The Samsung D500 might come as a relief to the Samsung-dork-like phones in the market of yesterday. Features like mp3 player,bluetooth,1.3 M camera and trendy looks with rates lot lower than its Nokia clones,definitely makes this cell a cut above the rest of em all.
What I particularly like about this cell is its camera. A colossal 1.3 Megapixel, feature loaded leviathon that can be operated in a variety of ways. Four different modes of shooting-Single ,Multi ,Mosaic and Night,resolutions choices of VGA(640X480),QVGA(320X240),QCIF(176X144),Sub-QCIF(128X96),SVGA(1280X1024) and Mega(1152X864), flash control,shutter sounds,keypad shortcuts,multiple fancy frames and if all this was not enough, effects like B&W,Negative,Sepia,Emboss, Aqua,Red Focus,blah,blah,blah. If you have spent hours rubbing the mouse on Photoshop bred post-click effects, you know what I mean. But again there is the problem of the shutter speed. At high resolutions like SVGA or Mega, the speed really crawls. And there is no way to set it. The video recorder is good, with flash option and special video effects. But dont even think of capturing videos in the evening!
Next comes the mp3 player. Its very simple to use,with volume control,playlist and different play-modes like shuffle and repeat. The sound quality is just around ok. Although I heard that the quality can be improved by downloading songs via USB rather than bluetooth or infrared. Anyways, always make sure that the bitrate of the songs that you download is more than 128 kbps. That should do just fine. Then again if bass is required, it has a detachable speaker on the RHS that can be plugged in anytime. The same speaker can also be used for hands-off talking. The sound quality is really good. So dont even think of using it in public places! The only problem that I see is that music cannot be played in the background and then again you cant fast-forward or rewind to a particular section.
Now then lets move over to its looks. The D500 is really small. the size of a typical credit card, perhaps somewhat thicker, it hides perfectly in the palm. It is a slide-model where the top-section with basic keys slides up,exposing the inner key-pad. This leaves a large area for the display which is around 30 x 39 mm, much larger than other Samsungs around!(Dont forget the D410 though!) . The color is black(although I heard that limited gray models were also released) with slight gradients and matte,giving it a good glossy look. The best part is that you dont need to slide the panels for incoming calls. You can do absolutely everything without sliding, except keying messages! All this gives the D500 a solid,trendy look(Wish I could paste a snapshot here ;-) )
Plus there are the other features like JavaWorld Games,voice recorder(good one!),world time,programmable alarm with tunes that would really make you sleep even more!,converter,a good organiser(which I have never used!). There are also good color themes and langualge support(Tamil,Telugu,Bengali,Gujarati,Kannad, Marathi and yes,english!) This actually depends on the nation!
The bluetooth and infrared services are also really easy to use. The usual coupling takes place,but there is always a send via bluetooth option with all videos,music and images. So whenever you go for the D500, do get a USB dongle as well. Too bad it doesnt come in the on-package-accessory!
Finally for the detail crunching freaks, heres a list of the D500 specs that I got from a webpage.
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General
Network GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Announced 2004, 4Q
Status Available
Size
Dimensions 93.5 x 45.7 x 23.5 mm
Weight 99 g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 176 x 220 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Amount 45 preset
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 x 12 fields, Photo call
Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls
Card slot No
Features
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots)
Data speed 32 - 48 kbps
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Clock Yes
Alarm Yes
Infrared port Yes
Games 3 + downloadable,
Colors Silver, Black
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280x1024 pixels, video, flash
Bluetooth
EDGE (in D500E version only)
Java MIDP 2.0
WAP 2.0
MP3/MP4/AAC player
T9
SyncML
Organizer
Voice memo
Built-in handsfree
USB port
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 800 mAh
Stand-by Up to 300 h
Talk time Up to 6 h 30 min
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh
Stand-by Up to 380 h
Talk time Up to 8 h
The battery does have some problems and I strongly feel it still cannot beat Nokias on that count. There is no extensible card slot,which means the inbuilt 94Mb is all you'll get. But then thats enough! Unless you want to download the full version of ''The Wall'' !!
The D500 package contains 1 battery,1 travel Adapter,1 Straight Handset,1 Sound Mate and 1 Hand Strap. ..phew! If you get anything else do send me a mail! All this for a good Rs.17000, todays date!
Hope this helps and when you do indeed buy the D500, dont forget, ''You spoilt yourself here!''.
