FlipShot by Samsung (SCH-U900)

 

While the Samsung FlipShot’s 3-megapixel camera and rotating screen haven’t changed much since the previous model, the SCH-a990, this camera phone is packed with GPS functionality, a media player, and a unique user interface. And at $199, it costs less, too. The rotating design isn’t for everyone, and the shutter speed is sluggish, but the FlipShot is still a good choice for clamshell fans looking to ditch their GPS, MP3 player, and camera in exchange for a single device.

 

At first glance, the FlipShot looks just like any run-of-the-mill clamshell. Our unit was brushed-metal red with silver accents (available at Best Buy; the phone is available only in black through Verizon Wireless), and the back side houses a lens and flash for the digital camera. The coolest part of the phone is the upper half, which rotates 180 degrees to switch the device into camera-shooting mode.

 

In phone mode, the external 128 x 96-pixel screen is unattractive with its low resolution and small screen size, but at least it provides information on any media that’s playing. The inner 240 x 320-pixel display is bright and crisp, however. Its default “living” wallpaper changes from bright to dark depending on the time of day (7 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. is considered daytime), and menu options were made to resemble frames on a roll of film and light up to alert you of a message, calendar event, and so on.

 

On the right side of the unit are volume controls, which double as the camera’s zoom, and a shutter for snapping pictures. Just below the display, four media navigation buttons glow red and are eerily similar to the buttons on the LG Chocolate.

 

The metallic keypad is discreet and flat. Each key is surrounded by a small border, so we were able to text and enter numbers easily. We didn’t like the directional navigation pad, though, because its buttons were too close together. Far too often we tried to click OK and instead navigated left or right.

 

Spinning the screen around automatically starts the 3-MP camera. Samsung preserved the SCH-a990’s array of customizable settings, such as white balance, brightness, and ISO. Unfortunately, it also kept the painstakingly slow autofocus, and the FlipShot took about 2 seconds to snap a picture in this mode. Turning autofocus off shaved off about half a second. This camera has a variety of modes (Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Night, Daylight, and Backlight), and our shots looked decent in Auto, Daylight, and Night mode.

 

On a bright day, the FlipShot snapped crisp but slightly overexposed photos. The photos we shot in dark conditions (with the flash) looked grainy but were bright enough to view. The 8X digital zoom is far from perfect. We recorded some video that was YouTube-worthy at best: Quick movements result in noticeable artifacts. You can store your photos and video on a microSD Card, which is hidden under the device’s back lid.

 

There’s also a Scan Biz Card function, which takes pictures of business cards and then extracts the relevant information. On our tests, it recognized numbers well but had trouble with text. We tested this feature on several cards, including white ones with black text, and each time it made at least one textual error. 

 

The FlipShot supports Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music store and V CAST Video. Songs downloaded in about a minute, which is typical for V CAST. We loaded Giants highlights from SportsCenter in 12 seconds; text in the video was too small and blurry to read, but the video played without skipping.

 

The FlipShot supports stereo Bluetooth, which was easy to set up. We listened to Wyclef Jean’s “Heaven’s in New York,” and though crisp, it looked a little washed out.

 

To listen to wired music you need a proprietary headset, though Verizon Wireless and Samsung leave this $20 accessory out, along with a USB cable. And although the FlipShot can also export pictures to a television with its TV-out capabilities, the TV-out cable ($19.99) isn’t included, either.

 

The FlipShot also has GPS functionality, which you can access by downloading Verizon Wireless’ VZ Navigator software under the “Tools on the Go” menu.

 

The service features turn-by-turn directions and a “Where am I?” feature, which pinpoints your location. But it’s not perfect. While we were sitting in our office, it told us we were in a park two blocks away. Accuracy was much better when we used the phone on the highway.

 

In general, calls were crisp, but the speaker sometimes got loud enough for the voices to squeak a bit. We were surprised at how well the FlipShot handled ambient noise: Our call recipient thought we were still in the office, when we were actually outside on the street with trucks whizzing by. The FlipShot’s decent battery life lasted for a good 2.5 days of intermittent use, which included making calls and snapping plenty of pictures.

 

 

The FlipShot has a built-in browser, and the EV-DO Rev 0 connection offered quick load times on mobile sites: NYTimes.com took 8 seconds to load with pictures, and CNN.com took 10 seconds. A story on USAToday.com took about 5 seconds to load, and ESPN took a brisk 7 seconds.

 

 

The FlipShot is a good choice for anyone looking to leave the point-and-shoot at home now and then, but it’s not good enough to replace a standalone digicam. Nevertheless, call quality was very strong, and the rotating display is sure to turn a few heads. The identically priced LG Venus has more cachet because of its touch capabilities, and the $179 MotoRIZR Z6tv is better for mobile couch potatoes, but the Samsung FlipShot is Verizon Wireless’ best camera phone.

 

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