Samsung Transform, first hands-on!
Worried that the Samsung Transform would be a slatephone? Don't be -- it's more of a miniature Epic 4G. The Android 2.1 device's got a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 800MHz processor and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, plus front- and rear-facing cameras for video chat -- though they're pretty low resolution and there's no 4G to pump their streaming video data. We just got hands-on with the phone, and came away mildly impressed -- though it's a little sluggish compared to the Epic, it's got much the same build quality, and the exact same hinge and buzzy vibrator if you want to get specific. There aren't a lot of fancy functions on the keyboard, but it's arguably got an even better layout that caters to landscape touch-typists like us -- the keys are plasticy little numbers like those on the Samsung Intercept, but they've got a nice click and this time, a logical arrangement. The screen's bright and clear enough, but unless our eyes deceive us it's no AMOLED. Expect it to drop on October 10th for $150 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and be sure to watch a Sprint rep show off the phone's Sprint ID functions after the break.
Update: Video hands-on after the break! %Gallery-104447%
Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
