Samsung FlipShot Review - Introduction / Design

Introduction

Upon removing a brand new Samsung FlipShot from the box, the user will be greeted with a bevy of phone mysteries. How can a device so tiny function as both a cell phone and a digital camera? Will both photo and call quality be up to par? And, perhaps most importantly, just where does the battery go?
The first question is left up to the experts, and the second question to the rest of the review. As for the third question, the entire front panel of the phone lifts off in order to provide access to the battery slot without interrupting the seamless design of the camera face. With even this smallest of details taken care of, the FlipShot promises to be, at the very least, an excellent entry into the field of design.

With an innovative design and an excellent 3.0-megapixel camera, the FlipShot should please cell phone photography enthusiasts. Others, especially those who enjoy watching phone video, will most likely enjoy the phone's high-quality 262K-color internal screen. The remainder of users should be satisfied with a nice-looking phone that offers the standard Verizon phone experience, including organizational applications, 500-entry Contacts list, and a wide variety of messaging options.
Design

The "flip-and-twist" camera design of the FlipShot is, of course, its big selling point. This design feature is explored in further detail in the Camera section of this review. In this section, it is enough to say that this aspect of the design is both easy and fun to use, and certainly stands out as the outstanding feature of this phone. The rest of the phone's design is more than satisfactory, combining a simple black and silver color scheme with a compact functionality.

At 96 x 46 x 19 mm and 110 g, the phone is a little bulkier than some of its ultra-slim contemporaries. However, the phone is in no way bulky, and for what is essentially a two-in-one device, the FlipShot packs a whole lot of functionality into a small package. Although it is average in size for a cell phone, it is certainly on the smaller end of the digital camera size range. The device fits easily into hand in either vertical phone mode or horizontal camera mode.
The "front" of the closed phone (which, of course, is flipped towards the inside of the phone in camera mode) offers no design surprises. The sleek blackness of the front panel is interrupted only by the small external screen and by silver lettering heralding the names of Samsung and Verizon, and announcing to the world the cryptic message of "3.0-Megapixels." As an added fun bonus, hidden keys below the external screen control the phone's music player. A touch in the center of the glassy black panel illuminates a small red play / pause button, whereas touches to the left and right illuminate the back and forward buttons. When not lit up, the buttons leave behind no trace that they ever existed. With its mix of black, silver, and glassy smoothness, the front panel looks cool, and the screen and hidden buttons add to its usefulness.

The back of the phone doubles as the front of the digital camera. Other phones have pulled off this trick before, but usually using the smaller external phone screen as the camera viewing screen instead of twisting around the larger internal screen like the FlipShot. As mentioned above, although the battery is stored under this panel, there is no battery case seem. Instead, the back of the phone offers a smooth black plate with the Samsung and Verizon logos engraved into two separate corners. There is no special embossing or painting of the logos, making them blend unnoticeably into the jet black continuity of the panel. The camera lens hovers off to the right / top, trailed by a floating translucent ovaline flash. Since the lens / flash are on the top when the phone is oriented vertically, users needn't worry about them awkwardly interfering with their phone-gripping. Functional and simple, the back panel gets the job done with a little bit of class.

The clamshell flips open to reveal the standard format of screen-on-top and keyboard-on-bottom. There is nothing out of the ordinary here, and anyone who's used a Samsung / Verizon clamshell before should be right at home. In addition to numberpad, the keyboard features a 5-way navigation button, the standard assortment of Send, Clear, and End / Power buttons, and two dedicated softkeys. To the left of the 5-way key is a button that summons the camera and to the right is one that controls speakerphone. The camera's zoom key (along the side of the phone) doubles as a volume controller as well. Headphones and battery adapter connect to ports along the other side of the phone.

With its much-touted "flip-and-twist" camera screen, the FlipShot offers something new to the phone design scene. The rest of the phone's design is both sleek and functional, offering dual functionality of phone and digital camera in a small, compact package.

Out of the box, the Samsung FlipShot comes with a standard 880 Li-Ion battery, Power Cable, Wrist Strap, Quick Reference Guide and User Manual.

source:
http://www.mobiledia.com/reviews/samsung/flipshot/page1.html