Samsung SGH-A500

When first told that Samsung was positioning the SGH-A500 as another female phone, I figured it for a mistake. There was no jewelry-box packaging this round. No over-the-top alter ego nick like the Queen Phone or Diamond Phone. No calorie counter or pink schedule. In short, no usual Samsung pitch to indicate that this was a lady's handset. If anything, the A500's straight cut and lean, long looks could hardly be described as feminine. So what was the Korean manufacturer up to this time?

Sense And Sensibility
A background check revealed soon enough that the SGH-A500 does, indeed, have a pedigree harking back directly to the original "Eve" in the Samsung stable, the SGH-A400. However, the SGH-A500 is less a derivative of its predecessor, and more a quietly elegant remake.

There's still the choice of silver-blue or cherry red housing to match your lipstick. Our review unit came in a more sober pearl white, which actually accentuated the phone's slim, clean lines. Samsung's shaved another 10g off the SGH-A400, resulting in a folder phone that's a mere 70g. As with previous clamshell offerings, build solidity has been maintained. The hinge as well as the Samsonite-tough shell should survive the rigors of daily usage.

The phone looks great when the active flip--which can be disabled--is closed. However, on opening it, one is blinded--not by the large grayscale display but by an intense-blue backlight which also lights up the keys. Yes, it's back, replacing the sensible green of the SGH-A400.

Inside, the SGH-A500 has a button layout that follows the template of most of its clamshells. For navigating menus and the wireless Web, there's a quadri-directional key at the top, while a rocker button on the left side of the mobile adjusts the ringer volume. Once again, the keys aren't the most tactile that we've tested in Samsung's female-centric lineup. And if the Korean maker intends to open those purse strings, one suggestion is to cut down on the metallic interior and square edges.

Simply Samsung
Technologically, the SGH-A500 does not try to impress. It's simply a phone for making and receiving calls. So what, you'd probably ask, are the differences between the SGH-A400 and this? For starters, the SGH-A500 does away with the gimmicky Health submenu (menstrual cycle calendar, calorie counter, body mass and biorhythm). There're also no games, no animated screensavers, no melody composer, and no infrared or connectivity features other than WAP.

Instead, Samsung has added voice functions and bumped up the phonebook from 99 entries to 100. It's kept the standard calendar, to-do list, calculator, alarm, vibrate-melody function and six-color LED alerts. And to keep up with the times, the Korean maker has implemented 16-chord polyphonic ringtones; although the limited classical selection and lack of a bundled data cable for new downloads will prove frustrating.

An improvement I found with the SGH-A500 is the improved messaging interface, which makes swapping between input methods a lot easier than before. There's T9 predictive text input onboard, but unfortunately no ability to add new words to the dictionary and no support for concatenated messages.

Long-Lasting Cell Mate
As for battery life, Samsung rates this as good for 175 minutes of chat time and about four days on standby. I managed to squeeze almost five days out of the standard 550mAH Lithium-ion battery with average use. An extra slim battery ships in the box but I found no real need to whip this out as backup during the week of testing.

Call quality on the SGH-A500 is crisp and clear. A handsfree kit comes bundled, although I've never really liked lanyard-cum-earpieces which have to be worn around the neck to be effective.

The SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) value, as indicated in the manual, is 1.36W/Kg. Based on the recommendations of the Council of the European Union, this is well below the limit of 2.0W/kg.

Female Fulfillment?
So has Samsung finally hit the sweet spot? The SGH-A500 has an arguably sleeker and more tasteful design than its predecessor. However, it offers nothing fancy and, for a monochrome-screen offering, is no el cheapo. Its S$468 (two-year contract) list price will either turn off buyers in these frugal times, or give the SGH-A500 an exclusive appeal.

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