The stylish Samsung SGH-E490 – get set for the entertainment phone

By Arvind Sridharan | 26 Feb 2008

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The stylish Samsung SGH-E490 combines a multitude of features, is slim, and fits well in one's palm. This 2006 flip phone model, has a 1.3 mega pixel camera, which helps you capture all those precious moments you want to, and not worry about carrying a separate digital camera. The front panel has the lens of the built in camera with a self-portrait mirror. Moreover, it is also capable of video recording, which can be viewed on the large TFT display.

Another important feature is the removable faceplates, in wine red or silver that will woo both genders. The rectangular casing and keypad also come in two colours -silver, and black & silver.

If one has a preference, however, it is for the all black keypad, and that is mainly due to the evenly lit bright keypad, which makes it easier to type even in the dark.

The phonebook can store up to 1000 entries. The contacts can be personalised with an image as also with a ring tone. The interface layout for SMS and MMS is straightforward and it is relatively simple to add a text message, tune, image or a video clip with a maximum size of 295 kilobytes. Add the various pre-installed message templates to the package as well, and you have a complete package.

Another advantage of this model is that not only does it have a camera, but also an Mp3 player. Apart from being equipped with a digital music player, it is a virtual entertainment centre. It has a tremendous volume output, loud enough to hear even in a noisy crowd. Now be sure that you will not miss a single call due to outside noise!

There is also something for the mobile gamers. The E490 has four demo mode games - Tetris, Lemmings, Mini Golf Las Vegas, and Asphalt Urban GT. The silver edition has seven games - Bobby Carrot, AirShip Racing and Arch Angel, in addition to the ones mentioned above. In case you are not satisfied with these, Java games are downloadable.

However, on the downside, this phone does not have an FM, and that could be quite a dampener for consumers. With a plethora of radio channels mushrooming, consumers would be at a disadvantage, by not having a radio on this phone. Samsung believes that the MP3 player should more than compensate for this.

The Samsung E490 mobile phone has a WAP 2.0 / xHTML browser to use with the GPRS facility on the phone. An interesting feature about the main menu is that the handset memorises the function that was used the last time and on re-entering, it automatically highlights that function. This holds true for the sub-menu items as well.

An interesting feature that most phones are enabling on handsets nowadays is the special function for sending an SOS message. The Samsung SGH – E490 is no exception to this. If you find yourself in an emergency, pressing the volume key four times will send the message "I am in an emergency. Please help me", to the last five contacts submitted. All incoming calls from these numbers will be picked up automatically.

Features at a glance:

Frequency GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Colour Red/Silver and Red/Black (different keypads), extra removable faceplates 
Dimensions and weight 94 x 49 x 15.5 mm, 85 g
Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh, Talk Time: Up to 210 hrs 
Standby Time: Up to 6 hrs
Display TFT, 65K colors, 176 x 220 pixels, 35 x 43 mm; second external mono display (128 x 32 pixels), 32 x 8 mm, backlight in 7 colours
Ringtones Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, 30 preset, Downloadable
Music  Stereo speakers, MP3/AAC/AAC+ player
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, T9
Internet WAP 2.0 / xHTML, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
Memory Up to 1000 Phonebook Entries, Photocall, 30 call records each - dialled, received and missed calls, 22 MB Internal Memory, Supports micro SD card (TransFlash)
Connectivity Bluetooth, USB
Other features Vibration alert, Voice memo, Built-in hands free, Organiser, Unit converter, Java MIDP 2.0
Games Yes, downloadable

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