Samsung SCH-u740 dual-hinge messaging phone

Samsung's new messager swings both ways, as a clamshell and QWERTY phone, with a full keyboard and thin design.

Design:

Resembling the Samsung SGH-D307, the SCH-U740 is a dual-hinge phone, which means that the hinge opens on two axes. Opened across the horizontal, you have a standard clamshell; opened across the vertical axis and you have a QWERTY clamshell, resembling the LG VX9900 enV. The keys are printed with numbers going one way and letters going the other, which is hard to read if you need to find numbers, but thankfully the numeric pad is painted grey to set it apart from the black alphabet. Still, cramming a number, letter, and symbol onto those 12 unfortunate keys does make for a visual jumble. The hinge is solid in design, it opens with a reassuring snap. The phone is much thinner than the SGH-D307, though not RAZR-thin, and its screens seem larger than those on the LG enV.

Features:

Samsung has not officially announced a carrier for the phone, though it's model number is consistent with Samsung's numbering for Verizon Wireless. Also, the unit we saw at CES was a demonstration unit, so we couldn't power it up and take it for a spin. That said, as the phone looks poised to compete with the LG enV and the Sidekick 3, we expect messaging and basic multimedia functions, but not the complete set of features of a true smartphone like the Samsung BlackJack.

Pros:
Thin, dual-hinge design. Keyboard not as hard to read as previous dual-hinge phones.

Cons:
When open long-ways, phone is large for a clamshell.

Conclusion:

While there have been some previous attempts at dual-hinge phones, Samsung seems to have addressed some of our previous complaints about the legibility of the keypad and the bulk of the phone. The SGH-D307 had an interface that left something to be desired, and the u740 will have still competition in this department from the Sidekick, so we're curious to see if Samsung includes its own iconic menus or leaves this up to the carrier.

Specifications

CDMA
Dual-hinge design
microSD card slot
Dedicated music controls
1/17/2007 1:42:48 AM
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