Samsung SGH-F200

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by hardwarezone.com

It's an MP3 player. It's a phone. No, it's both! Actually, the first thing that struck us when we saw the Samsung SGH-F200 is that it resembles an old time favorite - a rectangular slab of pink bubblegum! It's not as slim as some of Samsung's more anorexic models, but it compensates by being incredibly small. Our review unit came in Sweet Pink flavor and looks to be as saccharine a mobile phone as we have ever seen.

Small is the Word

We have seen no mobile that can match the Samsung F200 when it comes to size. Measuring only 89.5 by 32.6 millimeters, this diminutive device is complemented by a swivel design which opens to expose the keypad.

When the keypad is exposed, the backlight of the mobile lights up in a comfortable white hue. We found the buttons pretty small, which might fit female users and other users with dainty digits. Blind typing is however still possible as the buttons are nicely spaced out and provides a very good tactile feel regardless of its size. Being small does not mean that it lacks the necessary functions or features.

Essentially a mobile phone despite looking more like a MP3 player, the F200 has the whisper mode as seen in recent Samsung mobiles. Call quality is good with no apparent distortions at any time. Although battery life is rated at 5 hours talk time, we could use it heavily for close to a day before the warning lights came on.


Musical Moments

The Samsung F200 is currently being marketed as part of its series of music oriented mobile phones, like its sibling, the F210. It also packs a handy FM tuner, making it quite the versatile music player. One word of warning though, the user can only access the music player when the mobile phone is in its closed position.

Transferring audio files is a joy as users can either utilize the USB cable provided or through Bluetooth. One downside is that the Samsung F200 only supports a small number of audio formats, including MP3, AAC and WMA, though being the most popular formats around, they should suffice. An added bonus is that A2DP Bluetooth stereo is supported. Unfortunately, Samsung has employed a proprietary port for the earphones on the F200 so users are stuck with the included earphones. At least sound quality is excellent, be it on the music side or the FM radio reception.

The lack of a camera in the Samsung F200 makes it ideal for those users where cameras are not needed. However, Samsung has only included 2.5MB of internal memory, which is appallingly little. Although an expansion card slot is available for up to 2GB of memory, the mere fact remains that a user can hardly utilize this mobile for music without a memory card inserted when this is supposed to be a music oriented phone.

Resulting Thoughts

Retailing now at an attractive price of S$338, owners who are taken in by its exotic, small form factor and music playback features will no doubt be besieged by curious onlookers wondering how this petite MP3 player could also possibly be a mobile phone.

Product Specifications

* Operating Frequency: GSM Triband (900/1800/1900MHz)
* Display: 1.46-inch, 128 x 220 pixel LCD Screen
* Connectivity: Bluetooth, A2DP, USB
* Standby/Talk Time: 250 hours Standby/5 hours Talk Time
* Onboard Memory: 2.5MB
* Expansion Slot: TransFlash/microSD
* Dimensions: 89.5 x 32.6 x 19.8mm
* Weight: 76g
* Form Factor: Swivel
* Colors Available: Wine Red, Deep Blue, Sweet Pink
 
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