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Author: mobi-freebie.com

Description: couple years ago, pink was all the rage in cell phones. And if your handset was pink and thin (remember all those pink Razrs?), then you were especially popular. Though thin is still a forceful trend in phone design, pink has fallen by the wayside somewhat. And that's why we weren't surprised when Samsung, a company long known to beat a trend to death, emerged this week with a trim, pink handset. The Samsung SPH-M510 for Sprint certainly is eye-catching (it also comes in basic black) and it offers a respectable feature set including support for Sprint's EV-DO network, a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a music player. Multimedia performance was good, though call quality was scratchy and we didn't love the flat keypad. The SPH-M510 is $129 with service.

Design
The Samsung SPH-M510 is so flat and smooth that we almost had the urge to skip it across the nearest pond. The rounded edges and lack of raised surfaces certainly make it look like a skipping stone, an effect that's only magnified by the black version of the handset. On the other hand, the pink model certainly screams for attention, as the hue is almost fluorescent. At 3.7 inches long by 2.0 inches wide by 0.64 inch thick, the SPH-M510 isn't the most compact flip phone out there, but it's certainly light at 2.93 ounces. The handset has a comfortable feeling in the hand, but we couldn't help but notice the construction felt the slightest bit flimsy.

The external display is small (just one inch, 96x96 pixels) for the phone's overall size, but it supports 65,000 colors. It also shows all the necessary information including the date, time, signal strength, battery life, and photo caller ID. The camera lens sits right above and you can use the display to take self-portraits. The resolution was rather dim, though (you only can change the contrast), and the camera doesn't come with a flash. A small speaker below the display completes the front flap, though we were hoping for external music controls. The left spine is home to a volume rocker while the right spine holds a camera shutter, the charger/headset jack, and the microSD card slot. Unfortunately, the side buttons are quite thin, but we like that Samsung didn't cram the memory card slot behind the battery.

Inside the phone, you're in for another color change. The lavender hue is a bit striking, especially when compared to the bright-pink outside. The internal display supports 262,000 colors and measures 2.1 inches (176x220 pixels). Like most Samsung screens, it is bright and vibrant, though difficult to see in direct light. You can change the brightness, the dialing font style, the menu font size, and the backlighting time. The menu styles are easy to use and come in two choices.

The SPH-M510's controls ultimately are one of its downfalls. In an effort to keep the phone as thin as possible, Samsung gave the keys no definition, save for a very slight texture change that doesn't alleviate the slippery effect. As a result, we suffered from a few misdials and had a hard time dialing by feel. We imagine that speedy text messengers would need some time to acclimate. On the upside, the keypad buttons are rather large and they have bright backlighting. The navigation array consists of a four-way toggle, two soft keys, the Talk and End/power controls, a dedicated speakerphone/voice commands key and a Back button. The toggle is relatively large and it doubles as a shortcut to four user-defined functions. And for even more one-touch access, the SPH-M510 supports a programmable Favorites menu for oft-used functions