos. The built-in MP3 player, meanwhile, lets you take your tunes everywhere you go. With 64 MB of storage, there’s plenty of room for your playlists, plus you can add up to 4 GB more with a microSD card. And thanks to Pocket Tunes Deluxe, you can play the songs you downloaded from online music stores.

Vital Statistics
The Palm Centro weighs 4.2 ounces and measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches. Its 1150 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 240 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Excellent Smartphone on a Poor AT&T Network
As of March 2009, I think Palm Centro is one of the best smartphones available. The style is simple, unadorned and functional a.k.a. Google style but not stylish, fun & glamorous like iPhone & Mac. Having used 3 Windows Mobile phones, iPhone, Balckberry Storm, Palm Treo 755p & Nokia E51, I think Centro is closest to the ideal smartphone but AT&T network does not hold water to Verizon Wirelss network in reliability.

1. Clear sound. Solid, reliable phone.

2. Reasonable size & weight (119 gms) and is pocketable and you have to carry phone with you all the time. But there is scope for improvement, it could be lighter and thinner. Ideal weight for a phone is less than 100 gms.

3. Top-notch contact, calendar and memos management.

4. Brisk, peppy response and rarely locks up or freezes.

5. A-one Microsoft office document functionality with Documents-to-Go.

6. Good QWERTY keyboard.

7. Fairly decent availability of applications.

8. Functions well as a tethered modem with cable and speed in 800-900 Kbs range on Verizon Wireless network.

10.Synchronizes calendar, contacts and memos with Macbook.

11.Good SMS function: threads messages.

But Centro is not without flaws: the default OK button is on Voicemail and dials Voicemail unintentionally. I have not been able to sync over Bluetooth or use Bluetooth modem. Web browser is fast for mobile sites but otherwise barely functional – Internet is available but browsing is not enjoyable like on iPhone. Instead of micro-USB or mini-USB, it uses proprietary cable which is hard to take out. Camera is bare minimum at 1.3 Megapixels and music function is basic with 2.5 mm audio jack. Font size is small and has to be individually adjusted in each application.

Here is my Gestalt on smartphones.

1. iPhone is the best MP3, video and multimedia player, has the best user interface and mobile browser experience but is abysmal as a phone in comparison to Verizon Centro. AT&T has poor network signal and coverage, the calls drop all the time and sound on iPhone is average.

2. Blackberry Storm has a gorgeous screen and excellent email device but has very buggy software and constantly freezes. Blackberries shine when it comes to email.

3. Windows Mobile phones are horrendous: packed with features that don’t work and smartphone operating system is the most unreliable.

4. Symbian based Nokia phones are fairly decent smartphones but their availability on US cellular carriers is very limited. Verizon Wireless, the best network in US, has none.

In my experience Palm operating system is one of the most trusty and functional smartphone operating systems. Centro is supposedly the last in the Palm lineage phones. I would recommend it if you need a solid, trustworthy smartphone, but on Verizon, not on AT&T.

4 Stars A nice phone
I’ve had this phone for about a month now and it’s serving me well. My only minor complaint is how tiny the buttons are. It takes some getting used to but they are manageable however. Everything else I like. Doesn’t hurt it was only .01! I’d recommend it.

3 Stars Nice device but Palm OS is terrible on a phone
I have used and liked the Palm PDAs over many years.

My work gave me a Palm Centro.

The device is nice – fits in short or trouser pocket easily.

The Palm OS is frustrating – freezes regularly for 2-3 seconds when

accessing commands or navigating the menus. This is by far the biggest

annoyance with this phone. I’ll tr to navigate to a manu or function

and the phone freezes for several seconds and then catches up.

Keyboard is small.

Web browsing is acceptable.

The device is ok as a phone but you really need a bluetooth to make it

usable.

Would certainly not be the device of my choice if I had to buy one.

1 Star I really wanted to like this phone…
but in all honesty it fails to please on many levels. The first one I had the four-way browsing button stopped functioning in two weeks. This wasn’t from dropping or hard use, but just casual, in the pocket carrying.

The second phone I was using a plug in style hands free device and when I removed it the phone would not come out of hands free mode: the ear piece was disabled and the microphone was muted. I refuse to pay $50 dollars for the insurance deductible to replace a poorly made, fragile device that will probably break again in the next six months.

I will give it that it is a wonderfully sized PDA that is easy to carry and great to text on but Palm’s quality control has failed me for the last time. I’ve had four of their PDA’s just to have everyone of them stop functioning within a year from casual use, not dropping, getting wet, or any other abuse. I’m going to Blackberry and reccomend you do the same.

1 Star Palm’s Bargain Phone – Buyer Beware
Cons: Cheaply constructed buttons. Long delays after button presses, etc. Can’t sync email, etc unless connected the ‘Sprint’ network

Pros: I liked the included ring tones/sound, battery life decent

I was excited to get a new Palm OS based phone at a great price. However, the phone’s cheaply constructed tin-foil buttons caught on on the corner of my pants pocket just after the 30 day exchange policy. It was all over after that, as the bent buttons just kept getting worse, then the center button fell out making it impossible to use. Palm offered to fix the phone at a gracious 50% off for $150. So it can break again? No thanks!

Some might get lucky and not see these problems until months after purchase – just be forewarned.

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Samsung Memoir 8 MP Camera Phone Black T Mobile

Is the Samsung Memoir a high-megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera or a full-featured 3G-enabled smartphone? It’s both, thanks to the 8-megapixel lens mounted on the back of the device and support for T-Mobile’s HSDPA 3G network (in select markets), which provides fast web downloads and multimedia messaging. It will also keep you connected to your closest friends and family members with T-Mobiles myFaves.

The camera is outfitted with a Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom, video capture capabilities, and six shooting modes as well as easy access to your favorite online photo sharing sites. This touchscreen-enabled phone has a large, brightly colorful 3-inch screen, and it includes Samsung’s intuitive and easily customizable TouchWiz user interface. It also offers built-in Assisted GPS (a-GPS) navigation, which allows you to utilize location-based services including turn-by-turn directions. Other features include Bluetooth for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (up to 16 GB), digital audio player and FM radio, access to personal email and instant messaging, and up to 5.5 hours of talk time.

The Samsung Memoir’s 8-megapixel camera makes it easy to capture photos and videos on the go without sacrificing the quality of your point-and-shoot camera (see larger version).

T-Mobile Service
The Samsung Memoir operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and is compatible with T-Mobile’s UMTS/HSDPA 3G network, which operates on the 1700/2100 MHz AWS spectrum. This phone is designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide faster data speeds when accessing the Web or downloading content from the T-Mobile Web2go content portal. T-Mobile is currently rolling out its 3G network, and it expects by year’s end that its high-speed data network will be available in those cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you’ll continue to receive service on the via T-Mobile’s EDGE network (which stands for “Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution”). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go.

While this phone is optimized for use with T-Mobile’s high-speed 3G network, many of its functions will also work well on the moderate-speed EDGE network. If you plan to access the Internet extensively on your phone, 3G network coverage may serve you best.

Activities that work well on EDGE or 3G networks:

• Email, instant messaging, and texting
• Downloading ringtones, CallerTunes, wallpaper, light data files
• Sending photographs via e-mail or picture messaging

Activities that work best on a 3G network:

• Viewing content-heavy websites (lots of images or videos playing)
• Viewing YouTube and other video files (they will play on EDGE, but require loading time)
• Uploading large files (photos, videos, presentations) to sharing websites
• Downloading large files from an e-mail or a website

It’s compatible with T-Mobile’s myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts–on any network, even landlines–without using any of your minutes. Learn more about myFaves from T-Mobile.

