Review: Samsung Pixon M8800

Samsung Pixon Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Samsung Pixon is a touchscreen phone with an outstanding 8 megapixel camera and a stunning 3.2 inch display. With 3G video calling, a music player & FM radio, accelerated web browsing, GPS and plenty of memory it's a very well equipped all-rounder. The only thing missing is WiFi support.
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The Samsung Pixon M8800 is an enhancement of the Samsung Tocco F480. It's a gorgeous touchscreen phone with an amazing 8 megapixel camera. The Pixon is a bit bigger than the Tocco, but nevertheless it's a good size phone - not too wide, not too thick, not too heavy - with a massive LCD display covering nearly the entire front face of the phone. It's a beautiful screen with 262k colours and ultra-high resolution (240 x 400 pixels): perfect for viewing those 8 megapixel photos!

As the name Pixon suggests, the 8 megapixel camera is the main feature of this device. Samsung's camera phones have been delivering excellent results for years, and in fact it was another Samsung phone (the Samsung i8510) that first broke the 8 megapixel barrier. The phone is converging with a dedicated camera design, and packs in loads of camera-related gadgets. Smile Shot makes sure that the camera takes a picture when your subject is smiling (assuming that they do actually smile now and again) and face detection autofocus ensures that the image is as sharp as it can be. A new feature called Advanced Shake Reduction does what the name suggests, although we belong to the old fashioned school that says you should just hold the darn camera steady. We wonder if most of these features are actually designed to help people take photos of their mates when drunk. If so, some automatic voice alerts might help - "Don't point the camera at the floor, stupid!". The dual Power LED flash isn't a match for a xenon flash, but isn't bad. One of the cool features is the video camera, which like the LG Renoir can record at up to 120 frames per second, so you can then play back in slow motion and laugh at your mates looking stupid. You can also make video calls using the secondary front-facing camera.

The large screen is also perfect for running a touchscreen-based user interface. Samsung have been refining their touchscreen phones throughout 2008, and they're now at the point where this can be considered a mature technology, suitable for the mass market. We personally love the user interface, and find that it responds rapidly and accurately to the touch. Heavy duty texters often seem to have a hard time with touchscreen phones however, so if you're one of these types, you should definitely try the phone out before committing to buy it. Everyone else can enjoy tapping and turning the phone, dragging and dropping icons and images around the big 3.2 inch screen. Lovely.

In case you were wondering, this isn't a smartphone like the Samsung Omnia. So this makes it an easier phone to use, although less powerful obviously.

Musically, the Pixon does everything that you'd expect a high-end phone to do. It plays music in MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+ and WMA formats and also has an FM radio with RDS. With 200 MB of memory built in you can store around 50 MP3 tracks, or more in a compressed format such as WMA. You can also add a microSD memory card up to 8GB, which provides enough space for thousands of songs. Like other Samsungs, the Pixon lacks a 3.5mm audio jack, so you'll have to use the proprietary headphones supplied or buy a Bluetooth wireless headset.

The Pixon comes with GPS and assisted GPS, which is an improvement on the earlier Tocco. This may not replace a Garmin or TomTom, but is a welcome addition, and can be used to geo-tag photos in case you forget where they were taken (see our earlier comments regarding drunken photography!)

The Pixon has an excellent web browser. With a big screen and HSDPA giving download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, this is an excellent platform for the mobile web, but we're sad that Samsung didn't include WiFi support in the phone. That would have been the icing on the cake.

In summary , this is a brilliant camera phone with an amazing camera and a beautiful touchscreen user interface and equipped with GPS an FM radio and plenty of memory. If you're not bothered about the lack of WiFi, it might be the perfect phone. If WiFi is a deal breaker for you, take a look at the LG Renoir, Samsung i8510 or the Sony Ericsson C905, all of which have an 8 megapixel camera and WiFi.

Just one final word of caution. Samsung's previous model, the F480, did have an intermittent problem of dropping calls. We believe that this has been fixed in the Pixon's firmware, but we just wanted to cover ourselves by mentioning this.

