Imagine being able to take your point-and-shoot camera out of your pocket to answer a phone call. Seems odd, but that’s exactly what it’s like to use the Samsung Memoir from T-Mobile. This handset is the first 8-MP camera phone to be sold through a U.S. carrier, and it can hold its own against a traditional digicam, even in low-light conditions. Unfortunately, the Memoir’s lack of Wi-Fi and optical zoom, slow Flickr uploading, and high price prevent it from being a top pick.
Design
When we first took the 3G-capable Memoir out on the town to put its lens to the test, a friend took a look at it and said, “Wow. Nice camera.” When we flipped the device over to show off 3-inch touchscreen (400 x 200-pixel resolution) and said it’s actually a phone, his jaw dropped. The Memoir feels sturdy and has a sharp, matte black rear with a protruding lens, a true Xenon flash, and the feel of a real camera.
On the front of the device—where the display is—are send, end, and return buttons. When flipped horizontally into camera mode, zoom in/out buttons double as the volume keys, a screen-lock key, and a shutter button for snapping photos. On the left side of the unit is a microSD Card reader and a proprietary headphone/charger port. The 4.4-ounce Memoir is similar in size and weight to the Samsung Behold; it measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.6 inches while the Behold measures 4.1 x 2.1 x 0.5 inches. (The iPhone 3G is a bit heavier at 4.7 ounces but a slimmer half-inch.)
User Interface
The Memoir features the same TouchWiz user interface that the Behold and other newer Samsung phones offer. The TouchWiz UI has an application sidebar on the desktop that lets you drag and drop your programs to and from the home screen. This keeps the display uncluttered, but the UI felt as sluggish as it did on the Behold; considering this phone costs $100 more, we expected it to be zippier. The resistive touchscreen provides a small buzz when an option is selected, but it is nowhere near as responsive as the iPhone’s capacitive display. Opening our phonebook took about 2 seconds, the myFaves menu and other menu animations were noticeably laggy.
Keyboard
Three keyboards are available, an alphanumeric one in portrait mode, a full QWERTY in landscape, and a character-recognition option (if you feel like drawing on the screen with your finger). The device’s accelerometer alerts the Memoir when it’s sideways and automatically pulls up the full QWERTY layout. The keyboard took some getting used to; the keys are small and close together, but we typed accurately as long as we didn’t go too fast. The T9 option will autocorrect text; however, suggested options obscured the rest of a sentence we were typing until selecting one.
