It's no secret that when it comes to cell phones, thin is in. Samsung's SGH-d807 is definitely in: This slider-style standard cell phone is only slightly thicker than the company's supersvelte t509, which we reviewed a few months back, and also manages to pack in plenty of features.
Like the t509, the d807 is slightly boxy. Measuring 3.9 by 2.1 by 0.6 inches and weighing only 3.4 ounces, it is still quite comfortable to hold in your hand. The d807 has a neat-looking matte-black finish with silver edging and a handsome 2.2-inch color display. When closed, the display occupies most of the handset. Below it sit two soft keys, dedicated send and end buttons, a clear button, and a four-way navigational pad with an enter key in the center.
While the matte finish makes for a good-looking phone, it also makes for exceptionally slippery buttons: My fingers often slid when I tried to start or end a phone call. I frequently had to resort to pressing the buttons with a fingernail, but even then I often slipped right off the key. The phone slides open to reveal the keypad, which is spacious enough, but since the keys are slightly recessed into the phone and also overly smooth, they're difficult to dial.
The d807 offers adequate voice quality. Even at the loudest volume setting, however, voices were occasionally difficult to hear; I often found myself wishing I could turn it up a little higher. Talk-time battery life was excellent in our lab tests, lasting 10 hours (the maximum amount of time we test).
The d807 includes a decent 1.3-megapixel camera. It lacks dedicated controls, so you'll have to access it through the phone's menus or via one of the soft keys. Because of the location of the lens, you can use the camera only with the slider open; in addition, the unit has no flash, so my outdoor shots looked better than those taken indoors. However, unlike many camera phones, this one doesn't suffer from a terrible shutter lag time.
Light on included accessories, the d807 ships with only a battery, a battery charger, and a user guide. Headphones, a USB cable, and music-transfer software are optional. You could load and save music or photos to a microSD card, but that's optional as well.
The phone includes Bluetooth for wireless access and comes with mobile e-mail (AOL, AIM, AT&T Yahoo, MSN Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail) and instant messaging apps (AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo). It also has Cingular's browser, which allows for easy Web access.
The d807 costs $180 with a two-year contract from Cingular (as of 8/4/06). That's not bad for this impressive handset. Just keep in mind that you'll have to purchase all your accessories separately.
Liane Cassavoy