Samsung Ultra Edition 9.9

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Features
For such a lightweight phone, this triband opens up like a hidden treasure chest. Inside, besides the standard fare, you'll find TV-out, a document viewer, an offline mode which lets you use the non-wireless functions of the phone in places that forbid the use of mobiles such as airplanes and hospitals.

Entertainment-wise, there're two preloaded Java games with the option to download more of your own. You can also listen to music on the music player which supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+ and WMA, with options to shuffle, repeat, or adjust to four preset equalizers.

Music plays either through the phone's loudspeaker or supplied headphones, or streamed wirelessly to a Blueooth stereo headset. We preferred the head cans as music playback via the loudspeaker was rather soft despite pushing the volume to its highest setting. Forget even about turning on the 3D Sound feature which is supposed to enhance the audio as this had little audible effect.

The issue probably lies with the location of the loudspeaker which seems to share the same function as the earpiece. Playback gets even more muffled when the phone is closed as the loudspeaker is completely covered. The music, by the way, will continue to play in the background even when the handset is closed. You can also set your favorite MP3s as ringtones.

The 2-megapixel camera shoots relatively sharp photos that are good enough for small prints, but is hampered by the lack of a photolight. So don't bother with night or low-light captures. Nor is this phone designed for candid shots or self-portraits. There's no dedicated shutter button on the outside, which also makes it awkward to take self-portraits. Besides, the external OLED display doesn't double as a viewfinder and there's no mirror nub next to the lens for those narcissistic moments.

Video recordings are captured with audio in 3gp format. An image editor lets you adjust the size, quality, white balance and ISO of your snaps, or add effects or frames to liven those images.

The Ultra Edition 9.9 has a decent 80MB of onboard memory, supplemented by an expandable microSD slot. So there's no fear you'll run out of storage space for your music files, video clips and snapshots.

Being a premium handset means a plethora of connectivity options. You can either use Bluetooth or MMS, or you can connect to your PC via the bundled software and USB cable. This allows you to synchronize your contacts and calendar tasks, manage files, photos, edit movies and sounds, and a whole suite of functions right on your desktop. Or you can browse the Internet on your mobile using either WAP or GPRS, or check emails on-the-go using the onboard client.

In the matter of addressing a tiny gripe that users have had with previous Samsungs, no, the D830 can't vibrate and ring at the same time. You can set the phone to do one and then the other, but not both at once.