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Features of the Samsung Pixon include:

• 8 megapixel camera with face detection autofocus, smile detector, auto-panorama, 16x digital zoom and dual power LED flash
• Video recorder & 3G video calling
• Display: TFT, WQVGA, 240 x 400 pixels, (3.2 inches), 262,000 colours
• GPS and assisted GPS
• Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, WMA formats) plus FM radio RDS
• 72-voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, email
• Document viewer
• Java games
• Memory: 200 MB plus microSD memory card slot (up to 8 GB)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
• Internet: WAP 2.0, GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), web browser, podcasting
• Quadband (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) plus 3G (UMTS 2.1GHz)
• Offline mode
• Size: 108 x 55 x 13.8 mm
• Weight: 122g
• Talktime: up to 7 hours (2.5G), up to 4 hours (3G)
• Battery standby: up to 310 hours (2.5G), up to 280 hours (3G)

Samsung Pixon Consumer Reviews

Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

Average rating from 31 reviews:

Reviewed by Chris from UK on 7th Jan 2009
(Follow up for Raj) PLEASE READ IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE YOUR BATTERY LIFE!! Go to Network settings in settings and click network mode... Set the phone to GSM900/1800 which sets it to 2.5g. Battery life on mine has doubled at least. Not sure what features I have lost by changing the setting but everything still work fine. ie internet, photo messaging etc. Enjoy the phone!
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Reviewed by lucy silver from uk on 6th Jan 2009
This is an excellent phone.Had it three weeks now. The camera is outstanding and the format is easy to use. It is much better than the Samsung Armarni that I had where you kept hitting the incorrect keys. The only could of blips I have had are that when you go to send a picture message it sayd that it wont re size to enable it to send. But if you leave it and try a little later it will re size and send. The manual that comes with it is very basic for such a complex phone, so you have to just have a play with it. The only other annoying thing is the tilt function on viewing the pictures but you can over come that. Reccommend you get a cover or case as it does scratch easily and unlike the Armarni phone it does not come with a case or cleaning cloth. A little disapointing when you spend that money that they can not throw in a case. ALso, really annoying that the earphones they give do not stay in your ears! lol BUT STILL..... go buy it x
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Reviewed by Jonathan from Derby, England on 3rd Jan 2009
I have to say I'm so pleased with this phone. I few people have complained that it doesn't have GPS. So what it has a 8 mega pixel camera. Samsung never advertised the phone as having GPS so websites which says it has navigational GPS are wrong. The GPS is for Geotagging photo's which is something many keen photographers are getting into. I was unsure about texting on the touchscreen but as soon as I started to use the phone I found texting just as easy as a keypad. I'm still finding new features whenever I use it. The only thing I would say is Samsung put a very poor manual with the phone it explains none of the camera features and it's only by accident did I find out how to set a custom ISO speed.
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Reviewed by Mike from London, England on 2nd Jan 2009
I had a Samsung D500 years back and loved it. In between I've had a a couple of SEs and most recently the LG Viewty but it was only a matter of time before I went back to a Samsung and I'm glad I waited for the Pixon. Touch screen is great, reception much better than the Viewty, good size and feel, camera is first class. Battery life is excellent too (I was on 1 bar for about 3 days with normal use!). Only lacks wi-fi but that's a minor point! Highly recommended.
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Reviewed by D fraser from York on 2nd Jan 2009
I was looking for a phone with an excellent camera and was stuck in choosing between two mobiles that had both had excellent reviews, the sony c905 and the samsung pixon. After reading yet more reviews i decided on the samsung pixon. my first ever touch screen mobile so i was a little apprehensive as i'd had mixed reports, but i am delighted with the result. i always find new phones a little frustrating, getting used to the features etc but the pixon is so easy to use i fell straight into it. the camera is excellent and texting so simple, i have to disagree on all negative comments as i don't feel any of them apply, believe me if i can use this phone any one can! it has everything you would expect and more, i find the phone contact searching excellent although i will say being a female with nails helps a lot so i would understand if a man with larger fingers might find it a little frustrating. but on whole i have been very pleased with my choice.
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Reviewed by Steve from England on 2nd Jan 2009
Having had a SE' for many years, I wanted to try something new, and this little beauty came along. Firstly, the camera is outstanding and video quality very good. Texting on the touch screen is much easier than I thought it would be. I love the style of the phone and it has a good feel to it. Downsides for me are two things. Searching for a contact in your phone book is a total pain and needs a skill of touch....and secondly, the reception is a little weak. Getting two bars indoors, where as on my SE' I would get full signal. But outside it's full on. All in all I love the phone. Clarity of calls, volume of ringtones, ease of use, in most things, and a fabulous screen display all add up to a fantastic phone. Loses one star for the hiddeous phone contact searching though.