Download cool new games, HiFi Ringers (real songs by today’s hottest artists), MegaTones (instrumental versions of songs), and wallpapers quickly, as well as stay connected via the Web, instant messaging, and email.

This phone is compatible with T-Mobile’s Mobile Backup, a free service that stores your phone’s contact information is case your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, so you do not have re-enter all of your contact information when you get a new phone.

Phone Features
The slim Samsung Memoir camera phone delivers impressive images on it large 3-inch LCD color display (240 x 400 pixels, 262K colors) and offers haptic responsive feedback that vibrates when you press a button. For easy operation and navigation, the stylish Memoir features three dedicated keys–call, end call and back–on the front of the device under the touch screen. The Memoir also provides quick and easy access to a customer’s favorite features through Samsung’s innovative TouchWiz user interface, which has specially designed widgets to customize and personalize your phone. The quick and simple drag-and-drop feature provides instant access to your favorite functions, such as the clock, music player, instant messaging and photos and a custom widget for myFaves. The Memoir’s full-touch virtual QWERTY keypad and multiple messaging capabilities–including text, multimedia messaging, instant messaging and email–make staying connected quick and easy while on the go.

Other features include Assisted GPS, Bluetooth for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, and MicroSD memory expansion to 16 GB (see larger version).

With the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir, you’ll be able to capture all the special moments from your on-the-go life without sacrificing image quality, and the full touchscreen interface makes it easy to capture both brilliant still photos and high-resolution videos. The built-in 8-megapixel camera includes a CMOS autofocus lens, Xenon flash, 16x digital zoom, six shooting modes, multi-shot capabilities. A photo-sharing widget also makes it easy to quickly upload images to several photo sharing sites, including Flickr, Kodak Gallery, Photobucket, and Snapfish (as well as T-Mobile’s My Album online sharing service). The Memoir also includes a TV output that enables you to connect the phone to a TV or compatible monitor to display photo slideshows to friends and family on a larger format.

The phone has a 180 MB internal memory, which can be expanded via optional MicroSD memory cards (up to 16 GB in size). The internal phonebook can store up to 2000 contact entries, each with multiple numbers per contact and support for caller groups as well as picture/ringer ID. You can download MP3 real-music and 72-chord polyphonic ringtones, and the phone also includes a vibrate function for when you need to keep things silent.

Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones.

Other features include:

• Built-in A-GPS navigation allows access to location-based applications
• Virtual, landscape QWERTY touchpad
• Instant messaging via AOL, ICQ, Windows Live, and Yahoo!
• Access to personal email with document viewer for attachments
• Organizer tools: Calendar, calculator, alarm clock, task list, voice memo
• Digital medial player compatible with audio (MP3, AAC/AAC+) and video files (MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV)
• 72-note polyphonic ringtones and vibrate mode
• Sync contact swith Outlook
• USB connectivity with USB mass storage capabilities
• Voice dialing: Call someone with simple voice commands to keep your hands free for activities like driving.
• Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3
• Bluetooth version 2.0 with the following profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BPP (basic printing profile for text, email), FTP (file transfer), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures)

Vital Statistics
The Samsung Memoir weighs 4.4 ounces and measures 4.17 x 2.11 x 0.55 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5.5 hours of talk time, and up to 300 hours of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as 1700/2100 MHz UMTS/HSDPA 3G frequencies.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Returning Mine Tomorrow
After being very frustrated with my Blackberry Curve deleting all of my text messages and call log over and over and over again (T-Mobile tells me this is a known issue with Blackberries), I decided it was time for an upgrade. I could not decide between this and the G1, but because I have 3 small children and love snapping pics and being able to send them to friends and family, I went with the Memoir. I’ve now been using it for 3 days. There are some really cool features. I do enjoy the call features such as the speakerphone. The display is cool. The phone looks amazing. But the negatives outweigh the pros–for instance, you really can’t personalize it–there’s no adding apps or widgets suchas Facebook (which I LOVED having on my BB), there’s no WiFi, a fact I missed when trying to decide between this and the G1, and trying to text on the touchscreen is difficult-even after callibration. I also find the touchscreen to not work very smoothly–it’s definitely not as responsive as my iTouch. I definitely think it’s an upgrade over my Blackberry–minus the Facebook, of course, but I don’t think it’s the phone for me. I have a great digital camera-so I’ll just rely on it to take pics of my kids. I’m going to T-Mobile tomorrow to return this bad boy.

