Getting truly high quality photos from a camera phone hasn't always been possible, until now. The Samsung MM-A800 combines powerful calling and multimedia features with a stunning 2-megapixel camera that features -- drum roll, please -- auto-focus! Great pictures are always seconds away, along with your music, videos, and much more. Design
The A800's sliding design hides the phone's number pad under the display until you need to make a call. The massive, 240 x 320 display supports up to 262,000 colors -- plenty of resolution and color depth for your videos and photos. A five-way center control button is positioned below the display, as are shortcut and selection keys. The camera unit and flash are housed on the rear of the phone and they are positioned to allow the phone to be held horizontally -- just like a dedicated digital camera. In addition to a USB data port, there's also a connector for a 2.5 mm stereo headset. Removable memory storage is made possible by a a microSD/TransFlash card slot, useful for storing pictures, videos, music, and other media. A 32 MB card ships with the phone.
Calling Features
The A800's internal phone book can hold up to 500 contacts, and the phone's caller ID system allows you to assign pictures, ringtones, and even short videos to your most common callers. The phone ships with many polyphonic ringtones, but for those times when you want to be discreet, there's a vibrating alert. A built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear, and advanced voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates easy. Simply say the name or number of the person you want to call and the number is dialed automatically without using the keypad. No prior voice training is needed. The A800's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911 (where available). Perhaps most importantly for users in rural areas, the A800 is a tri-mode phone, meaning it can operate on Sprint's digital PCS network, as well as analog networks that serve many outlying areas.
Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The A800 covers the messaging basics with support for sending and receiving text and picture messages, as well as messages embedded with video. With Sprint PCS Picture Mail, you can take a picture anytime and send it to family and friends instantly while on the Sprint PCS Network. And because the A800 supports video capture and playback, you can also send video messages via Sprint PCS Video Mail, allowing you to take, view, store and send short video clips. eZiText text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built-into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users. Another great feature, speech dictation, speak your SMS Text Messages to the phone, where they are converted from speech to text.
The phone also supports PCS Vision email and instant messaging capabilities. Sprint PCS Vision transforms the wireless experience from something that's simply functional into something visual, entertaining and highly personalized. MSN Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and AOL Instant Messenger are all supported by Sprint's PCS Vision service. PCS Vision mobile Web services let you check out sports scores, get your seven-day forecast, check your flight status, and stay up to date with the latest news. You'll also experience full-color graphic versions of popular Web sites. The phone also supports music services that, with the built-in Sprint Media Player, allow you to see and hear the latest music, plus headlines and video clips of artist interviews and performances. Another service, Sprint TV, lets you enjoy fullcolor video clips or live TV of the latest news, sports, and entertainment from brands you know, like CNN, Fox, The Weather Channel, and more.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the A800 including a calendar, a to-do list, a memo pad, a calculator, and an alarm clock. A voice recorder lets you record voice memos for later retrieval. Use the embedded camera to capture a business card image with Biz-Card Scan. The A800 will then transfer the contact information (name, phone numbers, email address, and fax number) directly to the device's internal contacts. Now that's handy!
Imaging and Entertainment
The star of the show here is the A800's 2-megapixel CCD camera, which can be used to capture still images as well as video. The camera also contains a built-in flash with zoom capability and a macro function for capturing images within close range. You can then print your pictures without using a PC by connecting directly with a PictBridge supported printer via USB. When it comes time to shoot a little video, your shooting time is limited only by the amount of available memory on the memory card. The video unit records in MPEG-4 format.
Into music? The A800 has you covered here, too. The phone's built-in media player lets you see and hear streaming and stored media, and it supports MP3, AAC, and AAC plus audio files. The phone takes gaming to the next level, too, with support for advanced, action-packed 3D games.
Vital Statistics
The Samsung MM-A800 weighs 5.08 ounces and measures 3.94 x 1.93 x 1.02 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of digital talk time. It runs on the AMPS 850 and CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
