exclaim
Latest
Samsung Exclaim hands-on
At every price point, there are certain phones that are built like tanks -- finely-tuned machines that were obviously designed and built with a meticulous eye for detail. They don't always look good, but they feel good -- and when you're talking about a device that you're likely going to be holding, using, and typing on for hours each and every day, "feels good" is a surprisingly important checkbox to mark.The Samsung Exclaim doesn't fall into that category. At $79.99 on contract, it's cheap, but it's not that cheap -- in the QWERTY category, the Rant, Lotus, and Rumor 2 all cost less and we're pretty sure we'd rather have any of them, particularly the Lotus. Sprint Navigation works well (as it usually does -- though we didn't like how the portrait softkeys were still functional in landscape mode, so the bottom key confusingly corresponded to the left function) and the Exclaim has one of the loudest, best speakerphones we've heard, but it's doomed by its whopping 17.8mm of girth, its cheap, bendy plastics, and the fact that it lacks a rudimentary touchscreen for entering digits -- something that the similar LG Neon has (for $50 less) and the Rant overcomes with a dedicated, fixed numeric keypad. Yes, the Exclaim slides down to provide the functionality, but it's an unnecessary mechanical burden that adds more thickness than it's worth -- put simply, there are better ways of doing this.For what it's worth, the slide-out keyboard works quite well -- teens and twentysomethings will appreciate the dedicated text and emoticon buttons, and the duplicated softkeys and directional keys are helpful -- and 3G is a plus, but in the face of hot, cheap competition from other models in Sprint's lineup (including some of Samsung's own, ironically), the Exclaim is a definite pass.
Sprint launches LG LX370, Samsung Exclaim, and HTC Snap
You've been able to find the Exclaim and Snap for a while now if you've dug through third-party retailers hard enough, but Sprint's finally selling them directly from its own site. The Snap -- which we'd already known would hit this week -- is a portrait QWERTY handset running Windows Mobile 6.1 with support for HTC's Inner Circle functionality to block out email noise when you feel like you're about to lose your mind; it runs $149.99 on contract after rebate. The Exclaim is a low-cost QWERTY side slider designed to do battle with rival LG's Rumor 2; it'll set you back $79.99 on contract. Finally, the LX370 is a basic numeric slider with a 2 megapixel camera, running $99.99 with your name on the dotted line.[Via Phone Scoop]
Sprint's Samsung Exclaim and HTC Snap in Radio Shacks this week?
So the HTC Snap missed its rumored June 7 date with destiny on Sprint, but don't count it out -- it might still be available before the weekend comes around. Word on the street is that Radio Shack is gearing up to offer the S511 Snap alongside Samsung's Exclaim QWERTY slider as soon as Friday for $149.99 and $79.99 on contract, respectively. If true, that would almost certainly make Sprint the first US carrier to offer a version of HTC's latest WinMo Standard device, beating out T-Mobile and Verizon -- the two others currently rumored to have eyes on it. Anyone planning on camping out at their local Shack Thursday night?[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Samsung Exclaim gets official -- the Best Buy way
This is starting to become a trend that we can't imagine carriers and manufacturers are too pleased with, but for whatever reason, Sprint's Samsung Exclaim is just the latest victim in a string of Best Buy outings. The previously-rumored dual slider looks to be hitting in your choice of blue and "berry" (are we the only ones that find that amusing?) for $399.99 off-contract with an estimated shipment in 1-2 weeks' time, aligning it nicely with talk that we'd see a launch in June. Your hard-earned cash nets you a 2 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, A2DP, and -- perhaps most importantly -- both QWERTY and numeric sliding keypads for those times when you're feeling a little indecisive. Hey, if the form factor works for Pantech, it can certainly work for Samsung, right?[Via Phone Scoop]
Samsung Exclaim dual slider hitting Sprint next month?
Yo, Ocean 2, look out -- Samsung's onto your game. QWERTY dual sliders are still pretty frickin' rare as form factors go, but it seems like Sammy's looking to rock one in the next few weeks for Sprint. This is a device that we'd previously seen rumored as the Cello, and for a device that's clearly intended to be a mainstream SMS-heavy handset, the specs really aren't that bad: QVGA display, EV-DO, 2 megapixel cam with video recording, AGPS, and Bluetooth in your choice of two tasty colors. Rumor has it we'll see it hit the market on June 7 -- possibly alongside the Pre, of all things, in which case we wouldn't expect much fanfare on launch day. [Via PhoneArena]
