Don't let the plain-looking design of the Samsung SGH-E870 fool you. Beneath its compact exterior lies a bevy of features you'd normally find on mid- to high-end phones, such as video wallpaper, TV-out, document viewer and even an expandable memory card slot. This is in addition to the standard feature package that includes an onboard music player and 1.3-megapixel camera. However, the midrange features also come with a midrange price. The E870 is currently priced at S$538 with a two-year contract.

Design
Clad in a silver faceplate with pure white furnishing, this triband phone sheds all frivolous lines for purely functional styling. The interior, which is in iPodish-white, reminds you of those found on Japanese handsets and comes with neatly laid-out squarish buttons that are large enough even for chubby fingers. The handset itself is relatively small and compact, so it should fit easily into pockets or small handbags.

As expected of most Samsung phones, the E870 has a solid build quality. However, it is clearly not designed for rugged use. The white interior looks prone to stains and its plastic exterior seems unlikely to withstand scratches, too.

While some people may assume that the E870 handset was designed for female users, a short survey in the office showed the opposite result. It seems the Samsung handset appeals more to the guys, particularly those seeking a plain handset. Female users, on the other hand, found the exterior a tad too plasticky and just not as stylish as the Razr. The E870 is available in three color offerings: Chic White, Valentine Pink and Chilli Blue.

The charging outlet has been shifted from the bottom of the phone (typical of Samsung models) to the side just below the volume buttons and is covered up so you won't need to worry about dust getting in. The same outlet also doubles as the port for PC synchronization and the earpiece. This means you can do only one of three tasks at any one time. Nor can you use your personal 3.5mm jack earphones on the handset. On the opposite side of the outlet lie the camera button and microSD card expansion slot.

Like most of its clamshell predecessors, the E870 features two screens. The internal 262K-color primary display offers vivid and sharp color reproduction while the external 65K-color OLED panel doubles as a viewfinder for self-portraits. The 1.3-megapixel camera lens and photolight are located just above the external screen.

Features
We have to give it to Samsung for packing so many features into the E870. In addition to the 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity and onboard music player, the clamshell also comes with a host of interesting functions such as document viewer which lets users read various file formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text, PDF, HTML and JPEG, as well as TV-out capability for presentations and slideshow viewing.

Video clips in the phone can also be used as video wallpapers or even set as video caller IDs for various entries in the contact list. There is no need to worry about space in the phone. In addition to the 80MB onboard memory, users can add more storage capacity via the built-in microSD slot.

The E870 comes with a bundled application suite called the Samsung PC Studio 3, which allows you to connect your phone to the PC for performing various tasks, from managing contacts and messages to uploading and downloading files. It also comes with utilities to edit images and videos.

The phone's Bluetooth offers multiple functionalities on the phone. In addition to using it for connecting to PCs and other Bluetooth devices such as handsfree headset, the E870 comes with onboard support for A2DP so you can enjoy stereo sound using A2DP-compliant Bluetooth headsets. The phone also lets you choose between printing via PictBridge and Bluetooth (wireless).

A built-in speakerphone is always a handy feature but we were disappointed by the soft and sometimes slightly muffled volume range on the E870. We also found it inconvenient, particularly while driving, to have to press two keys to activate the speakerphone function when receiving a call.

Performance
Under normal usage conditions which included text messaging, voice calls and occasional snapshots with the camera, the E870 lasted more than three days which was quite impressive. We didn't have problems with call reception but did encounter a few isolated cases where the earpiece reproduced echoes when we spoke into the handset. That could, however, be due to the operator network or surrounding environment.

Images captured using the E870 turned out reasonably sharp but not as impressive as its E770 sibling. Music playback quality was relatively crisp and loud even in video mode, but the speakerphone volume was limited and slightly muffled.

Conclusion
Overall, the E870's biggest selling point is really its elegance and minimalistic styling which make it a refreshing choice among the flashy phones in the market. At over S$500 with a two-year contract, the handset's price, whilst high, is reasonably priced for its good range of onboard features.