Samsung's D600 updates an earlier model, the D500. With sleek colouring and clean lines, this is a nice-looking phone, but get under the hood and there are plenty of goodies awaiting your attention.
We found this handset available for free from the big four operators in the UK on a wide range of tariffs, with the least expensive being £29.99 on T-Mobile and £30 on Vodafone, O2 and Orange. We also found it for as much as £100 on £25 tariffs from T-Mobile and Orange, and SIM-free from online retailers for around £330.
Design
The Samsung SGH-D600 is a slider, a format people seem to either love or loathe. A well put-together slider is small to fit in your pocket and offers many of its features without the need to open the casing. The D600 achieves this thanks to having plenty of outer buttons. These lock automatically, but two presses unlock them ready for use. When you do need to use the number pad, the sliding mechanism is smooth and nicely sprung, so you don't have to push too hard or too far.
There are smaller sliders around, but this one is still quite tiny, measuring just 47 by 96 by 22mm when closed. At the risk of sounding like a designer furniture catalogue, we have to note that the D600's black casing, with its mix of matte and gloss finishes and minimalist chrome highlights lend classic good looks to the unit.
When you open the slider you're greeted with a number pad that is as large as it can be and keys that feel positive under the fingers. In darker lighting conditions the full array of keys light up when one is tapped.
One of the standout features of the D600 is its screen. It's right at the top of the list in terms of specifications, offering 240x320 pixels and 262K colours. It's clear, bright and pin-sharp. The best way to see this in action is to take a photo with the built-in camera then set it as the wallpaper. We got wows all round when we did this. The single connector on the right edge of the casing doubles up for both the provided headphones and AV cables (which can be used to send photos and videos you shoot to a TV).
When connectors like these are left uncovered they are prone to damage, but often the covers used are silly rubber blobs that are all too easily lost. Samsung has come up with a far better solution –- a sliding cover. We love it, and we expect future phones to sport this simple but clever idea.
Also on this edge is a button that launches the camera. The lens on the back of the casing is flanked by a large self-portrait mirror and an LED flash unit. The left edge of the casing has a volume rocker and on the upper parts of both edges are speaker grilles.
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User reviews5
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Arran Brown 10 May 2008
Good: It has loads of great features!
Bad: Can get boring very quickly!!
Comment: The Samsung D600 is a great phone with it's 2.0 MP camera and TV output. It has many multimedia features including very good quality video recording and playback. The TV output is pretty average as the video quality is quite distorted when put onto a large screen but if you are just looking to use this feature for a laugh, to show your mates all your videos then this phone is for you. Most of the other features in the phone work very well although I have tried installng Google maps several times and when I try and use it it doesn't work, you have to make sure whatever you download is compatible before wasting money downloading it and finding it doesn't work! The D600 is a great phone and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a phone with a lot of features that can now be bought dirt cheap. ciao
Stuart Smith 16 March 2008
Good: Good memory, HQ camera
Bad: Not loud enough, pricy
Comment: This mobile is quite easy to use, but I don't like it. lets get the bad stuff over with first. It's slow, quite heavy and the usb connectivity doesnt work. It lacks an fm radio and i think it was a good idea because i would probably be finding faults with that too! If you want a music phone this is not a good idea. They give it 77mb memory but it does not play music loud enough. I like the camera but it is hard to transfer pics to your computer. I dont know if it is just the ORANGE network that do it, but the sidebar is horrid. It doesnt support themes like sony ericssons do either. I do like, (yes i do like a few things about this phone) The call quality is good on it and the messaging is easy, allthough it doesnt save messages you send unless you tell it to each time. The battery life is average but when it is low you get a really annoying sound every minute, not good to go off in the middle of the night. at least it has bluetooth.
Garry Kenzitt 8 June 2006
Good: Chunky, long battery life, easy one handed use
Bad: No cover on camera lens
Comment: This phone is a replacement for my D500 which I also liked. It has excellent screen res, but I would get a nice cover for it, it'd be a shame to get it damaged.
See all 5 user reviews