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Reviewed by Zarqua Slagiqusluta from UK, Newcastle on 28th Dec 2008
This is an outstanding phone with excellent interfaces.I love it. It also has music recognition. The best phone- I used to have a renoir bout swapped it for this. This phone is much faster and the camera is much better
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Reviewed by Mr.D from U.K on 23rd Dec 2008
Recently I have had a number of the latest handsets. In my opinion the iphone 3g is a great hand set. It has a silky smooth UI and loads of great internet and music related features. The App store looks and works great and the phones display is the best out of the various handsets I have had... But... While the iphone does a number of thing very very well, basic things like MMS it can't do at all. Its 2mp camera seems feeble and this is made worse by lack of settings of any kind and it can't record video, which is disappointing. Then there was the Omnia. The specs were great, the features were endless, but with about 3 different ways to access some of the software and more than 1 type of the same application available to you (Contacts for example) it overwhelms you and thus isn't really usable as an everyday quick phone. Its Internet Browser and Picture viewer are not as pleasing to the eye as the iphone but thats about it really. The other phone I had was the Sony Ericsson C905. To be honest, its a great phone with a great still camera and reasonable video capabilites. However, its tiny screen grates on you if you're used to life after the Viewty, I now have a Samsung Pixon and I must say, I'm very please with it. Its Browser and Picture viewer are a little basic but very function. (I've noticed that when zooming in on a picture it can pixilated). Its camera is very good as is its video capability. the flash is weak though. It has GPS but you have to download Google maps to make use of the feature. It doesn't seem to be explained that you have to do this, as I spent ages going through the menus looking for the GPS map feature before I realised it wasn't on there. If this phone had Opera Browser available for it, a xenon zoom, a picture viewer correction that stops pictures breaking up under zoom, and wi-fi then Samsung would have absolutely sewn up the Touch screen market. In my opinion, these few additions would have made this phone. Wi-fi aside, perhaps some firmware updates or downloadable programmes? Not too sure if this is possible as the Pixon isn't really geared up for downloadable content from what I've seen so far. My main negative is the very poor battery life. But that's it!
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Reviewed by Nick from UK on 22nd Dec 2008
Good phone with camera, really like the touch full qwerty keyboard when you turn the phone long ways when you write a text. Had some problems as have other i know with the touch screen. Quite often when you click on an icon or phone number, it selects the wrong one - rather irritating. Only way to sort it is to turn phone of and recalibrate on switching back on - have contacted Orange about this going to see what other handsets they offer.
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Reviewed by Gaz from Scotland on 16th Dec 2008
Great phone, texting is hard compared to usual, so is finding a letter in your phonebook, GPS can only find my location within 1000metres so doesnt ever know what road im on. Biggest issue is battery life, its rubbish.. Touchscreen is excellent, so is everything else about the phone. Shame about the few problems really.. I still like it alot though! :-S
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Reviewed by jatt from uk on 14th Dec 2008
perfect jus da right fne 4 a touch screen tpre of fne
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Reviewed by An amazing phone! Brill Camera! from 5 stars on 13th Dec 2008
K. Appleton
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Reviewed by jonesdude from uk on 10th Dec 2008
Warning! If you get this phone from Orange, it will come with their own branded software and some features removed. Mine has No google maps application and the widget for Google Search has been changed to use Orange search engine. Also the look of the widget icons etc are changed to Orange style. These are a couple of things i've noticed straight out the box. I'm waiting for it to charge and try it out fully tonight to see what else Orange has messed with!
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Reviewed by Raj from UK on 8th Dec 2008
I got this phone last week and i love it! The camera is amazing, texting is also a breeze. Upgrade from a nokia 95 8 GB. Quite frankly i find this phone much better than the n95. Anyway, i was reading the below comments and i found this by chris.... " Anyway, the only thing I'll mention is that my battery didn't last that long (two days) and the signal kept cutting out in my flat but this was due to it being on the 3g setting. I switched it back to 2.5g in network settings and now its great" How Do You Do That. Much Appreciated! Raj ;;!
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Reviewed by Simon from UK on 5th Dec 2008
Got this phone three days ago and think that it is all that I was told. The screen is great, it is responsive and the camera is brilliant. Only thing for me to get use to is when you are looking at your photos, if you tilt your phone then they start to move as if they are dropping off the phone. Bit freaky but I will get use to it. Needs a decent sat nav application on it.
