Camera

The camera, which offers neither a flash nor video recording, is certainly not cutting-edge, but definitely satisfactory as a "phone camera." The A640 features a standard VGA type-camera with a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 px, with resolutions of 320 x 240 px and 224 x 168 px also available.

Photo quality can also be preset as Fine, Normal, or Economy. The shutter, which comes with seven different sound effects, is triggered by a softkey, the OK key, or dedicated button on the side of the phone. Pictures may also be taken with the phone closed and photo displayed on the external screen, allowing for self portraits. The camera also includes a Self-Timer and a Zoom lens.

In terms of options, the camera features most of the standard bells and whistles, allowing for brightness and white balance control, as well as "fun tools" that add special effects to the photos. The brightness controls allow for a +/- brightness of up to five points, while the white balance has settings for various lighting environments, including sunny, cloudy, tungsten, and fluorescent as well as auto and manual settings.

The fun tools include picture frames and color tones. The eleven frames run the gamut from standards, like a snowy "Merry Christmas" frame, to odder offerings, such as a frame entitled "Beans," which, as promised, superimposes a pod of beans on top of an image. (There is also a frame called "Robin Hood" which features an apple impaled by an arrow that can be placed upon the head of a given photo subject. While it is true that Robin Hood is associated with archery, this frame is more accurately a reference to William Tell, but we'll let Samsung slide). The color tones options transform a given photograph from its regular coloring to sepia, monochrome, warm, and cool tints.

Photos can be viewed in the gallery in either thumbnail or expanded size. The phone automatically records picture info such as time/date, resolution, size, quality, and whether or not the photo has been uploaded. The user may also add a caption to replace the standard names of format "Photo 00X." A feature called "postcard" superimposes a photograph of a handwritten message over another photo. Images may also be saved to a special folder for later use as wallpaper, picture ID, or with incoming calls.

Offering poor photos for prints, A640 camera will not replace a standard digital camera. Instead more suited to capture spontaneous shots to view on a PC.

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