Samsung SGH-T809 Cell Phone

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User rating 3.5   Read reviews - Add review The Samsung SGH-T809 is a new high-end GSM phone that packs an arsenal of features into an ultra-thin slider form factor.  Key features include a QVGA display, Bluetooth, EDGE high-speed data, swivel megapixel camera with high-resolution video capture, music player, and a microSD memory card slot.  Other features include speakerphone, mass storage USB, and quad-band GSM roaming. View full phone specs View image gallery View reviews Compare against other phones Compatible accessories

The T809/D820 is a slider phone featuring a large screen and one of the slimmest profiles available on the market today.  At 3.8 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches, the phone is noticeably wider than the average handset; in some ways it looks as though somebody took a standard candybar-style phone and stepped on the front of it until it flattened out underfoot.  Weighing a scant 3 oz., the phone feels amazingly light in hand and is all but forgotten once tucked away in a hip pocket. 

Samsung's advertising and documentation for the T809 shows a variety of young, attractive, and mostly female models holding the handset, and there's no doubt the phone was designed to appeal to the chic (or chic at heart) mobile user.  From the shiny black finish to the hidden keypad and swiveling camera, this phone attracts attention from the moment you take it out of your pocket or pocketbook.  Indeed this phone has drawn comparisons to Motorola's popular RAZR handset - the two phones are very similar in size and weight, though the RAZR is made from metal to the T809's all-plastic construction, and the RAZR is a flip-style phone.

When the T809 is slid shut, the front of the phone is dominated by the 320x240 screen, whose brightness and clarity really has to be seen in person to be appreciated.  Below the screen, a cluster of controls features a five-way navigational pad flanked by left/right soft keys and a second row of three buttons — call send, clear, and call cancel/power — underneath.  A Samsung logo along the bottom edge of the screen and a T-Mobile logo at the bottom edge of the phone near the microphone are the only other immediately visible markings.

Closer inspection, however, reveals a T-Mobile "t zones" logo on the center button of the nav-pad and, more importantly, a swiveling camera mounted along the top edge of the camera.  The 1.3 megapixel sensor can be rotated for self-portraits and standard usage, and also is effectively "closed" - hidden away from dust and fingerprints - when it's rotated away from the user

The phone slides open to reveal a standard 12-button keypad which is quite roomy and comfortable to use thanks to the phone's wide footprint.  Using the keypad is a pleasant experience thanks to the tactile feedback afforded by the buttons themselves (though some may not like the flat buttons since many phones feature subtly domed keys), and also really gives the user a sense of just how thin this phone is.  Holding the phone near the top when it's in the open position is even more dramatic — the area behind the screen just beneath the camera housing is amazingly skinny, to say the least.

Along the phone's edges you'll find ports for the included AC adaptor, combination hands-free headset/stereo earphones, USB 1.1 cable, and microSD memory card.  A 32MB memory card is included to supplement the phone's 65MB of built-in memory.

All of the phone's ports and slots are covered by grey rubber caps that can be a little tricky to open and secure, particularly if you have large fingers and/or short fingernails.  I've heard some complaints from T809 owners that the rubber caps on their phones are constantly falling open, but I've yet to experience any problems with that.

The overall look of the T809 is best summed up with one word:  Hot!  The phone is every bit as sleek and futuristic looking as the RAZR, if not more so, and the front-mounted screen lends an immediate sense of "Wow" to the overall look.  As soon as I got the phone home, however, I made sure to affix a plastic film screen protector to the front of the handset, as the screen's positioning leaves it very scratch-prone.

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Samsung SGH-T809 in-depth review - Introduction & Design

Slider phones are all the rage right now and Samsung's T-Mobile SGH-T809/SGH-D820 is one of the sexiest slider's I've seen.  Combining stunning good looks, a slim, sleek form factor and a gorgeous screen with the features you'd expect from a mid-range multimedia phone, the T809 is a winner in almost every sense of the word.  If only Samsung had included a decent battery with it, they'd have a can't-miss hit on their hands. The...

Jul 3, 06, by Noah Kravitz -

1 comments

- all about: Samsung,  Samsung SGH-T809

Samsung SGH-T809 in-depth review - Features

Lest you think that the SGH-T809's beauty is only skin deep, this shiny mobile packs a bevy of features beneath its flashy exterior.  While not quite top-of-the-line in any one area, the T809 is a solid multimedia device sure to keep its fans happy long after the thrill of its surface beauty has worn off (as if that could happen). Samsung includes a wired stereo headset with microphone in the T809's packaging so you can take full...

Jul 3, 06, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Samsung,  Samsung SGH-T809

Samsung SGH-T809 in-depth review - Display & Audio

The 320x240, 262,000 color QVGA display on the T809 is as gorgeous as the phone itself.  Even bigger and better than the exemplary screens on the Sony Ericsson K750i and w800i, the T809's screen is sharp, vivid, and has ample room for gaming, photo viewing, and more mundane tasks like contact and datebook browsing.  As I mentioned before, the first accessory you'll want for your T809 is a case or screen protector; the one drawback of...