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Reviewed by Karen from UK on 5th Dec 2008
I have had the phone for a few days, and I love it. The touch screen is brilliant so responsive. With practice I have now mastered the phone book which initially was a bit tricky. I actually find texting easier on this phone (but I'm not a huge texter so someone else could disagree). So glad I waited for the Pixon to come out, it was worth the wait.
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Reviewed by Eilidh from Scotland on 5th Dec 2008
Got it yesterday and I think I am in love, upgraded from an N95 and it took me about a month to pick the phone that I wanted and I am glad I picked this phone. I think it is smart with a great camera and not too bulky or heavy, will do me well in festival season as I will not have to carry camera as well. Loving the touch screen and finding it easy to use. Much better that the iphone and a good choice made.
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Reviewed by Ian from UK on 3rd Dec 2008
Had mine over a week now and still well impressed with it, best phone I have ever had.Camera is awsome much better than my old Nokia N95 and Sony K800i,recieved pictures are good as well as it has a great display.Texting is a breeze with my fat fingers and its touch screen is fast and very responsive like already said.Its a good size phone with a nice big clear screen,would be great if it had an optical zoom but hey they probably wont be long to come out.One thing that bugs me is all them emotions for texting,theres loads and I nor people I have asked really understand most of them,pitty they cant show them as smilies or animations like on my old sony Ericsson.However it is still a super cool phone,I love it. :)
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Reviewed by Chris from UK on 3rd Dec 2008
Had this phone for a week now.. It is absolutely brilliant. A lot of reviews have commented on the lack of WIFI or GPS sat nav.. so what?? Get a different phone.. you already know the specs from reading them so don't leave pointless comments!! Anyway if you stuck WIFI and GPS on the Pixon then surely Samsung won't be able to sell the Omnia!? Anyway, the only thing I'll mention is that my battery didn't last that long (two days) and the signal kept cutting out in my flat but this was due to it being on the 3g setting. I switched it back to 2.5g in network settings and now its great. Battery is still going after 5 days. The only real disappointment is when you re in the phonebook and you are searching for a name by using the slider on the left side of the screen. Its too fiddly and you can easily click on someones details!
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Reviewed by JZ from UK on 2nd Dec 2008
Does a good job, although I think its a little large, not as good as the Omnia but then again this isnt a smart phone, wish it had wifi personally, but if you dont use it its no great miss..not a bad phone at all, certainly better than most of its competitors in this class.
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Reviewed by GuitarDemon from UK on 1st Dec 2008
There are a lot of reviews here which are incorrect. I've only had my phone 2 days, and was in two minds whether to get it or the LG Renoir because of the negative comments here. But now i know that a lot of the comments passed are untrue, I know I have made a good choice with the Pixon. The interface is fast, touch screen accurate and a pleasure to use, GPS using Google maps picks up a location quickly, HSDPA internet access is lightening quick, camera is phenomenal, screen is huge and crystal clear. I've only just started looking at the phone's features, but so far I'm well and truly amazed.
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Reviewed by Adrian from UK on 1st Dec 2008
Just upgraded from a LG Viewty, which I was happy with, but the Pixon is far superior. As with others comments found the scrolling down contacts somewhat annoying, and Ross's comments on the picture scrolling very frustrating. On the whole though very impressed. Ross software for video conversion, "ConvertVid" from Nuclear Coffee Software, easy to use.
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Reviewed by Phone Hoe from UK on 30th Nov 2008
I upgraded my nokia N95 and I also have a samsung G600. I have had my phone for 3 days now and its wicked no faults or disappointments with it so far. The zoom in and out button at the side is great for scrolling down and when you write a text message if you turn it on its side it turns into a qwerty keyboard. I also like the widgets are quick and easy to use.. My bad I have found one annoying setting when you are in a call the screen continually locks i have not been able to find the setting to turn that off. The camera is ace but I havent utilised it properly yet. On the old samsungs you could put a password on you memory card this one doesnt which means that if you want to password your photos it puts it on everything including videos and MP3 (Dont ask what im protecting..lol)I havent tried the DIVX yet nor the video in slow motion. The phone feels and looks nice. The WAP is very fast and very easy to use I thought I would miss WIFI but I dont. I am very happy with t his phone good purchase..
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Reviewed by Stefan from Serbia on 28th Nov 2008
This phone can use GPS only for geotag...hahaha so poor xD
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Reviewed by PaulG from Unitened Kingdom on 27th Nov 2008
