Samsung SCH-A970 Review

Featuring a 96 x 96 px external LCD, users can quickly glance at basic information in 65K-colors. Equipped with a built-in MP3 player, convenient Rewind, Play / Pause, Stop, and Fast Forward keys on the front panel allow users to control playing capabilities without having to ever open the phone. Through dual stereo speakers on the bottom corners below, users can experience music through an open air environment or speakerphone functionality; activated by pressing the Speaker Mode Key on the right side.

Located nearby, an Option Key provides additional functions dependant on mode, similar to Smart Keys on other devices. For instance, when Camera Mode is active, pressing the button will bring up additional settings. On the left side, a headset jack provides personal music listening and safe and convenient handsfree conversations, while a TransFlash card slot offers additional storage for multimedia.

The A970 is cumbersome to open one-handed, due to its design, stopping at 90 degrees before opening completely. However once opened, the main 262K-color LCD is revealed. Standard 5-way navigational and numeric keypads provide fairly sizable for comfortable typing through T9 predictive text.