The Samsung SPH-M520 is a slim and stylish slider phone that offers good performance along with a few multimedia options. Measuring in at 4.01 inches tall by 2.04 inches wide by 0.5 inches thick, this device fits comfortably in the palm of your hand and weighs a mere 2.75 ounces, making it quite a bit lighter than most cell phones on the market. That said, it is surprisingly sturdy and the slider mechanism has a solid yet responsive touch. From the outset, the most noticeable feature of the phone is the 2.1-inch LCD. Capable of displaying 262K colors, the screen offers better than exceptional performance with images that are crisp and vibrant. Many of the settings are adjustable, including the backlight timer, brightness, font size, and font color. Although you have the option of a standard menu interface, there is also the ability to use shortcut icons for quick access to commonly used features such as On Demand content, Sprint TV, GPS, email, Sprint Music, and account balance. And because these icons are arranged in a fan shape, the default screen is imprinted with a unique look.

Beneath the screen, one finds a multidirectional toggle that allows for easy and intuitive access to menu options. The toggle is square and fairly sizeable, allowing for smooth use that is easy to operate in the dark or by feel. Otherwise, the phone's face also holds a few soft keys, buttons for engaging and disengaging callers, and a dedicated button to access the speakerphone. Unfortunately, the speaker isn't particularly exceptional, but it's good enough for hands-free calls when you're indoors. The main problem is that at high volumes the upper frequencies are somewhat blown out and the lower frequencies simultaneously overpower everything else. But if you stick to the midrange, everything sounds reasonably good.

On the left side of the phone is the volume rocker, which offers good audio range with the loudest setting being more than ample for calls. Beside the rocker is the headset jack. Unfortunately, the jack is 2.5mm as opposed to the more common 3.5mm type; so you can either use the headset that is included (which isn't of the highest caliber) or seek out a good 2.5mm model. On the other side of the phone are the microSD slot and a dedicated button for the 1.3-megapixel camera. Pictures can be taken in a choice of four resolutions and you can adjust brightness, white balance, color tone, and shutter sounds (with five available, including silent). The camera is also equipped with a 2x digital zoom, five fun frames, and night mode. Pictures come out very well, with good color accuracy, although the edges of objects are not exceptionally crisp.

The phone also supports Sprint Power Vision, which allows you to watch news, entertainment, and sports clips. For a monthly fee, there are various bundles that you can subscribe to. In the basic TV package, you have access to numerous streaming media choices, including CNN Mobile, Fox Sports, The Weather Channel, Disney Channel, NFL Network, and more.

The music player onboard is relatively minimalist, but songs can be downloaded swiftly from the Sprint Music Store thanks to the EV-DO 3G network. Included with the phone is a 64MB microSD card, which basically gives you an album or two of space, so you'll probably want to purchase your own. The memory port is capable of holding cards up to 4GB in size. One downside of the music player is that neither the mobile nor the PC version of your songs can be clipped in order to serve as a ring tone for the phone. As songs play, you do get to view album art, and if you're on a plane you can easily switch off the phone capabilities and leave the music option running. Conversely, the phone will shut the music off temporarily when you receive a phone call.

Otherwise, aside from the access to the multimedia options, there really isn't a long list of applications on this phone. But one thing that the phone does have is a few demos of games (you'll have to pay to play the full versions) to choose from the next time you're in a lengthy line at the bank. Old-school gamers will be especially happy as the bigger hits from the 80s are present here, most notably: Pacman, Ms. Pacman, and Tetris. There are also versions of the World Series of Poker, Midnight Pool, and Madden NFL.

The phone itself performs fairly well and operates on the CDMA network (1900MHz and 800MHz). Incoming calls were clear and rich. And on the other end, callers reported that the microphone did a good job of canceling out ambient noise and wind. As previously stated, speakerphone quality was only so-so, with problems most notably in the lower ends of the audio spectrum (i.e., bass). By today's standards, the SPH-M520 has somewhat minimal features, so it comes as a surprise that the battery life is relatively lackluster. You should be able to get about 3 hours of talk time before recharging is required. As for standby, the battery delivers about a week's worth of a charge. Overall, the Samsung SPH-M520 is a sleek and solidly made phone with a performance that should be acceptable to most.

Pros: Sleek design, excellent camera, EV-DO network
Cons: Poor battery life, speakerphone performance

Warranty
1 year