Samsung SGH-D880 Dual Sim Phone

by Terence

Samsung has a reputation for producing the most models of mobile phones out there. With over a hundred different models alone in the Korean market, it's no surprise that it has models to accommodate almost everyone’s needs. In come the SGH-D880 incorporating two separate SIM card slots and Dual Active Standby connectivity that will enable users to enjoy the functionality of two phones in one. Read on for the full review. At first glance it resembles another Samsung slider mobile, the SGH-D900 although this model seems to be slightly thicker. It has the usual must have features of all mobile phones these days: GPRS/EDGE, Tri-band support, 3 Megapixels Camera, 2.3” QVGA TFT LCD, Stereo FM and support of external flash memory (MicroSD). The main feature of the D880 however is that it can support 2 sims to be on standby at the same time. More on this feature later. Included in the box is the charger, headset, Li-ion battery, usb cable, Samsung PC Studio software and a user guide. The headset, charger and USB cable all connects to the one and only propriety connector on the bottom right side of the phone, so better not lose them. As you can see, the dual line nature is clear when u open the back of the phone which revels 2 sim card holder. It will still work if you use only one, but I’ll be using my own Maxis line and another loaned Celcom line to test the phone’s dual sim capability Installing the sim cards are pretty straight forward, just slide the sims in to place. Since it now has 2 sims, when you first turn it on, you have to key in both the PIN and since this is also the first time the phone is turned on with the new sims, you have the option to set which one is primary and which is secondary. The difference between them is all calls and SMS made will always use the primary sim, while the secondary sim is only on standby to receive any calls or SMS to it. There is a small button on the top left side of the phone to allow you quickly change which sim you want to use as primary. However when doing so, the phone will automatically reboot with the primary roles on the sims now exchanged. The whole process takes about 1 minute so it isn’t exactly a “quick” process. Such a feature would certainly make this phone a complete waste of time, if not for the ability to choose which sim to use to make a call or sent SMS. A ability I nearly missed when reviewing the phone. The keypads are decent but has a lack of quality about it. Basically it feels very plastic and the lack of depth doesn’t really help. I would assume a RM1,799 phone would at least have a proper and solid keypad. Also due to the slide nature of the phone, some important buttons are on the top part which will take some time to get use to since it’s a fair bit of travel for your fingers from the numeric keypad. And when keying in numbers, each number comes up on the screen with its own color. Seriously, is this phone for kids? Good thing the 2.3"LCD is crisp and bright to keep the adults happy. The menu system is classic Samsung, basically a love or hate affair. Current Samsung owners should have no problem mastering the menu but Motorola veteran like me needed some time to get use to the certain features. The few which stand out was for example any SMS sent out won’t automatically be saved in the sent folder. You have to select another option called sent and save if you want to save that particular SMS in the sent folder. Also the OK button in the middle of the scroll pad, in any other phone if you press it from the main screen, you expect the menu to show up, but not on any Samsung. Instead you get the browser firing up which fails to connect. The phone did came with preset accounts for Digi, Celcom and Maxis, but all failed due to some unknown reason. The settings were all correct as per my current phone. The jukebox player plays MP3, AAC+ and WMA format with relatively good quality on the stereo headsets as compared when using the onboard mono speaker. Pair this phone with a good Bluetooth headset and you have a decent portable music library what with the external MicroSD support which now comes in 4GB flavor. The 3.0 Megapixel camera that comes equipped with the D880 is great on quality. Even though it lacks a flash like most camera phone these days, night photos are of decent quality. The only gripe I have about the camera is the 1 sec delay. After the press, it takes the D880 roughly 1 sec to autofocus the subject (if it is still there) before activating the shutter to take the photo. Couldn’t find any way to fixed it. On the bright side, the camera does come with lots of interesting and funky photo templates that you can play around with. Battery life is reasonable with 2 sims on standby, the D880 manage to last for around 3 days with average use. Even when using the built-in FM radio for a few hours didn’t seem to affect the battery life much. Speaking of which requires the headset to be plugged in since it uses that as the antenna. But you don’t have to use them to listen to the radio if you don’t want to, as the D880 can also output via its mono speaker. Good thinking on this part. Overall a good phone, the D880 has its share of hiccups, but I don’t think there is any other dual sim phone which comes close to its features and design. If you carry around multiple mobiles and wish to cut down on them, you phone has arrive. But keep the 3G/HSDPA one, and replace the other since you’ll be surfing on EDGE only with the D880. Specifications: Network • Tri-band (900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) • EDGE • GPRS Class 10 Display • 262k Colour QVGA TFT-LCD, 2.3” (320 x 240 pixels) Key Features • Dual Active Stand-by SIM Support with 2 Cores (Master & Slave) • External Memory Slot (MicroSD™ up to 2GB) Camera • 3 Megapixel CMOS AF Camera (4x Digital Zoom) • Video Recording & Play (up to 352 x 288) Music Player • Supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR formats • FM Radio with Auto Tuning Java™ • MIDP 2.0 Connectivity • Bluetooth® 2.0 (with A2DP/AVRCP) / USB2.0 Full Speed Battery(standard) • Li-Ion, 1200mAh (Up to 4hrs talk time and 360hrs standby time) Mobile Printing • BPP, PictBridge Dimensions • 104 x 51 x 18.9 mm Weight • 113g