Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900 Cameraphone Review

Permalink: Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900 Cameraphone Review by Franz Bicar

A not so known camera phone released in the market is the Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900 Cameraphone. The camera features an array of camera-specific features that is designed to attract users looking for a phone with a decent camera (or vice versa).

But it doesn’t only come in as a cameraphone, a standard in today’s handsets, the Samsung Flipshot also has a stereo bluetooth profile, a business-card scanner, and dedicated music controls below the external display. But nothing is perfect, and definitely not this phone. While it’s camera is excellent, its multimedia performance is somewhat wanting.

First of, let’s look at the phone’s design. The Flipshot is encased in a boxy, flip-phone case filled with lines and jagged angles. When viewed from behind, you will actually think that you are looking at a standalone digital camera, instead of a phone. It has a large camera lens and flash, but most importantly, the FlipShot also features a swiveling display that can rotate 180 degrees. This is too flashy and does not really attract a lot of people, but its there for a purpose. It allows maximum use of the camera as it can rotate around to take self-portraits and whatnot.

Aesthetically, the phone measures around 3.76 X 1.83 X 0.73 inches. However, it weighs at only 3.88 ounces and feels comfortable to hold and palm in you hand.

At the front of the handset is of course its display (secondary). The Flipshot has a 65,000-color display but a bit small at only 1.25 inches, 128×96 pixels. But still, messages, icons and other info can be easily seen and displayed perfectly.

Below the screen are controls for the music player that you can activate whenever you want. It would even allow you to scroll through your playlist for easy access of songs and other media. And since it has a media player, then it would also have a speaker and a 2.5mm headset jack located at the left spine.

On the inside you will see the main display of the phone. It has 260,000-color (320×240 pixels) and measures at 2.25 inches. It’s worth mentioning that the phone has a very good display, vibrant and crisp resolution that does everything justice, from animations to graphics.

Let’s now go on to the phone’s features. First we go to the phonebook. The Flipshot has a small 500-name phone book. For each contact, you can store five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, and notes. You can save callers to groups and pair them with a photo for caller ID. You can also assign them a personalized ringtone.

Other essential offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a voice recorder, a speakerphone, a calculator, a calendar, an alarm clock, a stop watch, a world clock, and a notepad. Beyond the basics, the FlipShot offers USB mass storage, speaker-independent voice commands, instant messaging, and Web-based e-mail.

Next we go to the phone’s key feature, its camera. Although the phone only incorporates a 3-megapixel camera, it is one of the best out there. You can take pictures in eight resolutions (2,048×1,536 down to 160×120) and choose from three quality settings, three color effects, and three white-balance settings. There’s also a digital zoom, spot metering, ISO, an auto-focus, three multishot models, a flash, a self-timer, and a brightness control. What’s more, the camera offers settings for taking various kinds of shots. You can take portrait, landscape, macro, and night photos, and you can select special settings for shooting pictures at night, in bright daylight, or with a backlight behind your subject.

As an alternative, the phone’s camera can also act as a camcorder. It takes videos in two resolutions (320×240 and 176×144) with sound. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at 30 seconds; otherwise you can shoot for up to 10 minutes. The SCH-U900 offers a few methods for getting photos off the phone. You can upload them to an online album, transfer them via Bluetooth or a multimedia message, and you can use Veriozn’s PictBridge service.

You can’t go wrong with the phone’s photo quality. Colors are bright and object lines are crisp and distinct. The flash also offered a good amount of light for dim situations, and the autofocus helped to keep the camera steady.

All in all, the Samsung came clean on what this phone does. As it is a cameraphone, its camera features are excellent, but other than that, you might want to try other models. But still, you can’t deny the great features (camera) that this phone has to offer.

Sources:
http://www.laptopmag.com
http://www.livingroom.org.au
http://www.mobiletechreview.com