Samsung M610

Samsung sets a new svelte standard with the M610, which is billed as the slimmest clamshell available in the U.S. The phone boasts plenty of multimedia features that come courtesy of Sprint's Power Vision Network, but Samsung has made some usability tradeoffs you may not like.
  
The 3.9 x 2.0 x 0.4-inch M610, at its slimmest point, is thinner than the RAZR (0.4 inches versus 0.5) and weighs a sprightly 3.2 ounces, making it small and light enough to disappear into a shirt pocket. Despite the thinness, a soft-touch finish gives the M610 a durable feel. We're not fans of the flat dialpad, but the numbers are big enough to dial without hitting the wrong keys.
  
We love the large 2.2-inch QVGA screen, which is the same size as the display on the Samsung A900M. It's great for showing off pictures you take with the two-megapixel camera. The camera has a rotating lens, which makes taking self-portraits a snap. The pictures we took looked pretty sharp, but the colors were a bit drab. You'll also need plenty of ambient light, since there's no flash.
  
Unlike its predecessor, the M610 comes with a microSD Card slot. Too bad it's located underneath the battery pack, which means you have to power down the phone to access the card. You can use a USB cable, so you won't have to constantly remove the card to sync music and other files with your PC, but you'll need to pay an extra $20 for it.
 
The M610 uses a proprietary headphone jack/charging port, which means you can't plug in your own earbuds. Instead, you'll have to use the supplied set, which delivered loud, crisp sound but got uncomfortable quickly. Then again, at least Sprint includes earbuds; both Cingular and Verizon charge extra. Plus, you could always go wireless by pairing the M610 with stereo Bluetooth headphones.
  
Like other Sprint Power Vision phones, the M610 can access Sprint TV, the Sprint Music Store, Sprint Radio, Sirius satellite radio, and On Demand content. Streaming videos looked fairly good, thanks to the speed of Sprint's Power Vision Network. On the other hand, we found it disappointing that video clips filled only half of the attractive display; clicking on Enlarged View didn't increase the size of the picture, either. The very small external display shows track information, but unlike the earlier A900M, there are no external music controls.
  
You can expect approximately 3.5 hours of talk time with the M610. We found the call quality to be quite good, and we maintained strong signal strength while walking around Manhattan.
 
Overall, the M610 is a solid multimedia phone that makes some usability sacrifices in the name of style. This clamshell is worth a look.