Introduction

The new Samsung SGH-E715 replaces the tremendously popular V205. It boasts the same great 65,000 TFT color screen, and robust 40 tone polyphonic ring tones. But it also contains many upgrades and fixes that the V205 didn't have.

The differences between the SGH-E715 and SGH-E710 are small. The SGH-E715 will be released in North American and run on the 900 / 1900 GSM bands, while the E710 is planned for Europe and run on the 900 / 1800 GSM bands. Both phones contain an OLED front display. However the E710's has 256 colors while the SGH-E715's is monochrome. Aside from that the phones are almost indistinguishable.

For the purpose of this review, we played with the SGH-E715 released in the U.S. However the E710 is virtually the same thing.

Design

Samsung arguably makes the most popular clamshell phones in the industry. And one of the reasons is the design and functionality. After the incredible success of the V200 / V205, Samsung has released the SGH-E715 series. Similar to the V205, the SGH-E715 sports a 65,000 color screen, 40 tone polyphonic ring tones, and the same clamshell design.

But aside from the basic similarities, the SGH-E715 has many improvements and upgrades. For instance, Samsung has taken the V205's solid camera and now added and improved many features in the SGH-E715. A rare built-in flash, filters, frames, and multishot functionality are just a few to name. The robust set of features are one of the best we've seen.

However, one thing missing that was very innovative in the V205 was the rotating camera on the hinge. Its camera was able to be turned up to 180 degrees, so you could take self portraits, or pictures with your friends. Unfortunately, the SGH-E715 has moved the camera to a more conventional front lid position. Perhaps the reason being the added flash and the lack of room to place on the hinge.

The physical characteristics are well designed though. The SGH-E715 is slightly smaller as well. At 90 x 45 x 24 mm, it's compact enough to fit comfortably in your pocket while large enough to find in a purse. But perhaps the most interesting and unknown feature is the antenna. Samsung has mentioned its new internal antenna design it calls an Intenna. Supposedly, the Intenna is just as receptive as traditional external antennas without the unattractive appeal it might pose to some tastes. But we'll get to that later.

Screen

The same great screen found on the V205 is present on the SGH-E715. The internal 128 x 160 px color TFT screen has 65,000 colors. The TFT screen, as opposed to STN, has the circuit transistors placed on the glass at the pixel location instead of the need to scan the pixel location. This results in greatly increasing the response time and allows for very fast refresh rates. It comes in handy when playing action packed games, where fast refresh rates are needed.

The screen is divided into 3 parts. There's a top toolbar, the center where the wallpaper is, and a bottom toolbar. The actual area for the viewable area for the wallpaper is 128 x 128 px and measure 1.7 inches diagonally for a large viewing area.

The SGH-E715 also has an external 80 x 64 px monochrome OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) screen on the outer lid. However, that's not to say the SGH-E715's front screen is black and white. The OLED emits four different colors. An OLED is an electronic device made by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. When electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. This process is called electrophosphorescence.

When used to produce displays, OLED technology produces self-luminous displays that do not require backlighting. This means that you can see who's calling in a movie theater without lighting the whole room up.

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