Technknowledge

When we saw the Samsung Messager earlier this year, we thought that it was an adequate messaging phone, but we were disappointed it didn't offer much else. Fortunately, Samsung took a little more care in designing the new Samsung Messager II. With a more appealing design and a stronger feature set, the Messager II, aka the SCH-r560, offers messaging and multimedia in one easy-to-use package. Call quality is decent and the photo quality is good. The Messager is available with both Metro PCS and Cricket Communications. We tested the former, but with the exception of some performance differences, the two handsets will be largely similar. Also, as neither carrier requires contracts you will have to shell out more for the Messager II than you would at a standard carrier. At MetroPCS the price is $149.99, while Cricket charges $129.

Design
The original Messager wasn't unattractive, but we couldn't get over the fact that we thought it looked like a toy. In contrast, the Messager II is larger with a sturdier feel. Its profile and blue-gray color scheme aren't particularly striking, but for what it lacks in pizazz, it makes up for with a bright display and well-designed controls.

The 2.2-inch display supports 262,000 colors. Its graphics and photos are more than presentable, and its colors are bright. It lacks the impact of the some of the higher-resolution displays, but it's a good match on a phone of this caliber. The menus are easy to use as well, and we like the shortcut icons on the standby display. However, we'd prefer to have more controls over which icons we'd like to appear. Also, though you can change the backlighting time, no other display options are customizable.

The Messager II's nifty navigation array is one of its biggest draws. The circular control functions as both a four-way toggle and a scrollwheel. Indeed, we could move our finger all the way around when navigating menus. The control in the middle of the toggle opens the menu when in standby mode and functions as an OK key when inside menu pages. Its remaining controls are spacious and tactile. You'll also find two soft keys, a speakerphone shortcut, a clear button, and the Talk and End/power controls.

Below the phone controls is the standard numeric keypad. The keys are flush, but you have enough space for dialing and even texting. The individual buttons are also separated from each other, though the numbers on the keys are somewhat small. Users with visual impairments should test the phone before buying it.

A volume rocker and the microSD card slot are on the left spine, while the camera shutter and the Micro-USB port are on the right spine. The latter is used to connect a USB data cable and the charger. On the top of the phone is the 3.5-millimeter headset jack--that's a nice touch on a music phone. The camera lens and speaker sit on the back of the handset. The Messager II lacks a flash and a self-portrait mirror.

The Messager II has a spacious, comfortable keyboard.

To find the Messager II's keyboard, just tip the phone to the left and slide up the top face. The slider mechanism is neither too stiff nor too loose--you can open and close it with one hand and it clicks into place at either end. The display will rotate to landscape mode when opening the keyboard, though the Messager II doesn't have an accelerometer. The keys are flat, but the keyboard's spacious layout makes it easy to use and comfortable. What's more, the top row of keys is not too close to the bottom of the sliding face.

The large space bar is conveniently positioned in the center of the bottom row. On its left side, you'll find the messaging shortcut and the shift and function keys. On its right side are the arrow directional buttons. As on many messaging handsets, the numbers share space with letters and symbols. We didn't like that the soft keys are at either end of the bottom row. Though they're a different color, they are a long way from the corresponding commands on the display. Also, though the buttons are backlit, they numbers are difficult to see on the sliver keys.

Features
The Messager II has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers and an e-mail address. You can save callers to groups and you can pair them with a photos and one of 13 polyphonic ringtones. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calculator, a calendar, a tip calculator, a voice recorder, a world clock, a stop watch, a unit and currency converter, and a notepad.

Nokia has given U.S. carriers an interesting selection of cell phones over the past few months. We've seen quality music phones, quirky square models, and basic handsets just for making calls. The newest device to land on our desk, the Nokia Mural 6750 for AT&T, falls into yet another category. Slim, shiny, and armed with push-to-talk (PTT) and 3G, the Mural has a solid feel, thanks to its metal skin. Its performance was inconsistent, however, and it doesn't offer anything that we haven't seen before. The Mural costs $49.99 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate.

