Samsung SGH-a727 thin HSDPA phone

An update to the ultra-slim Trace, Samsung's new candy bar features HSDPA and a 1.3-megapixel camera in a soft-touch black shell.

Design:

The Samsung SGH-a727 is an HSDPA version of the Samsung SGH-T519 Trace, itself a GSM phone on T-Mobile's (unfortunately) HSDPA-free network. Like the SGH-a717, which updates the SCH-m610 for HSDPA, the a727 comes clad in black, and measures less than a millimeter thicker than its counterpart. The phone wears matte-on-gloss black keys, a look the a717 gave up in favor of an etched metal pad. In our review of the Trace, we complained about the keypad's usability, but the pad on the a727 seems slightly more raised, and much more readable, than its fraternal twin. Otherwise, the phone remains similar to the Trace.

Features:

There isn't much new to say about the a727 because Samsung did not have a powered-up model to show us. Though turning the phone on would reveal the unannounced carrier, with HSDPA support, it isn't difficult to guess who'll be getting the a727. The Trace packed a great screen into a thin form, but took little advantage of the EDGE network, forsaking music downloads and other functions that require high-speed. Though no U.S. HSDPA carrier offers music downloads, we are curious if the phone updates more than the radio and paint job.

Pros:
Very thin design. Keypad looks better than sibling SGH-T519. High speed network access.

Cons:
No other feature upgrades. Keypad may still be too flat for extended typing or browsing.

Conclusion:

When the Trace was released, we loved its bright screen and rich feature set for such a thin phone, but complained about issues with the keypad. The pad on the a727 seems better, but we'll have to test the phone to see if it lends itself to functions found on the high speed network, especially web browsing. We hope Samsung has also included other changes, such as an update from T-Mobile's not-bad UI to Samsung's slick iconography.

Specifications

GSM/HSDPA
Bluetooth 2.0
Speakerphone
MP3 player
1.3-megapixel camera
Memory expansion
Voice tagging
1/14/2007 11:00:08 PM
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