Editor's comments
Please take note that the following review was done based on the “Pearl White” colour of the SGH-N620. We have been informed by Samsung Electronics in Australia that the N620 will only be available in the “Sea Black” colour only - shortly after the completion of this review. Therefore, please take note that any references made within this article in relation to the colour of the phone may no longer be accurate due to such circumstances.
Overview
You may wonder “snooze with WHAT!?” Well, you may just agree with me once you have heard - from start to finish - all the ringtones on this phone. It is surely going to make you feel all comfortable - and snoozing! :)
Well! It has been some time since I’ve used a phone that I can honestly give a “thumbs up” to in nearly all departments. These would include usability, practicality, functionality, design and - of course - looks. One thing’s for sure - and that it’s the best Samsung phone released so far! :)
The Samsung SGH-N620 is a derivative of a previous model, SGH-R220. Having a similar shape and design - but being proportionally smaller, the N620 comes packaged with a beautiful pearl white casing complemented by the light silver shell surrounding the full-graphic greyscale display. This beauty is further emphasised by the soft lilac-coloured lights surrounding the up/down scroll keys. One thing that has been maintained from the R220 is the blue backlight for both the display and most of the keypad.
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"A speaker at the
back of the phone produced a MIDI-like tone"
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Also, the phone is quite nice to hold, and is sized to fit comfortably in either a handbag, trouser or shirt pocket. With the phone’s weight being reasonably light, you wouldn’t find the phone to be something too cumbersome to bring around with you.
The second surprise that I got from this phone was after I held onto the ON/OFF button of the N620 to turn it on. A speaker at the back of the phone produced a MIDI-like tone - a type of sound similar to what a Panasonic GD92 would produce. Yes, the N620 comes with polyphonic ringtones - 8 as standard and 12 downloadable. Also, there’s space for 2 melody composer ringtones and 3 mono ringtones (that is, the standard ones) receivable via SMS. Most of the ringtones that were on the N620 we reviewed were longer than needed - one would probably not hear the whole tune play itself out, ever! :)
After logging into the network, I browsed through the phone’s functions and features. Navigating the phone wasn’t a painful experience - as each top-level menu uses a specific graphic to assist users in quickly knowing what that menu is for. Settings can also be easily modified thanks to the clarity in the information provided by the LCD screen.
Messaging on the N620 is comparatively easier than using handsets from either Ericsson or Motorola (one may disagree if they’re used to using the iTAP feature). The T9 input system on the phone is pretty quick and accepts keystrokes faster than a typical T9-enabled Ericsson can. But if you’re the type that blazes through the 160-characters made available to you, the N620 may just miss a few keystrokes somewhere along the way.
Another downside to be noted is that there is no custom dictionary where you can add words not found in the built-in T9 dictionary. The only solution in adding these words would be to go back to normal entry/tap mode - by entering each letter with the appropriate keystrokes. Switching between input modes is already inconvenient enough - having to type those words that you commonly use, but are not in the dictionary, is furthermore a hassle!
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But an interesting function of this phone is the AnswerPhone function - where the phone acts as an answering machine when you are not around or unable to take calls. The N620 allows you to either use a preset recording or record your own - which acts as the introduction to your answering service. If you’re not around to take the call, the caller has the option of leaving a voice recording on your phone, and is accessible later via going to the missed calls list. If you’re around when the person is actually leaving you the recording, you can take the call at that point as well - similar to a standard answering machine. A very useful function to, possibly, replace your voicemail service.
Other features available from this handset include a WAP browser, animated screen saver function, a multi-coloured service light, vibrate-then-ring feature, SMS with picture message support, voice commands and dialling, voice memos, and organiser functions (scheduler, alarm, calculator, world time functions).
As for battery life, one would probably get around 2 hours’ worth of talk time on average, and approximately 2-3 days worth of standby time. These times really depend on how you use the phone - whether you leave it lying around a lot or just desperate to take advantage of those “free-time” minutes! :)
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Overview (Page 1)