Had it a day. Great phone for taking pic and videos. Games that come with it are a waste of time (trial versions). Agree with other reviewer about phonebook annoyance - have to scroll to find contact. Says DIVX playback but it's very picky about bitrate. out of the 10 divx files i put on the phone only 3 worked. Another annoying thing is phones and videos and photo's aren't displayed full screen. There seems no option to fit to screen either so you end up with quite allot of wasted screen space in landscape mode. These gripes aside it performs well in all other aspects and the camera - the main reason i bought the handset - is better than my kodak digi camera! overall a good buy.
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Reviewed by Chrisyb from UK on 27th Nov 2008
Just got the phone yesterday and its pretty damn good. Certainly a funkier looking phone than the Omnia. It doesn't have wifi but who cares.. use a computer...
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Reviewed by Ady from UK on 27th Nov 2008
Well i have had my pixon for a couple of days and i love it. Although it is a frustrating phone if your not used to touch screen. As a phone it does well clarity is great and the earphones that come with it are quality, better even than a jawbone headset. As a camera it is very good although i am still playing around to find the best in it. the pc software that comes with it is useless i just cant fathom it out and 7 out of 10 times results in unable to connect with phone. Music wise it is good and the redio is very good with clear crisp reception, again the earpiece coming into its own. The touch screen in annoying in the fact that if you open your phone book you have to slide an icon down the screen to get to the corresponding letter to match the name your searching for, it often stops scrolling and tries connecting to whatever number your finger last hit. this is maybe just me and still getting used to it. I got mine from phones4u in store it a £35 pm 18 month contract, the phone was free. looks wise it is impresive very sexy and the built quality is great with a metal back plate on it although it is quite a heavy phone its managable.
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Reviewed by Ian from UK on 25th Nov 2008
Can you disable 3G on this phone?Cant see it in the settings or little manual that comes with it,on my old sony w760i you have an option for 3G and GSM or GSM on its own.One thing I have noticed is that the signal isnt as good on the Pixon as the w760i on o2,where as my w760i has full signal the pixon is half of that.
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Reviewed by Ian from UK on 25th Nov 2008
Just had mine delivered today and its superb,I havent been to good with touch screen phones before with my fat fingers but this is real easy to use.Got it free from mobiles.co.uk on a £30 a month o2 contract,god knows what o2 and voda would charge for it directly going on what they are charging recently for new phones!!
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Reviewed by nasir from UK on 23rd Nov 2008
hello this phone desrves 5 stars. i just got this phone on a contract and absolutely amazed with the features.
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Reviewed by Ross from UK on 23rd Nov 2008
Having had the NokiaN95 for nearly 2yrs now, i thought it was about time for an upgrade. I have spent the last month or two, looking and reading about the new phones out. I.e Renoir and C905. Having played with both, i just felt they were not up to what i would call "standard" So went into Phones4U and lucky me they had the pixon in stock (been very hard to find) So had a wee play with it, and must say i was SHOCKED at how sexy it looked and felt. Only problem was the phone only came on O2 and Orange and im on vodafone, so sorry to say i've left voda and joined O2. Having got it home and having a proper play now for around 24hrs, i can tell im gonna be a very happy chappy for a long time to come. The touch screen is very responsive, unlike the Renior. it does not take 2 or 3 times of pressing the icon you want for it to work. first time every time!! The camera is top stuff, im a contacts manager for a building company so i take anywhere near 20 pics a day, so a phone with a good cam is a must, and so far im very impressed. Lots of functions, clear crisp photos and one hell of a flash! brightest i've ever come across. The stylest you get is very kewl! alomst like a proper pen. Couple of down points. Transfering Music on to the handset takes forever!! a normal sized album has taken around 25mins, which is really silly for a "drag and drop" system. I've not been able to get vids on the yet. need to find away of getting files on my comp from AVI to another format (anyhelp welcome) Games on the handset are only trials. you hardly get to use them, very annoying. but you do get the dice game, while it has not point! its still funny and shows how the phone could be used. Viewing pics, now this has really annoyed me to the point where i could give it back (still have 13days to decided) when it viewing mode and looking at puics if you tilt the phone to show someone or even move the phone decides to scroll through the pics, gonna be hard to find the pic you want if everytime you move your arm it scrolls...and it does it pretty dam quick. Battery life looks like it could be on the weaker side. havent had the chance to see how long it last, as pluggin it into the comp via usb charges it. You will defo need a bigger memory card. 1gb is far to small for a phone like this. currently looking at getting 4gb. Overall I love the phone, its size is good. and feels well weighted. Im sure this phone will be able to take on the Iphone ...easy
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