It’s also easy to fit the SIM. Once you power up the phone, the 262-colour high-definition TFT screen is outstanding.The phone’s exterior has three dark colour tones. The top slider’s surround is a stylish charcoal colour. The top slider’s screen and menu area are a cool black colour. I liked the battery cover’s tactile soft black rubber finish. In use:Navigation is via the central four-way D touchpad. At its centre is an OK and ‘quick connect’ internet button. To avoid smudging the screen, I found myself using the central D button to slide open the phone. The keypad is spacious with a quality feel and an affirming clunky click sound on keypresses. The keypad has a bright backlight making it easy to use in low light. The menu can be customised in two modes, classic and Flash; I found the Flash mode very distracting and preferred the classic look. Subfolders are text-led from the main menu icon. Movement between folders uses the four-way navigation; this makes the menus very easy to skip through, and I particularly liked pressing left or right to navigate to the next menu folder.There is no truly comfortable way of holding and texting the space or # key without bending your thumb. This makes texting awkward. The D600 has an hour less talk time than the D500, but seven hours is still quite good. Recharging the battery from flat took about 90 minutes.Features:The display is one of the best on the market. The 2mp camera with LED flash and TV output really stand out, too; the D600 reproduces clear and colour-rich pictures at its highest resolution of 1600x1200 pixels. If you want to maximise memory you can save shots in different resolutions. Pictures taken in low light were a little grainy. There’s no auto focus so taking pictures closer than 30cm were blurry. Unlike the D500, the D600’s camera is located on the bottom half of the slider and I frequently had to readjust my grip on the handset so that my fingers didn’t obscure the lens. You can connect the phone to a TV and it can be a huge amount of fun to share delightful (or embarrassing) photos or videos with a living-room audience. The pictures reproduced on a TV really well.The phone has a very healthy amount of memory. There’s 73MB onboard and a 64MB TransFlash memory card in the box; this translates into four full music albums or 60 minutes of video. Sound reproduction is superbly clear and sharp and there’s an option for 3D sound. An MP3 equaliser function adds power and punch to sound (it’s a pity the EQ doesn’t work on the ringtones). Samsung has bundled an attractive-looking headset with the phone, although there’s support for Bluetooth stereo – a good chance to cross-sell a stereo wireless headset. There’s also an innovative power save function. When it’s low on battery power, the D600 will try and conserve power for texts and calls and restricts playing of MP3s or videos. The phone has a clever auto lock function. Closing the phone locks it. A cool function is the ability to unlock it while the phone is closed to play MP3’s or texts etc.Competitive Positioning:The D600 fares very well against the current 2mp/MP3 champions, the Sony Ericsson K750i and W800i. What sets this handset apart from the other handsets is its huge screen. If this handset had 3G and radio support it’d be a killer consumer handset. The D600’s main differential is its cheaper price: when pennies make pounds the D600’s price might be a decisive factor.Sales Appeal:Turning the handset on and placing it in a customer’s hands is a sure-fire way to sell this phone. The D500 was a compact phone that had particular female appeal. The D600’s size and solid build puts the D600 as a desirable product for both sexes. The phone’s appeal would be to the feature and camera led market.For the business user, the D600 is quad band with some smartphone capabilities, secure IMAP protocol for accessing emails, and good calendar functions synced via USB. It has a Picsel viewer for Microsoft Office documents and PDFs. Still, there’s no push email, no 3G, no radio; and while the Contact book is adequate, it’s not possible to enter address details. This might deter business users.In Summary:Samsung has a reputation for solid, durable, well-built phones. The D600 is no exception. This is a great phone for consumers who love pictures, sound and stereo/TV connectivity. Music enthusiasts will enjoy the high quality sound reproduction. The big TFT screen shows large characters when manually dialling a number, ideal for any customers with bad eyesight. Report CardAppearance 8/10 Functionality 9/10Saleability 9/10 Overall 9/10
- Strengths: High definition screen to compliment an excellent 2mp camera, superb sound quality, innovative connectivity
- Weaknesses: No radio, easily smudged, uninspiring design –Samsung sliders all look the same
- Overall: There is not much this handset cannot do. Ok, its memory is not upgradeable: but it’s compact and lightweight, with quad band and Bluetooth/infrared connectivity making this a hard phone to match.
- Would I buy one? Yes. No complaints, it’s an outstanding handset
- Who’s using the phone? Will Smith
- Calling? Tommy Lee Jones – black suits with black Ray-Bans need a phone with three tones of black