Design & Build

The Samsung SGH-D880 is a slider-style mobile phone. This type of design seems to work wonders for them and other manufacturers as it allows phones to have a large screen, without compromising on the size of the buttons. It also allows them to keep the phone compact enough to fit any pocket unobtrusively.

Samsung slider phones are particularly well-known for their attention to the slimness. For example, the Samsung D900 and Samsung Ultra U600 are very thin and sleek.

Alas, that is not the case for the SGH-D880. It is just too thick for my liking at 18.9 mm, especially when compared to its slimmer compatriots. Combined with its relatively large dimensions, it can be ill-fitting for smaller pockets. However, its thicker form factor is probably a necessary compromise in exchange for the dual SIM capability. Needless to say, the capability to support two SIM cards simultaneously would require more electronics, which would take up more space.

Aside from the rather obvious thickness, the SGH-D880 does have many wonderful aesthetic qualities. First of all, Samsung made the SGH-D880 a nice combination of black, gray and mirror finish. The keypad and the back of the SGH-D880 are black in colour, while the sides are in brownish chrome. The back of the phone acts as a battery cover that slides open; and is made from leather-textured plastic, the same kind of finish used in the Samsung P850 clamshell phone.

The grayish-coloured screen area is embedded into a mirror-finished area that makes up 70% of the SGH-D880's facade. At certain angles, with the screen turned off, the whole front looks completely reflective as if it was one piece. This is reminiscent of what was done on the Samsung Ultra U600, which was a fashion statement by itself. As such, the SGH-D880 screen really draws your eyes directly to it. The buttons may not look that good, but that can be forgiven or ignored, considering the beautiful front just above it.

The left side of the D880 has chrome-finished volume control buttons that allows you to adjust the volume of the phone. Right next to the volume control buttons is the shortcut key to the SGH-D880's SIM manager. This is a nifty shortcut that allows the SGH-D880 to work efficiently as a dual SIM mobile phone.

On the right side is the camera button which acts as a shortcut key to the camera as well as a control for the camera shutter. Right next to it is the SGH-D880’s multi-function port which interfaces with the charger, USB cable, and headset.

Sliding the SGH-D880 upwards reveals the numeric keypad. The slider action feels solid, albeit not as solid as previous Samsung slider phones (like the Samsung D900). Perhaps the thickness of the phone has affected the feel somewhat. With that said, the slider is very secure when fully closed or open and does not move about easily. The SGH-D880 uses two slide rails which are located near the sides to give maximum durability and tightness of the action.

Overall, the SGH-D880 has admirable build quality. Just as we have seen in other Samsung mobile phones, all parts of this mobile phone were very well-made. Although it may be thicker and larger than Samsung's other slider phones, the phone's bulk actually felt great in the hand.