Samsung SGH-ZX10 Cell Phone

As a phone, the $150 unit (as of April 7, 2006, with a two-year agreement) is comfortable to use, with touch-friendly keys and a color-rich internal screen. Call quality was less impressive. During many of my conversations, people at the other end had trouble hearing me, and vice versa. Part of the problem was the intermittent network signal. In the worst cases, the phone would drop a call. When the signal was strong, the phone generally worked well, but it would benefit from louder handset volume. Its talk-time battery life in our lab tests was poor: 4 hours, 8 minutes.

The ZX10 works well for multimedia chores such as sending and receiving instant messages, sending and playing back audio and video files, and shooting video clips. It comes with a memory card slot for extra storage, though you'll need to buy a fingernail-size MicroSD (formerly known as TransFlash) card separately.

The 1.3-megapixel camera includes flexible controls. For example, you can adjust the ISO up to 800, which helps in low-light conditions. But use this feature sparingly: If you go above ISO 400, you can expect to see artifacts in your pictures. The photos I took looked so-so for the most part. Some shots came out dark and grainy. You can also capture video clips.

If you're seeking a phone that offers speedy data connection, flexible camera controls, and international roaming capability, I can easily recommend the ZX10.

Grace Aquino