Basic Features

The MM-A900 (also known as the SPH-A900 or the Blade) runs on Sprint's dual-band CDMA (800 / 1900) network. Featuring a busy 12-icon menu structure (or list), the A900 is one of the newest devices to be compatible with Sprint's Power Vision.

Able to access news through On Demand, buy songs through Sprint Music Store, listen to online radio through the Media Player, or download ringtones and wallpapers through My Content, the A900 is fully-integrated with Sprint services. More cluttered than most menus, the A900 may be confusing at first, but is quickly intuitive after some use.

Rating the 800 mAh Li-Ion battery at 3.0 hours and 8.3 days (200 hours) of talk and standby times, actual times will be slightly less. Handset manufacturers and carriers often list talk-time and standby-time ratings with disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times.

Screen

The external LCD allows users to monitor call status, date and time, and signal and battery levels. Displayed in 65K-colors, the 96 x 96 px screen even allows music listeners to manage MP3 controls and playlists without opening the phone. Built from STN (Super Twisted Nematic) technology, battery life is prolonged at the expense of image quality.

The internal LCD is more impressive. Used for video streaming and camera functionality, the 2.35-inch (240 x 320 px) display is built on TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology, enhancing the brightness and contrast of the 262K-color screen while providing fast refresh rates.

With TFT (instead of STN), transistors are manufactured directly on glass. Eliminating the need to scan pixel locations, more responsive imaging is achieved; necessary for image-intense applications such as mobile television. However STN has its strengths as well. Consuming much less power than TFT, manufacturers often use it for external LCDs to display static information.

With cell phones topping out at 262K-colors, the A900's dual color screens are exceptional. Providing excellent response rates and bright and vivid imaging, the A900 is well equipped to take advantage of Sprint's multimedia-packed Power Vision Network.

< Prev Next >

This article is Copyright 2002-2009 Mobiledia Corp. and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from Mobiledia. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact us.