CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 08/23/2007
- Updated on: 09/05/2007
Samsung marks new territory with its DM-S110 and DM-S105 phones, by breaking into Disney Mobile for the first time. Where previously the MVNO carrier had been the sole domain of LG and Pantech, Samsung is now making a foothold. Its first handsets for the mobile mouse are nothing new--they're basically retreads of Sprint's Samsung M300--and they share the same feature set between them. We examined the DM-S110 for this review, but our observations are applicable for either handset. Both models are $19.99 with service.
Design
Since Disney Mobile piggybacks on Sprint's network, it makes perfect sense that it would borrow a few handsets from the carrier. It's happened once before--the DM-L200 is a copy of the LG LX350--and now we see it again with both the Samsung DM-S110 and DM-S105. From the outside, both phones are almost identical to the Samsung SPH-M300; they sport the same dimensions (3.6 inches by 1.9 inches by 0.7 inch; 2.6 ounces) with the same exterior features, including the mirrored front. Yet Disney has put its personal stamp on both phones. The DM-S110 is pink while the DM-S105 is silver, and both have a design of interlocking stars on the front face. The DM-S110 is the more attractive of the two, but both offer Disney customers a bit of much-needed style.
The external display supports 65,000 colors and measures 1 inch (96x96 pixels). The display shows the date, time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID, and also works as a self-portrait viewfinder for the camera. Above the display is the camera lens, while the volume rocker sits on the left spine. Over on the right spine are a covered headset jack, a camera shutter, and the charger jack.
The internal display, navigation array, and keypad are also carried over from the SPH-M300. The former measures 2 inches (128x160 pixels) and supports 65,000 colors. It's not the most vivid display we've seen, but it's more than acceptable for a midrange phone. The Disney Mobile menu interface has a simple, attractive design where everything is easy to find. The navigation array and keypad buttons are completely flat with the surface of the phone, but they have a fair amount of texture, which makes them tactile and easy to use. Our only complaint concerned the Back button; it's a tad small. For a full analysis of the display and controls, see our SPH-M300 review.
Features
The DM-S110 has a 500-contact phone book, with room in each entry for four numbers and two e-mail addresses. You can assign contacts to groups, or pair them with a photo and one of 10 polyphonic ring tones for a caller ID. Other basic features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a voice recorder, an alarm clock, a notepad, a calculator, a stopwatch, and a world clock, while Bluetooth and a speakerphone round out the higher-end options.
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