Introduction

Over the past year, ultra-thin devices have far outsold all other phone designs. As Motorola dominated the marketplace with the RAZR, many manufacturers who were caught off-guard scrambled to create thin phones of their own.

Last month Samsung released the MM-A900, its first slim phone. But being virtually identical to the RAZR in form and function, it was only met with lukewarm enthusiasm.

Now Samsung hopes its new SGH-T809 will fair better. Straying from the typical flip phone shell, the T809 is packaged in a sleek slider design.

Creating a striking first impression, the T809 features a large full-color screen, resembling the look and feel of high-end plasma televisions. Slim enough to fit into consumers' pockets, the T809 offers an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player with external stereo speakers, and Bluetooth wireless technology to ensure it doesn't stay hidden for long.

Design

Being that ultra-thin phones are best sellers these days, it's no surprise that the sleek T809 measures under 0.6-inches thin. Built of plastic, rather than metal-alloy as the RAZR and A900, the T809 is a lightweight at just over 3.0 ounces, but lacks the rigidity and sturdy feel the former devices had.

Being wider than other phones, the majority of the front panel prominently displays a large state-of-the-art 262K-color screen. Above, users can capture odd angled photos and video clips with the versatile 1.3-megapixel camera lens. Below, a 5-way navigational keypad is surrounded by Dial, Exit, Cancel, and Left and Right Keys. External speakers on the bottom corners provide an open-air listening experience for music and sounds.

On the left side, Volume Keys adjust earpiece and tone levels during calls and standby, while a Headset Jack allows listeners to enjoy music privately. The right edge contains a TransFlash memory card slot for additional space useful for storing MP3 files and photos.

Slid open, the numeric keypad is revealed offering comfortable and convenient menu navigation and text messaging through T9 predictive text.

Out of the box, the Samsung SGH-T809 comes with a Standard 800 mAh Li-Ion Battery, Travel Charger, Stereo Handsfree Headset, USB Data Cable, 32 MB TransFlash Card, PC Studio CD, and User Manual.

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