Samsung U700 review: Ultra fit

High-speed data transfers

We've already mentioned UMTS several times. Yet, Samsung U700 has another ace up its sleeve - HSDPA at the incredible speed of 3.6 Mbps. Even if your operator doesn't support HSDPA yet, owning a Samsung U700 is a guaranteed leap into the future. If HSDPA is still out of the question, you can always count on EDGE and GPRS, of course.

Transferred data can be used straight away; Samsung U700 offers a NetFront 3.4 Internet browser, able to resize complicated websites for better usability on smaller display. This feature doesn't always work reliably, though, so text or PDA versions of websites are always preferable. If you can't afford to miss an update, the integrated RSS-feed reader comes handy. You'll be on top of what your favorite websites have to offer, but it may get your data transfers bill soaring.

 
The standard Internet browser is enhanced with an RSS reader too

Leaving data management to another device, while using the phone as a modem, is also an option. Such transfers can be made via the universal Bluetooth technology or through a data cable.

Some odds and ends

Let's now have a closer look at the rest of the phone menu. The calendar offers three views. In order to preview the events planned for a particular day, you should select the day in question, because the monthly calendar window doesn't show the daily events. Storage restrictions are quite intriguing, the calendar lets you save a limited number of entries of each available type: up to 100 Meetings, 50 Anniversaries and 50 Holidays, 20 "Important" events and 20 "Private notes" . Surely, 100 slots for meetings could hardly ever be used up, but we still consider the calendar limitations rather strange considering the storage capacity of the phone.

  
Calendar and its options • alarm clocks

The phone also offers a personal tasks manager, a voice recorder, a world time application, a calculator, and a unit converter. A countdown and a stopwatch will cater to sports-minded users. Samsung U700 supports Java, so downloading additional applications or games is not a problem. The phone features 5 independent alarm clocks, each of which can be assigned a specific melody, volume level, and different active days.

  
A list with supplementary applications and samples of some of them

No OS, still true class

Samsung U700 is an exquisite slider, likely to easily make most high-priced lifestyle phones suffer an inferiority complex. Not only does it look great, but does an all-round job too. It offers intuitive control and brilliant functions, a high-quality camera, a reasonable music player, instant data transfers via HSDPA, and synchronization.

Its rich functional equipment lets Samsung U700 stand up to giants like Sony Ericsson K800 or Nokia 7390. If you want a fast mobile without an OS, Samsung U700 is one of the top options in offer today.