Jul 3, 06, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Samsung,  Samsung SGH-T809

Samsung SGH-T809 in-depth review - Messaging, Internet, & Connectivity

The T809 supports both SMS and MMS messaging protocols as well as Instant Messaging using the pre-installed Wireless Village (AOL/ICQ/Yahoo) client.  Email is not supported via the included software, though the camera application does support posting of cameraphone pictures to Internet photo albums.  Predictive text input using T9 is turned on by default, and the included PC-only synching software also allows you to compose a handful...

Jul 3, 06, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Samsung,  Samsung SGH-T809

Samsung SGH-T809 in-depth review - Conclusion

When my fiancée first saw the Samsung SGH-T809, she fell for it.  She's not a gadget head like me, but she certainly agrees that this device blends technology and style while retaining user-friendliness.  With the T809, Samsung has achieved just that in a phone that's exclusive to T-Mobile subscribers.  The handset is razor-thin, lightweight, and stunning to behold.  From the big, bright screen to the quality swivel camera...

Jul 3, 06, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Samsung,  Samsung SGH-T809

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Pretty Good Phone

Overall Rating:
3.5 out of 5

By: Tammy Rosenthal on Monday, November 27, 2006
From: Sunrise Beach, MO (United States)
Experience: 5 Months

Pros: I like the phone because it has many options. I bought a bigger capacity SD card and have downloaded music and books to listen to when I travel.

Cons: I tend to reject calls alot because I touch a button before I can slide it open. The battery does not have as long a life as some other phones.

Summary: Overall, I like the phone. It is compact in size, has a large screen for viewing. I can take pictures and assign them to call ID. I do not use the internet or text message, so I cannot really comment on those features.

14 out of 23 people found this review helpful

T-809

Overall Rating:
4.8 out of 5

By: Frank Molinelli on Tuesday, October 17, 2006
From: Spring Hill, FL (United States)
Experience: 30 Days

Pros: Can play Movies or Tv shows when you purchase the optional 1 gig card.The best screen I ever seen.Like looking at a plasma Tv

Cons: Keypad numbers should be a little bigger

Summary: One of the best phones you can buy.A MP3 player and TV all in one with alot of expanded memory

13 out of 38 people found this review helpful

this phone sucks

Overall Rating:
3 out of 5

By: oscar calderon on Thursday, September 28, 2006
From: boston, MA (United States)
Experience: 2 Months

Pros: camera
size

Cons: battery
many drop calls

Summary: this phone does not charge well. the phone gets hot for no reason. the battery says its fully charged and its really not. the battery will die in 5 minutes. another problem is that when its charging it says that the charge is paused by temperature. this phone sucks and its the 2nd that t-mobile has sent me. the problems at first started when the phone kept turning on and off by itself. t-mobile then sent me a new battery and the problems really began with the phone not charging and the phone getting hot for no reason

10 out of 42 people found this review helpful

Samsung T809

Overall Rating:
2.8 out of 5

By: Andy Dong on Thursday, August 24, 2006
From: Houston, TX (United States)
Experience: 2 Weeks

Pros: Pro:
1. Quality of screen is great - color and definition excellent
2. Small and light-weight
3. looks fancy

Cons: Cons:
1. DROP CALLS A LOT
2. phone book takes a long time to initiate after the phone was turned back on
3. keypad awkward to use - too crammed together
4. You cannot have ringtone and vibrate at the same time, it is either or.
5. Excesssive useless botton and features such as repeated "my music/ my photos / T-zone," etc.
6. Samsung doesn't offer loaner phone while your phone is sent into for repair

Summary: This phone has a lot of things you don't need (voice tags, automatically sends all your pictures to a TMobile online service etc), yet, it does poorly the most basic things: it cannot vibrate and ring at the same time (you have to choose either of the two modes). If you send a text message it gets rather painful, the T9 service is there but it does not add new words that you typed to your dictionary (names you type often have to be retyped every time the old-fashion way) and you cannot correct any mistake/typo on a word once you have typed the whole sentence (you have to delete and re-type the word). Also if you don't have coverage when you are about to send a messgae it simply deletes the message! If you text often, just avoid this phone (even a Motorola would be better). Other than that it's a sleek phone and the screen is great.

10 out of 20 people found this review helpful

Great Phone

Overall Rating:
4 out of 5

By: Faraz Abbas on Sunday, August 13, 2006
From: Bristol, CT (United States)
Experience: 1 Weeks

Pros: Beautiful screen, great multimedia features, very nice camera for pictures and video.

Cons: cant change the ascending ringtone
keys might seem small for some

Summary: When I got this phone the first thing I noticed was the great screen, its crisp and very bright. Video on the phone looked extremely nice and very watchable. The 1.3 megapixel camera is very sharp, and both the pictures and video look great. The phone as an MP3 is very versatile, and is great for times you dont want to carry an extra mp3 player. The call quality is solid.

9 out of 13 people found this review helpful

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