Two Interfaces

I’m not such a fan of dual-faced phones due to my utilitarian nature. I just don’t see the need for two different interfaces. However, after using the Samsung SGH-F500 for some time, I have to admit having two interfaces does provide some unique benefits. Let me explain.

First of all, it allows for a smaller form factor and more usable buttons. There is just no way you can fit a large 2.4” screen onto a normal candybar mobile phone and also have large, well-spaced buttons at the same time. If you insist on those specifications using a single-faced candybar phone, well, you will just end up with a really long mobile phone! It’s absurd, I know…

Next, having two interfaces allow us to enjoy the best of both worlds - touch and force. Touch-sensitive keys are notorious for being very unfriendly to quick touches. They also require a lot of space between different touch-keys for proper usage. This is the reason why touch-sensitive keys are only used for d-pad navigation and command buttons on most phone models today. They are just too hard to navigate with, no matter how effortless they are to use.

Force-driven buttons and keys, on the other hand, do not have these flaws because they are driven by direct force or pressure. This make these buttons and keys the best way to input data. By providing both touch-sensitive keys and force-driven buttons, the Samsung SGH-F500 allows you to use both interfaces for the jobs they are best suited for. The touch-sensitive pad is used for multimedia display and navigation purposes while the force-driven buttons are used for standard phone functions, such as keying in numbers and typing out short messages or e-mails.

Of course, only one interface can be active at any one time. Switching between the two interfaces is a simple matter of pushing down a small slider on the side of the phone. Pushing the same slider up will lock the keys on the phone. This is actually the only way to lock the keys on the Samsung SGH-F500.

However, this slider is rather hard to use. Even though it has a ribbed surface, it is hard to press it up or down using a finger. I had to use a finger nail to move it up or down. This makes switching between the two interfaces and locking the keys quite troublesome. This problem is further compounded by the fact that there is no software option to replicate the slider’s functions. Samsung should look into this matter and improve on it in the next model.

Display

One of the key features of the Samsung SGH-F500 is the large 2.4" TFT LCD screen in the PMP (Personal Media Player) side of the phone. This LCD panel is capable of displaying 262,144 colours (18-bits), which is pretty much the standard for high-end mobile phones and many notebooks.

What makes the display different is the size and resolution. Not only is it large by mobile phone standards, it also has a high resolution of 320 x 240 in landscape mode. The large panel allows for a much better viewing experience while the high resolution ensures the picture stays sharp even with the larger display. The panel is bright and capable of vibrant colours but its contrast will deteriorate under direct sunlight (as most backlit LCD displays do).

The 320 x 240 resolution is also more or less the current standard for video on mobile phones. So, the ability to support the resolution is useful if you like exchanging video clips with your friends.

Convergence

Of course, it would be nicer to have an even larger display to enjoy your movies on-the-go, but that would definitely result in a larger, chunkier form factor that will not fit as well into your pocket. So, it's really a matter of achieving a balance between usability and portability.

If you are keen on playing videos on a much larger screen (e.g. 3" and above), a dedicated portable media player (PMP) would be more suitable. But this begs the question - do you want to go back to the stone age of separate, non-convergent devices?

From my point of view, all portable devices such as digital cameras, PMPs, MP3 players and PDAs should come with at least basic phone functionality so that we only need to bring one device. Everyone is moving towards the convergence of various devices to improve portability. We can either get on track and enjoy the convergence of our devices, or we can just forget all about it and stick with separate devices.