Samsung M510

Building on the success of the M500, Sprint has released the Samsung M510, an even more versatile introductory phone at a very affordable $29. The M510 sports a sleek design, a host of customization options and multimedia capabilities, as well as stereo Bluetooth. The ergonomics and video quality could be better, but this is a decent Power Vision clamshell for the price.

 

Available in black and pink, the M510 offers a rounded pod-like shape with a nice soft-touch finish. A 1.3-megapixel camera graces the front of the clamshell, along with a speaker and an external color display that looked a bit muted and washed out. Around the sides you'll find a power port, camera button, and microSD Card slot (a 64MB card is included), along with dedicated volume controls.

 

Opening the clamshell reveals a sharp 2.1-inch screen, larger than that on the M500, along with a smooth black keypad and D-pad. At first, these both seemed a little too flat to be practical, but we found dialing to be relatively easy. More problematic was the D-pad. With no tactile separation between that and the tiny Menu/OK button inside of it, it was too easy to accidentally make a menu selection when we simply wanted to move right or left in a menu. Like the M500, this model doesn't offer external media controls.

 

In addition to soft launch keys for your Favorites and Contacts, the M510's idle screen presents four easy-to-understand options: On Demand, Music, Messaging, and Main Menu. We like the On Demand service, which gave us instant access to headlines, weather, stock quotes, and sports and movie news. You don't even have to open the application to get up-to-the minute information; a pop-up window next to the On Demand icon displays the temperature and scrolls the latest headlines. However, you can't click on the headline to get the full story; you have to open On Demand first.  

 

As with the M500, Sprint PowerVision remains the centerpiece of the M510's appeal. You can purchase 99-cent over-the-air downloads via Sprint's Music Store, which has more than 1.6 million songs, and store them to the included microSD Card. The internal speaker got plenty loud in our tests, and you can use Bluetooth stereo headphones if you want to go wireless. We paired the M510 with the iLuv 202 and enjoyed clear sound quality and had no problem changing tracks remotely, even with the clamshell closed. Voice dialing also worked very well via Bluetooth; there's no need to train the device to recognize your voice. Simply speak clearly and you're good to go.

 

Sprint PowerVision offers a handful of programming options, including movie trailers and prime-time shows, such as 30 Rock. You may want to splurge on Live TV ($9.99 per month), which provides ten network channels, including Animal Planet, Discovery, Fox, NBC, and TLC. Other premium channels, such as Swimsuit Model TV, cost $5.95 per month each, which can add up quickly. Unfortunately, the video quality varied wildly based on the content provider. For example, clips from the Daily Show were entirely too small and looked terrible when we enabled the Full Screen mode, and an ABC World News recap looked fine. Note that stereo Bluetooth headphones won't work with Sprint TV.

 

The M510's 1.3-megapixel camera took adequate still shots in our tests. You can use the shutter button on the right spine of the phone to take shots with the flip closed, but the dark LCD makes seeing the subject difficult. Sharing shots was a cinch, thanks to the intuitive Sprint Picture Mail service. You can also transfer photos via Bluetooth or PictBridge.

 

In addition to plenty of multimedia features, the M510 sports a nice mix of communication and mobile applications. For instance, Sprint Navigation ($2.99 per 24-hour period) functioned well despite consistently weak signals; we were able to grab driving directions, local maps, and traffic reports on the go. Typing in our destination address worked fine, but attempting to speak a destination requires too many steps. We had to leave the application, call a Sprint phone center, speak our destination to an automated representative, then re-enter our recent destination tabs. Needless to say, we won't be using the voice commands while driving.

 

Instant-messaging fans will appreciate that the M510 supports AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo Messenger. Instant messages popped up within just a few seconds, but be mindful of your text and data rates if you'll be sending lots of IMs. Sprint Mobile Email is also available to download free of charge and allows you to access AOL, MSN, and Yahoo mail accounts. The e-mail clients were similarly streamlined and simple to use.

 

The M510's call quality was dodgy at times, with low volume and some garbling. Inside our Midtown Manhattan office, however, calls came through loud and clear. This phone is rated for only 3.5 hours of talk time, but we got ample use with one charge over a three-day weekend.

 

It's not the flashiest phone you can buy, but the Samsung M510 is a solid pick for mainstream users, teens, and 'tweens looking for a reliable and stylish phone that doesn't skimp on multimedia power. The larger screen and included 64MB microSD Card nudge it past its predecessor, but we recommend that you try out this phone's flat buttons before you buy.

 

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