Mobile phone designers are usually pulled in two, non-complementary directions. On the one side they know that people desire small, lightweight phones that won’t take up too much space in people’s pockets or purses. On the other side they know that everyone wants to have the best of new technologies, and so they try to pack in as many high quality features as possible. Usually these two sides do not mix very well. The Samsung SGH-A800 is a phone that has placed itself firmly on the side of being small and lightweight, and in order to accomplish that there are very few features on the phone. For modern consumers, the A800’s lack of a color screen could be a problem. At 128 X 128 pixels, the display is small, and for people used to 65K or 262K colors, the A800 may not have much to offer. But if you can get around the lack of a color display, then you can get yourself an extremely reliable, highly popular (in its time) phone at a bargain basement price. 40-voice polyphonic ringtones were a big seller when the phone was released in 2002. And WAP 1.2.1 allowed people to surf the web, albeit in a very basic format. As time has gone by, almost all the features that the A800 once boasted have been updated greatly, and the market is heading towards every phone having integrated PDA functions, digital cameras, and PDA players. But in order to buy the top of the line devices with all these features, you will have to lay down top of the line cash. And in the end, most people buy phones primarily to stay in touch with friends and family. If that is the case with you, and you don’t mind looking at a drab screen, then this little flip may offer you something that its more expensive younger siblings cannot: affordable reliability. I have never heard any complaints about the A800’s reception or volume levels. What Samsung left out in terms of features they made up for by making a quality, long lasting phone, and that is the reason that it is still available today. The main features of the Samsung A800: Technical Specifications of the Samsung A800: The features that the Samsung A800 is missing: Accessories available for the Samsung A800:
