It's true: small is beautiful. And the Samsung A800 is as good an example of this phenomenon as you are likely to find.

It is a very small clam-shell design mobile phone that is designed to be easily slipped into a pocket.

It has a reasonable spread of features, such as polyphonic ringtones, voice dialling, voice memo recording and so on, but the only trick that makes it worthy of note are its featherweight dimensions.

Where dinky little gadgets like this often come a cropper is in useability terms, and that is the case to an extent here.

Navigating the phone's menu system is a head-scratching pastime for the first couple of days, particularly if you are used to the Scandinavian simplicity of a Nokia or Ericsson handset.

We found ourselves unwittingly connected to the internet on several occasions too, courtesy of a large blue button that is difficult to avoid when struggling with the menus.

Aside from that minor complaint, the A800 is a lovely little phone.

The screen is small but comfortable to use. A second screen, visible on the outside of the case, tells you the name of callers or whether you have missed calls, and that's about it.

If you are after a tiny mobile phone to impress your mates, this is probably it.

If you want a phone that is simple to use and practical, however, it probably isn't.

DETAILS

Contact: Virgin Mobile 0845 6000 600
www.samsung.com