Samsung Sync SGH-A707

Permalink: Samsung Sync SGH-A707 by Franz Bicar

I really love music. So whenever a phone comes in that boasts multimedia capabilities, specially in music, I get really excited. Most cellular carriers these days also offer music services and phones that work with it. Manufacturers are also releasing phones that caters to music-lovers everywhere. But still, however good these phones may be, they’re still not as good when compared to dedicated digital audio players.

Cingular’s Samsung SGH-A707, otherwise known as the Samsung Sync, is no exception.

Cingular Music let’s the phone connect to Napster Mobile and Yahoo Music, but still it doesn’t take full advantage of the handsets mobile capabilities. Another thing that disappoints is that users cannot download music over the cellular connection. You can, however, buy tracks, but that only marks it for later downloading on you computer. You have to transfer these songs to the phone, and that is the time you can listen to them. In my opinion, it is a bit of a hassle to do all that. Fortunately, its easy to transfer tracks over the phone via USB or copying them to an optional microSD card.

Other multimedia features for the Samsung Sync is its access to streaming audio from MobiRadio, XM Radio Mobile, MySpace Mobile, and Billboard Mobile. But all these are subscription services, and if you want to go through all the trouble, then you have to be prepared to fork over some cash to listen to your music. And this for me, is definitely unacceptable.

But for those willing to part with their hard-earned cash, you can rejoice. The Samsung Sync does give you excellent audio quality. So, I guess it will be worth it for some people. Over the speakerphone, audio is good and would no doubt please users of this handset.

You might be wondering why I only mentioned the speakerphone? Well, the Sync lacks a standard headphone jack - another disappointment. Instead it has a proprietary port that accepts only Cingular’s earbuds. But the earbuds don’t come with the phone, and you have to pay for a $40 kit that contains the earbuds, a USB cable, and software; alternatively, you can use the phone with a set of Bluetooth headphones.

You can use the kit to transfer your own ripped music to a microSD Card while it’s still in the phone. Some very nice touch-sensitive music controls on the phone’s exterior work whether the phone is closed or open. The small 96-by-96-pixel LCD on the outside shows the music track name and an attractive visualizer. But the phone’s other music controls are pretty limited.

But thats not all. The Sync does come in with a built-in 2-megapixel digital camera with a fixed-focus lens and no flash or LED illuminator. Given this, low-light pictures looks grainy and pictures taken in in moderate lighting looked okay, with adequately reproduced colors. The phone captures video in 176 by 144 resolution at 15 frames per second, yielding movies that look fuzzy and choppy.

Another feature for the Sync is its web browser. The Sync supports Cingular’s HSDPA network, so it’s pretty fast for a cell phone. It formats pages well for easy reading, and you can adjust the size of pages. Quick-access menus help you handle instant messaging and Web mail.

Overall, for users looking for the perfect music phone, the Samsung Sync is not really for you. However, if you do want to gamble, it does have a good audio quality, but of course, you have to be prepared for all the hassle in organizing and transferring music. If you want to try its streaming features, then you can do so, as long as your not strapped for cash cause for me, it does feel like its too expensive.

Sources:
http://reviews.cnet.com
http://www.pcmag.com
http://cellphones.about.com