Samsung Ultra Edition 9.6 (U300)

Samsung's Ultra Edition lineup has had a fair bit of success because its cutting-edge design and super-slim profiles have struck the right chord with the chic crowd. The new Ultra Edition II series aims to get even slimmer. But is being too thin really too much?Design
You haven't seen flat yet until you hold this clamshell in your hands. The vertically brushed metallic chassis on the front fascia combined with a gun-metal shade and a secondary blue OLED screen make it seem like something out of the futuristic Star Trek set. Angular edges and sleek lines work to give the U300 an ultramodern look.

Slim is good, although we're not too sure if the U300 tips the scales in its favor. Firstly, the handset is rather long and wide, so we found it difficult to get enough leverage to pry open the clamshell. It doesn't help that because the phone is so thin, it's hard to get a grip on it. Secondly, although there's a groove between the two halves to assist in flipping the lid, it's almost non-existent.

The numeric keypad is completely flat on the U300.

Our nightmare didn't end there and Samsung hasn't apparently learnt its lesson from the Ultra Edition 9.9. The numeric keypad is completely flat. To put it into perspective, it's like having touch-sensitive controls, but you have to depress it like normal buttons to activate. If that isn't bad enough, there's near-zero feedback on the U300's keypad and, like the Ultra Edition 9.9, the two softkeys are also particularly unresponsive.

The saving grace comes when we put the phone in silent/vibration mode. Punching the keys will produce a haptic-like response similar to the Motorola Razr2 V8 so there's at least some form of feedback. If you're considering this phone, we'd seriously recommend that you try it out for yourself first.

One thing is clear. The U300 is very slim and chic for a clamshell phone, but the keypad is either a love-it or hate-it situation. Features
The U300's connectivity features are somewhat primitive by today's standards, though it makes up a little for the lack on the multimedia front. Its triband GSM radio supports EDGE, but doesn't have 3G. There's also Bluetooth with A2DP, TV-out capability and only one connector port that is shared by the charger, headset and USB cable.

Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera (no photolight, autofocus or dedicated shutter button), 70MB onboard memory, integrated audio and video player, voice recorder, image editor, Web browser and standard organizer functions. The top blue OLED screen displays the time, date, battery status, signal strength, incoming messages and calls. Holding down the side volume keys will activate the screen.

It's a little tricky to take self-portraits with the camera since there is no mirror on the handset. In addition, because the lens is on the top lid of the clamshell, when we're holding the handset vertically, the camera points at an angle upward by default. We had to make a conscious effort to tilt the phone toward us to have the lens face us straight on.

While trimming down on the size, Samsung has also apparently thrown the expansion card slot out the window--not a good move for users who want to use the device as a camera or to replace their dedicated music player. The onboard music app supports common formats such as MP3, AAC, eAAC+, WMA and WMDRM.

The U300 also has a non-removable battery which is not the first instance for the Korean chaebol. The Ultra Music F300 (a.k.a. the Beyonce phone) and Ultra Video F500 both sport built-in cells. The problem with this is you lose the option of a second backup battery for emergency use, and when the battery doesn't hold its charge anymore, you'll have to send the whole unit back to Samsung for a replacement. The only company that can pull off such a non-option is Apple, and even so the company has received much flak for it. Performance
Samsung rates the U300 for up to 2 hours of talktime and 10.4 days on standby. Call quality was decent and sufficiently loud, though at higher volume settings, audio was a bit jarring on the ears. Picture quality was, in fact, pretty decent for a camera without autofocus. Exposure was accurate most of the time, though there was still purple fringing in backlit photos. However, that's something we expected.

Conclusion
The Samsung Ultra Edition 9.6 looks stylish, but it hasn't addressed the problems we had with the earlier Ultra Edition 9.9 and we simply cannot convince ourselves to part with our money for a keyboard that's amazingly frustrating to text on. If you're in the market looking for a chic clamshell, consider the Motorola Razr2 V8 instead.