Samsung DoubleTime (AT&T)

The Samsung DoubleTime ($49.99 with contract) has a hidden surprise inside: a full QWERTY keyboard with a secondary display, turning it into a micro-laptop. Unfortunately, it doesn't deliver the performance to go with its ambitious look. Even if you absolutely need a keyboard, you can find a better smartphone?on AT&T than the DoubleTime.

Design, Screen, and Keyboard
The DoubleTime measures 4.5 by 2.5 by .6 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.2 ounces. Made entirely of white plastic, it feels solid, if a bit low-end. The 3.2-inch external display is 320-by-480 pixel resolution, which is starting to look a bit grainy in comparison to the higher-resolution displays that can be found on many new devices. The glass capacitive touch screen is bright and suitably responsive, and there are four physical function keys below the screen.

Unlike many keyboarded phones, which slide to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard, the DoubleTime flips open to reveal a keyboard and secondary screen. The keyboard itself is pretty good, with four rows of well spaced, large keys. Above the keyboard are four function keys, since you don't have access to the ones on the front of the phone. The keys are a bit flat, but you grow used to typing on typing on them quickly.

The second touch screen is the same as size and resolution as the primary screen. The problem is, it's extremely awkward to interact with. The screen is set back too far, and angled so it's much less pleasant to use than a phone that features just one screen and a slide-out keyboard, like the Samsung Captivate Glide?($149.99, 4 stars). And it's not like the second screen doubles your productivity. When the keyboard is open the primary screen goes black.

Call Quality, OS, and Apps
The DoubleTime is a tri-band HSPA 7.2 3G (850/1900/2100 MHz) and quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and device with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. It functions as a mobile hotspot to provide wireless access to up to five different devices with the appropriate service plan.

Reception is average, and call quality is just OK. Voices sound clear and understandable in the phone's earpiece, but volume is extremely low. The speakerphone is just loud enough to use outdoors, but voices sound somewhat distorted. Calls made with the phone feature good noise cancellation, but voices are thin. Calls sounded much better through a Jawbone Era?Bluetooth headset ($129, 4.5 stars), and voice dialing worked well. Battery life was good, at 8 hours 31 minutes of talk time. But overall this is a phone for typing, not talking on.

The DoubleTime is powered by a 600MHz Qualcomm S1 CPU and runs Android 2.2.2 (Froyo). Now that Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) has finally landed, that places this device two steps behind the current generation. That endangers the DoubleTime's compatibility with new apps and exiles it from the latest features.

That 600MHz processor is growing long in the tooth as well. Though once a staple of midrange Android phones, it lags behind new devices. Though the DoubleTime benchmarked on par with other low-end Android phones, you can feel a lag in performance even when swiping through home screens.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ES5yv-qSeRM/0,2817,2396816,00.asp

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