Design
The Mural's design left us a bit divided. While its metal skin is both shiny and sturdy, it also looks a bit too much like a forgotten Motorola Krzr. It's certainly not unattractive, but the overall design--particularly the "chin" at the bottom of the handset--looks dated. At 3.83 inches by 1.85 inches by 0.68 inch, the Mural is slim and portable; it's also a bit on the heavy side (3.9 ounce), but we enjoy the solid feel in the hand. Indeed, the metal skin is welcome in a world of plastic phones.

The external display is hidden when the backlighting is off. When it's active it shows the time, battery life, and signal strength. It also displays numeric caller ID, but it won't show photos attached to contacts. Below are three music controls for activating and using the player when the phone is closed. They're a bit thin, but we didn't have any trouble using them. You'll also see two lights hidden beneath the front flap that glow when you get a call or message. It's a purely cosmetic touch, but you can choose a color and turn the lights off completely.

The remaining exterior controls include a volume rocker and the PTT button on the left spine. The former is easy to find when you're on a call, but the latter is too small and rather stiff. Just below is the headset jack, which unfortunately is just 2.5 millimeters (we prefer a 3.5 millimeter jack). On the right spine you'll find the Micro-USB port that accommodates both a USB cable and a charger. We applaud Nokia for moving toward the Micro-USB charger standard.

The camera lens sits on the rear side of the phone. There's no flash or self-portrait mirror, but you can use the reflective skin to get vanity shots. A speaker sits on the bottom of the Mural, and the memory card slot is behind the battery cover. That's not the best place for it, though we're glad you don't have to remove the battery as well.

The large (2.25-inch) internal display supports 16 million colors and 320x240 pixels. It's bright, vibrant, and very easy on the eyes. The icon-based menu interface (Nokia Series 40, sixth edition) is simple and intuitive, though accessing some apps like Cellular Video involves way too many clicks. You can change the display font color and size.

The navigation array is flush, but its spacious layout made up for the lack of definition. There's a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, a Web browser control, a music key, Talk and End/power buttons, and a camera shortcut. That's a nice assortment of options, though we'd prefer to have a dedicated back button. You can program the toggle with shortcuts and you can add additional shortcut icons to the display. The flush keypad buttons are spacious with large numbers. They're somewhat, slippery, however, so it took us a few tries before we could dial and text quickly. The backlighting also could be brighter.

According to Nokia, the Mural's skin is made from 80 percent recycled plastic. What's more, the packing is made from 25 percent recycled materials, the user manual uses 10 percent recycled paper, and the handset is free of materials like asbestos, benzene, and CFCs.

Features
The Mural has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, two e-mails, a street address, a birthday, a formal name and nickname, a company name and job title, and notes. You can save callers to groups and pair them with one of eight polyphonic ringtones and a photo. Just remember that photos won't show up on the external display. The SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts.

Essential features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a to-do list, a calculator, a notepad, a full duplex speakerphone, a stopwatch, and a notepad. You'll also find stereo Bluetooth, a file manager, USB mass storage, PC syncing, voice dialing, a voice recorder, and modem support. You also can access POP3 e-mail, but you must use a clunky Web-based interface. And of course, the Mural is compatible with AT&T's PTT network.

As a 3G (UMTS) phone, the Mural offers the full set of AT&T's wireless broadband multimedia services. You'll find Cellular Video (streaming-video content) and AT&T Mobile Music (wireless song downloads through partners). The experience with the two applications is similar to that on other AT&T phones; both are minimalist in their designs, but the music player supports a wide variety of file formats and it offers features like album art, an equalizer, playlists, shuffle and repeat modes, and an airplane mode.

