Introduction

Samsung's SGH-A727 is yet another continuation in the company's push to develop ultra thin, ultra chic phones with larger and brighter screens for improved viewing of mobile content.

Brimming with multimedia options from AT&T's video and music services, the A727 brings music, video and a multitude of downloadable material to the user with the latest in HSDPA high-speed data transfer technologies. The phone is fully equipped with a 1.3-megapixel camera and camcorder, MP3 music player, Bluetooth 2.0 technology, speakerphone and microSD external memory card slot.

The most noticeable highlight of the A727 is the 1.8 x 1.5 inch, 65K-color 220 x 176 px TFT display set on a trimly designed, 0.35-inch thick phone - one of the thinnest models around. For users searching for a stylish multimedia phone with a slim design that slides almost too easily into pockets and purses, the A727 may be one to consider.

Design

Chosen as one of 2007's International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award Honorees, the sleek A727 comes in a black exterior and closely resembles Samsung's slightly thinner candy bar handsets like the 0.33-inch thick T519 "Trace" and R510 "The Wafer" models. The A727 measures in at 4.5" x 1.98" x 0.35" and weighs a slight 2.82 ounces.

Its main display screen measures 1.8-inches diagonally and utilizes 262K-colors and TFT technology to produce beautifully vivid images. Users can customize the phone's backlighting, brightness and dialing font.

Below the screen is an extremely smooth keypad, toggle and other buttons that lie flat on the phone's thin surface. Surrounding a circular navigation toggle and WAP browser shortcut button are left and right soft keys, which appear to take more force to push than other keys. Below the soft keys is the shortcut button to activate the phone's music player, one button to "swap" between multiple applications, a "clear/back" button to navigate within the phone's menu and other programs, and a power/menu exit button. From a usability standpoint, the numeric keypad seems pushed too low down on the phone for comfortable dialing or texting and may be difficult to use for people with large hands.

The A727's left side panel includes a jack for a headset or USB adapter and up and down keys for volume control. The right panel touts a microSD memory card slot as well as a shortcut key to activate the phone's camera and camcorder. The phone's antenna is located in the bottom half of the handset. On the flip side, the top left hand corner of the phone is home to the camera/camcorder lens. This particular model lacks a flash and an additional screen to guide self-portraits.

Overall, the A727 is a very thin and lightweight phone to carry around. While the design is aesthetically pleasing, there may be some issues with the phone's potentially slippery keypad and position squashed toward the bottom of the face of the phone.

Out of the box, the Samsung SGH-A727 comes with a standard 900 Li-Ion battery, AC Travel Adapter and User Manual.

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