Samsung have made great progress in the mobile market in the past few years with numerous fashion phones however it is their steps into the Windows Mobile world that we're interested in. One such device is the Samsung SGH i620, a Windows Mobile 6 Standard smartphone with a slider design. So, without further ado, read on to take a look at the i620...

In the box:

• Samsung i620 QWERTY Ultra Messaging Smartphone
• Samsung Standard Battery
• Samsung Extended Battery
• Samsung Battery Charger
  
• Samsung Wired Headset
• UK Mains Power Adapter/Charger
• Samsung USB Sync Cable
• Samsung User Manual, Quick Start Guide
• Samsung Driver CD

Samsung SGH i620 box

Samsung SGH i620 battery charger

Samsung SGH i620 extended battery

Samsung SGH i620 charger

Samsung SGH i620 CD and manuals

Samsung SGH i620 headset

Samsung SGH i620 USB wire

Specifications:

• Windows Mobile 6 Standard
• Dimensions: 95mm x 59mm x 16.3mm
• Weight: 126g with battery
• RAM: 80Mb shared ROM/RAM memory
• Screen: 2.2" Colour TFT, 65k colours
• Resolution: QVGA, 320 x 240 pixel resolution
• Communications: 2100MHz 3G HSDPA, Triband 900/1800/1900 EDGE/GPRS/GSM
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
• Camera: 2.0 megapixel (1600x1200) main, plus VGA video call camera
• Power Adapter: UK Mains Plug, included
• Battery: 1200mAh Lithium Ion
• Battery Standby: Up to 320hrs, manufacturer's figures
• Battery Talk Time: Up to 6hrs 30min, manufacturer's figures
• USB Interface: Mini USB
• Bundled applications: MS Office Viewer, PDF viewer, RSS reader
• MicroSD card slot
• QWERTY slide-down keyboard
• Five way navigation pad

Samsung SGH i620

The device

Taking a look at the i620 for the first time you'll notice that its made up predominately of matt black plastic with chromed accents, its not the most attractive device I've ever held, in fact I'd go as far as to say that it looks better in the photos that you'll see here than it does in reality which is a real shame. Why is this? Well I think because in the pictures the device appears smaller than it actually is. That's not to say that it is big, it isn't but its proportions don't quite seem to fit as well when its actually in your hand. For one last time, its not hideous but it wont be winning any beauty competitions any time soon.

Samsung SGH i620 front

The front of the i620 features matt black touch sensitive soft keys, a home key, back key and green and red telephony keys all accented in chrome. It also features a smooth rotating navigation ring (jog dial) with an action button in its centre, this also doubles up as a standard navigational pad.

The i620 also features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard with function key enabling dual use of the keys. There's a video call camera on right next to the ear piece and a slight raise below the screen to aid in sliding down the keypad, I've found that in reality most users will probably just use the bottom of the top half of the phone to slide it open though, it just works better!

Samsung SGH i620 back

The rear of the i620 features a 2.0 megapixel camera hidden behind the top half of the phone which means its hidden when the slide is closed, a positive when considering protection of the lens. It also features a self portrait mirror for capturing those vain shots of yourself! The bottom half of the device (on the slide) features two speaker vents and the relevant Samsung/HSDPA logos, that's right, the i620 features HSDPA for ultra-fast download speeds!

Samsung SGH i620 closed

The bottom of the i620 simply features the microphone and nothing else, simple yet effective.

Samsung SGH i620 top closed

Samsung SGH i620 top open

Likewise, the top of the device features simply the power button and noting else.

Samsung SGH i620 left closed

Samsung SGH i620 left open

The left-hand side of the device features the Micro SD expansion slot and the volume rocker for adjusting the handset's volume.

Samsung SGH i620 right closed

Samsung SGH i620 right open

Finally, the right-hand side of the Samsung SGH i620 features the USB/headset (proprietary) socket and a function button which launches the quick menu which is very handy for speedy access to the everyday functions that you use.

In Use

The Samsung SGH i620 is very appealing on paper with a whole host of features however I can't help but feel a little let down by its delivery of these features. I've been using Windows Mobile Professional devices more often than not recently which feature touch-screens and a slight variation on the Windows Mobile platform. One thing is for certain, the transition back to a real numeric keypad as featured on the i620 was great, its something that is lacking from many touch-screen devices and is sorely missed in my opinion. Perhaps I've been a little harsh on the i620 so far, it did nothing wrong really but for some reason didn't really excite me. Perhaps I'm a little bored of Windows Mobile 6 and its quirks, its received a refresh on Windows Mobile Professional devices as of late as a result of the inclusion on many HTC devices of the TouchFLO interface, something which relies on a touch-screen being present. It must be hard to raise the sort of excitement that recent touch-screen devices (HTC Touch, iPhone etc.) have raised on a device which is essentially a rework of a standard form factor, albeit with cracking specifications. So perhaps I should adjust the way I'm thinking about the i620 however many people wont want to compromise when deciding which device to purchase next. They will want the device with the wow factor and unfortunately the i620 just doesn't have it. Yes it features HSDPA, the upgrade to 3G but at the end of the day what will impress people more, your fancy user interface or your faster connection speed? The UI will win hands down every time.

The homescreen on the i620 is rather nice, it features a pop-out menu which is colour coded based on which section you are in. It works well, especially when paired with the rotating navigation ring, its smooth scrolling is really nice to use. Take a look at the screenshots below to get an idea of how it works.

Homescreen 1

Homescreen 2

Homescreen 3

Homescreen 4

Homescreen 5

The i620 comes packed with a host of software that wont leave you disappointed, rather than real them off I thought I'd give you an idea of the menu structure at the same time by showing you screenshots of the menus - enjoy!

Applications 1

Applications 2

Applications 3

Applications 4

Applications 5

Applications 6

Applications 7

Applications 8

Applications 9

The i620 features a Wireless Manager application which is common on Windows Mobile devices but which is rather sparse on options compared to many, it shows only options for enabling/disabling the Phone and Bluetooth which is somewhat of a disappointment.

Wireless Manager

A feature of Samsung's mobile devices recently is their impressive cameras, the i620 features a rather average 2 megapixel camera which unfortunately takes a rather average picture, especially in low light as a result of the lack of flash, take a look at the small photo below which gives you a small impression of the quality you'll get.

Example photo

To be fair I doubt you'll be buying the i620 for its photography capabilities...

Conclusion

OK I promise to look at the phone by itself for the conclusion of this review. For those of you who prefer a standard form factor and require super fast connectivity, the Samsung SGH i620 is potentially the device for you. Having read this review you'll probably be surprised to hear me say that but its true! The question is, will you find yourself leaving your brand new phone in your pocket when your friends pull out their fancy new touch-screen devices that perform all of the same functions that your standard smartphone does? Smartphones used to win the day as they could perform so much more than your average phone however now that line is becoming blurred, the user interface is starting to progress on even the most advanced phones and as such the consumer demands some sort of wow factor, the i620's wow factor is the inclusion of HSDPA connectivity and I'm just not sure that's enough.

The Samsung SGH i620 is available from Device Wire SIM free.