Samsung SGH-D820: Sleek, slim & sexy

The future of cellphones depends on the users. Here in the Philippines cellphone users seem to want phones that are not just functional, but are sexy and slim and with classy accessories, too. Samsung has taken on that challenge. At least, that’s the way it looks to me.

The SGH-D820 (such a techie sounding mouthful for an ultra slim phone) box describes the black beauty inside as "luxurious and ultra slim slide." And, a beauty it is.

Yup. It’s slim and it’s a slider, too. The slider part is the initial attraction of the phone. The slide opens up to a keyboard that is wide and easily maneuverable even for someone like me with wide fingers.

It’s a fun phone to use and look at. After all, the first image that floats out as the phone is turned on is a picture of pastel-colored balloons, which are soooo cute. And then the word "fun" appears before the serious phone screen makes its appearance. It seemed to me that Samsung took some time thinking about how to subliminally convince people that using the unit is going to be a fun experience. Flashing the word "fun" before all else worked wonders for me.

This slider phone has a large 2.12-inch screen which made viewing the pics I took of Tasha and Gorby, my two toy poodles, on the 1.3-megapixel camera of the phone just great. I must admit though that it took a few minutes before I became familiar with the way the SGH-D820 slides. One has to slide the cover upward rather than pull it downward. Other phone brands have sliders where the cover is pulled downwards, which I find easier to handle. Also, while sliding upwards, there were times when I would hit keys accidentally. But as I got more familiar with the phone, fewer mistakes were made. But I had a few callers wondering if I didn’t want to talk to them as I would cut them off by accidentally pressing a button as I slid the phone upwards.

When the slider is closed, one can still answer or reject a call by using the options on the front cover. But in order to do more than that the slider has to be pushed up.

The phone has the standard features like Bluetooth, 1.3-megapixel camera, music player, and voice recorder. It also comes with a mini SD memory card, which is another plus. I listened to "wellness" music on the phone, which had tunes for relaxation. I enjoyed watching the colored display, which was both playful and relaxing as the colors were pastel and moved with the music. I enjoyed the music whether I listened to it with the phone – at full blast or through the headset that came with the phone. The music kept me happy as I drove to work.

I was able to use the phone’s voice recorder for a short interview I had recently. I was amazed that the phone can hold up to about an hour of interview – of course, after that interview the battery gave up and I had to make it to the nearest socket to recharge the phone. I did get the interview and that was a great comfort. A last note on the recorder of this phone, it works great even in places where the noise levels are high. I was able to catch everything that my interviewee was saying in spite of the background noise. Just great.

The camera took some getting used to. I accidentally pressed a button, which had every picture I was shooting coming out upside down. It took me a while to figure out what I did wrong, but once I did it was great. Standing still or making sure that the subjects of the photos are made to sit still is a must. Not so easy when your subjects are two poodles who prefer to play rather than have their pictures taken.

The emoticons are another fun feature. I love the phone’s animated emoticons. Problem is, it can only be sent to people who are also using Samsung phones. If there is one thing I wish for it’s that cellphone manufacturers would get together and share emoticons, especially animated ones. This world would be a happier place if we could text emoticons between phone brands.

Texting, the one thing every Pinoy can do, is quite easy on the Samsung. It takes about five steps to complete the procedure and finding which key is the space bar is no prob.

If there is one thing I have learned about slider phones it’s that one has to be careful when using them. The weight of the phone shifts to the bottom of the phone when the slide is up, this means that one has to have a good grip on the phone when texting or using the phone with the slider open.

The Samsung SGH-D820 is really lots of fun. It’s really one sexy slider – for Samsung, slim is it.