SAMSUNG EXCLAIM M550 REVIEW

Samsung quenched America's Social Networking fix earlier this month with their newest dual-slider cell phone for Sprint, the Exclaim M550. Click "Read More" to check out our review of this adorable little handset.

Externally, we have a tween-friendly yet sleek piece of plastic. The phone comes in raspberry and blueberry, and the motif extends from the trim to the individual buttons on the QWERTY keyboard. On the front, there is a bit too many buttons, but none of theme have erroneous spacing issues. On the sides one finds the usual array of dedicated camera buttons, volume control, a microSD slot, micro-USB for data and charging (rather than the typical Samsung proprietary cable), and on top, a 2.5mm (GRR!!) "headphone" jack. On the back panel, there's a 2 megapixel camera, and the absolutely useless self-portrait mirror.

Obviously due to the mechanics of having bidirectional sliding, the Samsung Exclaim is a bit...bulky (4.45 x 2.24 x 0.67 in). Not to say that it is unmanageably filled with girth, but compared to iPhones and other messaging phones such as the enV3, this phone could burn some pounds. Unfortunately, the phone also feels (and is) a bit on the cheap side, so don't expect it to survive that many falls. Thankfully, the dual-sliding mechanism remedies the annoying Treo-esque trend of placing a numerical pad right in the middle of a QWERTY keyboard. It ingeniously separates the entities of talking and typing, rather than cramming them together. I'll take a bit of fat for some well-thought-out engineering.

And both sliders work admirably with the 2.60 inch QVGA screen. The software reacts instantly and accordingly depending on the data entry mode. If I did have to make a complaint with these sliders, though, it would be that the buttons on the keyboard are a bit too recessed and tiny. They aren't unusable by any means, but using this device to type anything besides type Facebook statuses, tweet some Tweets, or send an SMS message might be a problem. But then again, that's what this phone was designed for: Social Networking.

Right on the main menu of the phone, one finds a carousel of social media applications, and several more to pick and choose from in the settings. Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, Twitter, you name it, the phone can do it. And it can do it admirably, as the interface is quite snappy and responsive for a non-smartphone. Little clever touches such as the phone automatically going to the messaging dialog when you slide open the QWERTY keyboard make this phone quite the charmer. And with Sprint's EVDO 3G network, the internet is just as snappy as the native apps on the phone itself. That is, of course, if you fork over the money for a data plan. If you don't, most of the above features are useless, and this is phone is just a normal text-messaging device with vestigal social media applications adorning the phone.

There's also the now-usual Bluetooth and GPS support, if you're into that sort of thing (though most middle schoolers aren't).

So if you can live with a little junk in the trunk, you enjoy Sprint's service, and Social networking gets you hot, then head on down and fork over $79.99 (with a 2-year-contract, as always), because this phone's for you. The question is: Blue or Magenta...

Pros

• Snappy software
• Tween-friendly
• Smooth social network integration
• Dual-slider makes messaging easy
• Cheap

Cons

• Keyboard on the tiny side
• Cheap build quality (though good for the price)
• 2.5 mm headphone jack keeps it from being a useful portable audio device
• Phone is cheap, but data plans are not, especially for such a social-media-hungry device