The Mural follows its 3G predecessors by offering a solid selection of music-related features, such as support for XM Radio, a Music ID app, and music videos. You also get an application for creating your own ringtones and

Even with the constant flow of cell phones that the company produces, the Samsung Flight is rather unique. It's not a smartphone, but it has a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. And while it may look powerful, features are pretty standard; it has Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera, GPS, a media player, and support for AT&T's 3G network. The result is a phone that's a little schizophrenic. The unique design is sturdy and easy to use, but performance wasn't quite up to par. The Flight, aka the SGH-A797, is $99 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Design
In a way, you could say that the Flight suffers from multiple personality disorder. Though you'd think that its QWERTY keyboard positions it as a solid messaging phone, the touch screen adds an additional way to interface with the handset. Similarly, while the touch screen makes us think of a multimedia device, the display's small size limits its usability. So where does that leave the Flight? The truth is that we're not really sure. Though some users will happily engage with the keyboard, others may skip straight to the touch screen. Yes, it can be a bit confusing, but we also think that the crazy combination works. Plus, we're never against having too many choices.

The Flight is 4.17 inches by 2.2 inches by 0.5 inch, so it's a little bigger than most phones in its class. It's also a bit heavy at 4.8 ounces, but it remains relatively portable. The handset has a solid construction and the slider mechanism is sturdy; we liked how the Flight fits squarely in the hand. The Flight comes in red and gray; we reviewed the red version, but the features are the same on both handsets.

The touch screen measures 2.8 inches. That would be much too small on a normal touch-screen phone, so Samsung appears to have kept this in mind. There's no virtual keyboard (you have physical keys instead), the browser is Opera Mini rather than full HTML, and the Flight lacks Samsung's TouchWiz interface. Without those options, you only use the touch-screen for selecting icons and list options and for plunking at a virtual numeric keypad. For either of those uses, the touch screen is adequate.

The display supports 262,000 colors and 320x240 pixels. Though handsets with 16 million-color displays are increasing in number, the Flight's screen is vibrant with bright colors and sharp graphics. You can adjust the brightness, backlight time, and font type. The touch interface is quite responsive, both when you're selecting icons and scrolling through a long list. You can adjust the display calibration and the intensity of the vibrating feedback.

Though the Flight doesn't have a TouchWiz shortcut bar, there are three touch icons that give access to the messaging folder, the favorite contacts list, and a user-programmable shortcut menu. Below them are touch controls for the main menu, the main contacts list, and the recent calls feature. The latter is rather redundant given the presence of the physical Talk button.

Below the display are a back key and the Talk and End/power buttons. The controls are flush but their large size makes them easy to use. On the left spine you'll find a volume rocker, a second onscreen shortcut menu, and the Micro-USB/charger port. Over on the right spine are a display lock switch and a camera shutter. The camera lens and small speaker sit on the rear side. Vanity shots are possible with the mirrored border that surrounds the lens. The microSD card is located behind the battery cover.

The Flight's keyboard is well-designed.

The physical keyboard is reasonably spacious and user-friendly. There are four rows of keys with the top row set far enough from the bottom of the slider. Letters share space with symbols and numbers with numbers marked by red circles. You'll also find directional arrow keys, a messaging shortcut control, a dedicated ".com" button, and the standard array of other keyboard controls (Delete, Shift, Function, etc.). The space bar is a bit small, but it's located conveniently in the center of the bottom row. We could type messages quickly and comfortably without making many mistakes.

Beyond the keyboard you also can use the Flight's handwriting recognition feature. It works pretty well with a firm press, but the display is too small to fully support it. What's more, it takes too much time to write letters one by one. You can use the virtual numeric keypad as well, but that means multiple taps with the T9 software.

Features
The Flight's phone book holds 2,000 contacts with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail address, a URL, a nickname, a company and job title, a birthday, and notes. You can save callers to groups and pair them with photos, ringtones, and alert tones. The SIM card holds an additional 250 names.

Basic features include text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a memo pad, a stopwatch, a timer, a world clock, a calculator, a task list, a currency and unit converter, and a tip calculator. Additional features are pretty standard. You'll find a sketchpad, a file manager, voice dialing, stereo Bluetooth, PC syncing, a voice recorder, and USB mass storage. E-mail is limited to an AT&T Mobile Email app, which offers access to POP3 services like AIM, Gmail, Windows Live, AOL, and Yahoo. Given the clunky Web-based interface, we wouldn't want to use it extensively.