Cingular's Samsung SYNC(SGH A707)--Introduction

Introduction

Cingular Sync alias Samsung SGH-A707 is a slim flip phone that has a number of interesting features.  The speeds of the Cingular’s HSDPA network provide instant access to the Music and video service. Sensitive multimedia keys, MP3 player, microSD memory card and Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo headset support make this phone an ideal device for those who love to be entertained on the move. The phone is available in metallic gray with black accents.  The 2.0 mega pixel cameras with video capture, 3D gaming, speakerphone, messaging capabilities and the quad band GSM are definitely desirable features in the phone.

The phone is boxy and does not fit snugly into small pockets.  It is more ideal for larger pockets and bags.  The black color of the phone is ordinary.  However, the phone has a solid, resuring feel in the hand. The external screen is just 1 inch; 96 x 96 pixels, but displays all the information that the user looks for—date, time, signal strength or battery life.   Photo caller id and the view finder for the camera are additional features visible above the screen. The limitation is that, there is no inbuilt flash and only the contrast can be adjusted.  

The touch sensitive music controls are located below the display. The touch, however, has to be very firm. The music player has to be started by pressing the silver bottom on the right spine.  The user can fast forward, pause or rewind between tracks even when the phone is closed.  The music start control also activates the camera and the ringer profile list.  The head set charger ports and the volume rocker sit on the left spine while the stereo speakers are located on the right and left of the front flap. The Micro SD card recessed above these controls cannot be easily extracted and would require some effort.

Cingular SYNC’s internal display screen is a 2.24 inch one and supports 262,000 colors. The phone is a pleasure to use and the colors most attractive.  The brightness, the backlight time, font size, color and type can be adjusted to the needs of the user.  The simple menu structure with popup secondary menus makes navigation very easy.    The five way navigation keys located just below the screen are large and well spaced.  However, the keys are on level with the phone and are not very comfortable to use. Moreover, it opens the browser in a standby mode. A four-way toggle is placed at the left of the buttons and acts as a shortcut for user defined keys.  Two soft keys, a dedicated button for launching the music player, a traditional Talk and End/Power button and a clear key are other buttons on the keypad. 

The phone book has a very large capacity.  It can hold 1000 contacts and can take as much as six phone numbers per contact.  Two email address, two web addresses, a nickname, a birth date, instant message handling, a company name, a job title, two street addresses and notes can be added with ease.   Caller Ids can be saved, callers can be grouped, photos assigned and specific ringtones linked to specific callers.  The phone comes with ten sixty-four chord polyphonic tunes only.  The other standard features include vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a voice memo recorder, an alarm clock, a calendar, a task list, a note pad, a calculator, a currency and unit converter, a world clock, a timer and a stopwatch.

The integrated Oz email client supports Yahoo, hotmail and AOL accounts and instant messaging.  The Bluetooth with stereo profile is onboard and the speakerphone, USB connectivity and modem capability offer high-end options to the user.  Wireless broadband data speeds are supported through Cingular’s 3.5 G Network as this is an HSDPA phone and is backwards compatible with the carrier’s slower UMTS Network. Standard steaming video options are also available such as news, sports, weather and entertainment programming.  MobiRadio and MobiTV and HSDPA support enables large downloads.  The Cingular SYNC partners with existing music services to enhance its store of music.  Subscribers can buy music from Yahoo Music, Napster to Go and eMusic. However, the music purchased will download to the user’s PC and not phone and they will have to be transferred via the USB cable, which will have to be separately purchased along with the memory card. .

The music player interface has simple animated graphics with track name, artist and album on both internal and external displays.  Play lists can be created, shuffled and repeated.
Camera
The phone has a 2 megapixel high quality camera that can take pictures in six resolutions.Five quality settings, a night mode, a 2 X zoom, a multishot option with three speed choices, a mosaic shot mode, three color effects, 20 fun frames, a self timer, a white balance setting and three shutter sounds are other features of the camera worth noting.  The camcorder comes with two resolutions with sound and editing options. The limit is the memory limit. The 50 MB of shared memory for photos, videos and downloads are part of the package, but an additional MicroSD card would be a welcome investment.
The SYNC can be personalized with wallpapers; background colors, greeting messages and alert sounds. You can add to the features by purchasing additional options from Cingular. The quad band radio is fine but not exceptional.  The audio is clear but an occasional static does disturb the reception when close to other electronic devices. The speakerphones are also loud but a little patchiness in the audio quality is present.  The Bluetooth headphones are of a standard quality. 

The Samsung Sync (SGH-A707) has a rated battery life talk time of four hours.  The standby time is 10 days

Basic Features

Cingular's Samsung Sync(SGH A 707)-Review | Details and Specs | Picture Gallery

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