Samsung SLM Cell Phone Review
By Mark Brezinski
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
December 30, 2007
The Samsung SLM an AT&T phone that is the first phone to launch with Napster's song-downloading client. Beyond this, the SLM is a solid, if basic, handset offering good functionality and battery life. It's a thin handset at just TK inches thick, with a plastic case. Although this doesn't feel like it would stand up to much rough treatment, it should be fine for everyday use. The SLM. The SLM is $129.99 with a two-year contract.
Placing a call with the SLM is about as easy to do with any other flip phone. In a call, the SLM offers shortcuts to pertinent applications like the contact list, as well as all the standard options like mute and speakerphone. The only feature we would've liked to see was an option to record the call. The contact list and the rest of the organizational software is slightly better than what most basic phones offer, but isn't anything spectacular. The phone does have a tasks application, which isn't typically found on entry-level phones.
The SLM's audio quality won't cause much complaint. Our tests showed its performance is good; voices sound pretty much as they should. An incoming caller's voice was handled well, but mid-range frequencies are a bit overemphasized. This means general conversation might sound slightly louder than it should. Your own voice is handled very well, however.
Multimedia performance on the SLM was a bit mixed. As far as capturing media, the SLM was really bad. Its camera was one of the worst we've seen, with blurry photos with inaccurate color. Video capture performance did better on our tests, but was still bad compared to other phones. Music and video playback was a bit better. The SLM offers a ton of options for downloading music to the phone. You can choose from eMusic, or the debut of Napster's mobile service. AT&T charges $7.49 for 5 songs, and this pack of 5 has to be bought in advance. Songs can be downloaded straight to the phone; you don't have to download them to PC first.
The SLM's other software is pretty standard for a basic phone. SMS and MMS messaging is handled adequately. There isn't an email client, however, and it its extensibility is limited to Java applications. Its browser is average, so we'd recommend downloading Opera Mini. We did think the alarm functionality was better than most phones, however, so the SLM does have a tiny bit over other phones in terms of software. This software was also responsive; things generally happened quickly.
The battery life of the SLM was generally good. In our tests, we found that the SLM had a call tiem battery life of a comfortable 5 hours, 20 minutes, which is slightly above average. Music playback was exceptional – one of our highest test results to date – stretching to an impressive 15 hours, 4 minutes. The web browsing time was bad, however, lasting just under three hours: about ninety minutes short of average.
In general, we liked the SLM as a step up from the entry-level phones that come free with a contract. But it's a financial step up as well; the SLM costs $130. For this price you could buy a Palm Centro, which is a great, inexpensive smart phone, and still have some money left over. We'd strongly recommend waiting for the price to come down so the SLM can be what it is: a better than average, entry-level device.
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