Camera Phone Reviews

Samsung SGH-A727

Samsung SGH-A727 Press Release

AT&T Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) have announced the availability of the Samsung SGH-a717, a clamshell-style phone, on June 4, and the SGH-a727, a bar-style phone that will be available in the coming weeks. Both devices offer a rich multimedia experience in an ultra-slim form factor.

The a717 (12.9 mm) and a727 (8.9 mm) are currently the slimmest 3G phones available from AT&T. They also offer a multitude of services a customer would want in a device, including AT&T Mobile Music, Cellular Video, access to MobiTV(TM) and MobiRadio(TM), Bluetooth(R) technology, a microSD(TM) memory card slot and multiple messaging options.

"The a717 and a727 are packed with the advanced features our customers demand and are stunning additions to our growing portfolio of 3G devices," said Carlton Hill, vice president of product management for AT&T's wireless unit.

The phones will also support AT&T's forthcoming Video Share service, launching this summer. Video Share allows users to add a live, one-way video stream to a standard voice call, allowing the called party to view what the caller is seeing during a voice call. Both customers must be in an area served by the company's 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.

AT&T Mobile Music features connectivity that allows customers to use Napster or Yahoo! Music to load music onto the devices, and also includes Music ID, XM Radio, music videos, The Buzz music news portal, and more.

"The a717 and a727 are our slimmest handsets optimized for AT&T's 3G network," said Peter Skarzynski, senior vice president, Samsung. "Both devices embody Samsung's commitment to developing slim, stylish devices that boast a number of multimedia, messaging and music capabilities."

Additional features of the a717 and a727 include:

* 2.0 and 1.3 megapixel cameras, respectively
* Quad-band GSM technology (1900/850/900/1800 MHz), which allows AT&Tcustomers to make calls in more than 190 countries and to download datain more than 125
* Dual-band 3G (850 MHz, 1900 MHz) which provides average download dataspeeds between 400 and 700 kilobits per second with bursts of more than1 megabit through AT&T's HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access)network
* Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD(TM) memory card slot
* SMS, MMS, Instant Messaging and Mobile E-mail
* MobiTV and MobiRadio

Pricing and Availability

The SGH-a717 is available June 4 through select AT&T retail locations, formerly Cingular Wireless, or via http://www.att.com/wireless. The SGH-a727 will be available soon. The a717's and a727's suggested retail price is $149.99 and $99.99 respectively, after a two-year contract activation and a $50 mail-in rebate.

Samsung SGH-A727 Reviews

CNET reviews the Samsung SGH-A727 and writes, "the phone comes with 30MB of shared space, which isn't extensive considering the phone's multimedia capabilities. Fortunately, you can use a Micro SD card for more space. Photo quality isn't the best; colors were fine but the images were blurry for a megapixel camera. ... Call quality was variable at best; voices sounded natural and there's adequate volume, but we encountered a fair amount of static, and the audio tended to fade in and out. Interestingly, we've seen the call quality vary on all incarnations of this phone. While the SGH-X820 didn't disappoint us, the SGH-T519 Trace lacked adequate volume, and the SCH-R510 had an echoed effect. On the whole, we'd say the SGH-A727 is comparable to the Alltel handset in terms of call quality."

PCMag reviews the Samsung SGH-A727 and writes, "A 1.3-megapixel camera is also fixed on the back of the phone, which makes it awkward to send your image to recipients of Video Share calls. (You have to turn the phone around and hope it's pointed correctly at you.) I strongly prefer the swiveling camera on the Samsung A717 or Samsung Sync for video calling. The A727's camera itself has decent low-light performance, but in brighter illumination, shots look a bit hazy, with bright areas overexposed and dark areas somewhat underexposed. The video mode takes 176-by-144, 15-frames-per-second videos."

InfoSync reviews the Samsung SGH-A727 and writes, "Unlike the pricier A717 flip phone, the A727 packs only a 1.3-megapixel sensor behind the camera lens. This might explain why pictures lacked some detail compared to its clamshell cousin, but doesn't excuse the dull colors and noise we got on our shots. We found some strange colors, especially in clear blue skies that purpled deeply. The phone packs a wealth of editing features, like red-eye reduction and sharpening, as well as blurring and oil painting effects. You can't e-mail a picture from the gallery, but if you want to print these uglies, you can do so over Bluetooth or USB."