Digital Trends

Samsung Highnote (SPH-M630) October 29th, 2008 | by Stewart Wolpin

Video

The Highnote is compatible with Sprint's streaming TV service. But it’s important to note that the device’s LCD isn't really made for video, and has one of the narrowest viewing angles we've experienced on a cell screen. This narrow view is fine for sifting through menus, but not great for video playback. As such, footage becomes more polarized the more off-angle your viewing position. Small text such as on-screen identifications for talking heads is nearly unreadable too, even when you use the full-screen mode. 

Web

Sprint's EV-DO network has always been fast, so the Highnote manages to browse the Internet readily enough. Getting to any page takes between 7-15 seconds, depending on that page's graphical content.

The HTML-supported WAP 2.0 browser opens on a Sprint aggregated content interstitial page from which you can move to one of several Web categories – news, games, sports, entertainment, etc. Within each of these groupings are popular destinations such as CNN.com, ESPN.com, FoxNews.com, USAToday.com, etc.

Samsung and Sprint have also added a Google search bar to the one click carousel, which speeds things up considerably since you skip the interstitial page if desired. This option also includes menu choices for Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. You can add Google News, Photos, Google SMS, Orkut, Calendar, Reader, Docs and Notebook to this list.

In case you forget the independent Google bubble, there's additionally a Google search box on the content aggregate interstitial page. You can further enter a URL via the "go to web address" soft menu option.

As noted, POP3 and IMAP mail is supported, unusual for such an inexpensive phone. There are presets for AOL, AIM, Hotmail, Yahoo! and Gmail email; if you want to add a custom email account, you'll need additional connectivity and security information. 

Accessories

In the box are a travel charger, a USB cable and a set of 3.5mm earbud headphones with an inline switch hook, but no volume control. A 1 GB SD card is pre-loaded into the phone. 

Camera

Highnote is equipped with the usual 2 MP camera with a 4x zoom (not available at the top resolution setting), but no flash. Clicking the left-right control in portrait mode or up-down in landscape increases or decreases the "EV" control, which looks like exposure value. When you switch to a lower resolution, the opposite directional controls increase or decrease the zoom.

Pictures taken in outdoor settings are bright, colorful and crisp, way above average for a 2MP imager. You'll need the EV control though, because contrast levels are slightly exaggerated in sunlight more so than with other cellcams we've used. Indoor shots are, of course, not as bright, a little less colorful and are a little less focused, all of which is normal for cellcams lacking zoom functions. 

Battery Life

n our admittedly unscientific tests, we got a little more than four hours talk time with Bluetooth on, less than five hours with Bluetooth off, far less than the specified 5.6 hours, a disquieting difference. Granted, the Highnote's screen was on for some of our test calls, but not long enough to shorten battery life by nearly an hour.

Sprint does not release standby time ratings, nor does it release music or video play time ratings. In our again unscientific tests, we got around 12 hours of music playback, which is about average for these music phones. By way of unfair comparison, the iPhone gets 24 hours of audio playback.

Conclusion

The ideas behind the Highnote are better than their actual execution; it seems almost every feature the phone packs in could have been just a little better thought out. For instance, the time between activating the music player and actually getting to hear any music is just plain inexplicable. But it's not all bad news: Web speed is exemplary for such an inexpensive phone, as are the device’s speaker/speakerphone, built-in email options and the handset’s onboard camera, even if it lacks a flash. In short, we’re not looking a complete loss here, but the Highnote would all but certainly have been a better phone if Samsung hadn't tried to jam so much into it and had spent a little more time polishing intuitiveness and ergonomics. Still, for the price, it's hard to argue with the Highnote's expansive feature set, even if you have to wrestle with several options to make them work quite the way you want.

Pros: 

• Speedy Web access
• Completely customizable menus
• POP3/IMAP email
• Excellent speakerphone
• Above average 2 MP camera

Cons: 

• Takes too long to get to music
• Unintuitive control scheme
• Quirky user interface
• Small dialpad keys