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Samsung SGH-E740
P12,000
Mobile Phone
www.samsung.com.ph

Aside from the standard phone functions of sending and receiving calls, e-mail and SMS/MMS messages, the E740 boasts of good quality acoustics and carries about 30MBs worth of onboard memory as well as a MicroSD slot for memory expansion. Its music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, MPEG 4 and WMA file formats so there’s little or no concern when synchronizing it with your desktop Windows Media Player via the device’s unified proprietary USB/headset/charger port. It comes with eight Java games, including trial versions of Sonic the Hedgehog and, interestingly, the highly addictive Paris Hilton’s Diamond Quest.

The 2.0-megapixel camera comes equipped with a 5x zoom and produces decently clear images. It also allows you to shoot videos, though, of course, videos in that kind of resolution can only do so much in terms of quality– thus all the snowing and pixelation brought by shaky handling. The Voice Recorder can pull in an hour’s worth of recording with clear audio and, in addition, you can even record audio clips from its FM radio for later playback.

The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, and involves accessing number-assigned controls and its scroll wheel. Only thing is that the scroll wheel, which you can operate by either pressing it four-way or sliding your finger around it, is overly sensitive. This is a sticky challenge because accidental thumb contact can make you miss the mark and activate some other function instead. But it does get better once you get the hang of it. From accessing menus to feature setups, animations abound its every nook and cranny. When making a call, an animated black pen appears, writing each number on a notepad (other dialpad options are available), while composing a text message lets you include melodies, emoticons and pictures, and allows up to eight lines of text.

The model we tested was hewn in pale silver hard plastic and the upper half has a glossy metallic faceplate, which gives it a classy appearance, but not after much handling since it doesn’t look very good with fingerprints on it or on the screen. Sliding the phone open reveals the number keypad that, while lacking in spacing between buttons, are large enough not to fumble through even when in a hurry to make a call or type a message. And speaking of ergonomics, the E740’s compact dimensions (97x46x16.8mm) make it considerably thin for a slider. So when this phone is resting comfortably in your palm, the dedicated music and camera buttons on the right side are easily thumb operable and the volume settings (on the left side) by both the index and the middle fingers.

For more reviews, pick up the latest issue of PCWorld-Philippines, or visit the PCW Web site.