Review: Samsung SGH-i600 mobile phone

Bluetooth, 802.11g Wifi and 1.8Mbit/sec HSDPA are all big-hitting features on Samsung's new business phone, the SGH-i600.

Its special trick is that everything fits into a package weighing just 105g.

The HSDPA reverts to 3G for data transfers in poor coverage areas, but it means you'll almost always be within range of a reliable internet connection with this phone.

Windows Mobile 5 runs the show and, although recently ousted by version six of the operating system, it enables easy viewing of Word, Powerpoint, Excel and PDF documents.

There's a heavy emphasis on media when you first start the phone up, but this isn't followed through by Samsung, which only provides a proprietary headset connector and no 3.5mm jack.

The internals include 64MB Ram and 128MB of internal storage, which can be increased using the Micro-SD card slot.

A 1.3megapixel camera at the rear enables you to take impromptu photos, while the 0.3megapixel camera on the front is for video conferencing.

Despite being clear and vivid, surfing the web isn't a particularly pleasurable experience on a 2.3in screen. Indeed, the small screen puts some of the mobile broadband functionality to waste since it's not big enough to browse most standard sites.

The inclusion of Internet Explorer as the main web browser is a shame because it's the worst of the bunch for browsing traditional web pages. Samsung has loaded the phone with a Java virtual machine so installing Opera's excellent Mini 4 browser should be no problem.

However, a better use of the SGH-i600's high-speed connection is perhaps to hook it up to a notebook with a bigger screen.

Samsung provides two batteries, quoting 300 hour standby time and 6.5 hours' talk time for the standard battery. Using the extended battery adds a bit of bulk, but it only lost half its charge after a whole weekend of usage, including a full day with the Wifi turned on – a truly exceptional feat.

Audio quality for calls was fine and the keyboard is one of the best miniature Qwerty models available. All in all, the SGHi600 is a well-made, feature-rich phone.