Review Of Samsung Solstice SGH-A887 Cell Phone
Cell Phones — on August 27, 2009 at 8:00 am | 4 CommentsSamsung Solstice SGH-A887: If Only Looks Mattered
Sum n’ substance:
Thumbs up: Killer looks. Easy to use touch interface. Loaded with multimedia features.
Thumbs down: 2.0 megapixel camera, could’ve been better. Run-of-the mill browser speed and video performance.
Inside the trunk:
Band:WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900, speaker phone, Bluetooth, 2.0 megapixel camera, LCD, up to 300 min talktime, supports AAC and MP3 file formats, internet browser and supports JAVA applications.
Price: $99.99
The Whiz-kid speaks: When I first took a look at the phone, I found it quite attractive. Though I wouldn’t give it numero uno position on the stylecheck list but yeah it is undoubtedly attractive. So here I go, giving you a crystal clear picture of what this phone has to offer.
Razzle- Dazzle: Available in classy black, this phone definitely rates high on the glamour quotient. It’s got a sleek design with rounded corners. It as snug as a bug in the rug at a weight of 3.3 ounces and a size of 4.3 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.5 inch. Though the display isn’t small at 3 inches, I just wish it could have been a bit bigger. It has a support for about 262,000 colors and 400×240 pixels leading to a fine and dandy resolution. Instant access to a variety of features is provided by Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. The icon based menu is pretty simple and spontaneous.
The dial pad Features large alphanumeric characters. It also supports the QWERTY keyboard. To switch between the keypad and the keyboard all you need to do is rotate the phone to the left. The handset also offers a motion detection feature that automatically mutes a call or an alarm tone when you place the phone face down on a surface. The right spine has a control which opens up a control for the shortcut menu. Its back side has the camera lens and self portrait mirror rest. The memory card is awkwardly placed behind the battery.
Inside Dope:
Intrinsic features offered by the solstice include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a calculator, a memo pad, a task list, a tip calculator, an alarm clock, a world clock, a timer, a stopwatch, a currency and unit converter, and a speakerphone. To add to the already long list, I also came across a few other features like speaker-independent voice dialing and commands, USB mass storage, PC syncing, a file manager, Web-based POP3 e-mail, instant messaging, a voice memo recorder, GPS support with AT&T Navigator support, and full Bluetooth with a stereo profile. But again these features are no different from those offered by the earlier phones launched by Samsung. However, instant messaging hasn’t been included.
The 2.0 megapixel camera comes along with a smile shot feature. Though the resolution is low, I found the pictures to be vibrant and the best part being it didn’t show any major image noise. There is an audio player which supports a wide range of file formats. But that exactly isn’t any great news to music lovers because of the mediocre audio quality. The URL can be entered by using the keypad but the major glitch as far as web browsing is concerned is the small display. It also has a lot to offer for gaming aficionados with games like Tumbling Dice and test demos of Block Breaker, Diner Dash 2, The Sims 3, and World Poker Tour Hold Em 2. I particularly liked the last one.
I wasn’t that satisfied with the quality of the calls. The volume is quite low plus there is also some amount of static. When I enquired with the caller even he complained of the same problems. The speakerphone or the Bluetooth headset also couldn’t do much to improve the quality of the sound. Videos also displayed some amounts of pixilation, especially during the action scenes.
Nitty- Gritty: I think Samsung has almost run out of ideas because frankly speaking this phone does not have anything really nice or new to offer as compared to the other phones launched by the company, except for the looks. If you’re looking out for an average phone which is high on the glam quotient or possibly if you’re a Samsung fan then I guess this could be your pick.
Tweet This
Save to delicious1
Stumble it
Subscribe
4 Comments
Sleek & sexy piece with LCD, mp3, java & all the features I wanted. Oooooooooooh! I am pretty ready for that one!
What are you saying? What the hell am I gonna do with it if it’s low on browser speed & 2 megapixel camera? What’s use of Java with all that? yah! but it does cover the lack of features with looks.
Great looks, good features, ok browser & nice camera with good picture quality………….
First igmpression is good. I think, its kinda cool.What do you say which option would you suggest from WCDMA & GSM 1800?
Bought my Samsung Solstice about a week back and I’m glad I discovered your site. So many cool built in toys if only they could be wrested from the icy grip of ATT. I have got my data wire coming and I’ll be installing TKFE and PC Studio once I get back to the fat pipe at work. I cannot hold out to see what all I can make this thing do, especially the Gps navigation apps. I’m a cyclist (hence the name) and I’ve already been itching for a phone app that I could use to track my rides. Sure this can be carried out with att’s own apps, but I just cannot bring myself to pay a month-to-month fee for an app. If they’d offered it as a 1 time purchase price they’d have had me.