Phones.com » Cell Phones » Review of the Samsung SGH A411

The A411 is a clamshell with a monochrome external display. One strikingly odd detail about the A411 is that it looks like an outdated mobile phone with its external antenna. With its body closed, the phone is chunky at about 2 cm thick. The A411 still weighs a meagre 88 grams. As a phone, it is quite easy to handle. However, our major concern is of the design, which renders it inconvenient for a pocket; because of the protruding antenna. The keypad was strong and comfortable to use with tactile keys. The phone itself is rugged and resists rough long term use. The VGA camera sadly couldn't be used for video calls. Samsung could've improved the design to accommodate this thereby adding value for the consumer.

The A411 is a compromise on features over connectivity and affordability. However Samsung has packed enough bang for the buck in its little boy A411. The primary display is a 128x160 p/ 64K color LCD. The display measured 2" and was crisp in displaying text and thumbnails. The second display is a monochrome 96x96 square, and displays critical info while the phone is closed. There's 56 MB of user memory available to store pictures taken with the VGA camera, or your favourite music files. There's support for MP3,AAC,AAC++ and WMA formats, but sadly there's no way to expand the A411's memory to include your music collection. Most of the UI is easy to understand and navigate. There's support fot JAVA MIDP 2, and the A411 already comes preloaded with a couple games. The organiser and phonebook were feature-rich and added to the phone's usability.

The Samsung A411 is basically a Tri-band GSM device capable of working on 900/1800/1900 MHz bands of GSM. Data connectivity in 2G mode is limited to GPRS, there's no EDGE. On the other hand, it supports the UMTS 850 MHz band with HSDPA 1.8M. Which means there's support for 384kbps in UMTS data and up to 1.8 Mbps in HSDPA coverage. The phone has support for xHTML browsing and Email. For local connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0 and low-speed USB are present. Surprisingly, the phone supports Pictbridge and Bluetooth printing.

The Samsung A411 is powered by a strong 1000 mAh battery, which means a decent 5 day backup for calls and SMS users. With a stated 3 hour talk time, the battery performed decently between charges. Call quality on the A411 has been worth mentioning, crisp and noise-free.

The Samsung A411 appears to have many shortcomings. Still you can try your hand at the handset if you want to evaluate the network performance of a 3G carrier before buying an expensive phone.