5 Stars Awesome!!
I’ve had this phone for a week and a half and every day I’ve been excited to find cool new features. I knew it would be great, but was really surprised by how far it exceeded my expectations. It’s definitely not perfect – there are several things that could be improved – but overall I really love it.

Great:

- 8MP Camera.

- Takes better outdoor pics than my old 5MP digital camera. Seems to like sports cars – those pics always come out awesome!

- Nice, clear screen. Zooming in/out works great.

- The touchscreen works well, and I haven’t even calibrated it yet.

- The display rotates based on how you’re holding the phone.

- Call quality is better than any cell phone I’ve ever had.

- The speakerphone is loud and clear.

- GPS works well.

- Mobile internet sites load fast and work well.

- I love having email access on my phone!

- Text messaging works great – far better than my old Samsung flip phone.

- The ‘www.’ and ‘.com’ buttons are cool for web address entry.

- Alarm settings are easy to work with.

- Overall I love the Touchwiz interface – it’s easy and fun to use. The whole phone works well as one integrated package, and is very well organized and designed.

- Setting up internet bookmarks is easy.

- Porting my number to the new service/phone was easy and fast.

- It took nearly an hour of video on a single battery charge, with juice left over for surfing and taking a dozen pics.

Ok:

- USB file transfer seems faster than Bluetooth, and charges the phone simultaneously

- The Samsung software (downloaded from their website) works well to pull images and videos off the phone via USB, and to work with the files on my PC. But why should these be required? Why not let the PC recognize and access it as a native device like it does via Bluetooth?

Could be better:

- Regular internet sites can fail to load or display, or take a really long time to do both. (That’s partly the cellular service.) I’m spending most of my time on sites that have a mobile version for phones.

- Picture quality varies depending on lighting. Indoor shots frequently come out yellow and fuzzy.

- Sometimes the camera seems to focus on anything but what you’re aiming at, so the subject is blurry but the background and foreground is sharp. (I have not tried different settings yet – just pointed and shot.)

- The screen could be bigger. Especially since I’m so addicted to it and am using it to surf all the time!

- Bluetooth file transfer (of 8MP pics) isn’t very fast and uses lots of battery power.

- The phone doesn’t tell me when it’s fully charged while using the wall charger. (It does if it’s charging via USB.)

- Amazon signed me up for a $19.99 100MB/month data plan that wasn’t compatible with the phone. Only the $24.99 unlimited data plans (and higher) seem to work.

4 Stars Nice phone and excellent deal from Amazon
Pretty nice phone overall. The camera flash could be improved. It doesn’t have enought flash for indoor pics.

1 Star Wow..yellow and blurry pictures
Well, the title says it all. I was so excited to get this phone but after I took so many pictures I found out that most of my indoor pictures are yellow (flash is not strong enough) and blurry. It’s on the way back to Tmobile now. The outdoor pictures are not great also. It’s about the same as my old Tmobile Dash phone.

3 Stars Forget the GPS
The only way the GPS on this phone works is if you subscribe to the Telenav software service for a fee of $9.99 a month. The phone is unable to download the free google maps program which will do the same job for free. Also the GPS software will waste a few minutes while it connects to Telenav to verify your account. After that you still have to go into the menu to activate your gps reciever and wait a few minutes to get a signal.

That is the biggest complaint I have about this phone. I upgraded from my nokia N93. Compared to the N93 I found that the memoir does not have WiFi, a focusing lense, a flashlight, and is unable to take video in lowlight conditions.

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