Samsung Memoir T929 - black (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: T929
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- If you don't mind the price, the Samsung Memoir lives up to its promise as a top-notch camera phone.
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Where to buy
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CNET editors' review
Samsung Memoir T929 - black (T-Mobile) price range: $199.99
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 02/25/2009
- Released on: 02/25/2009
The good: The Samsung Memoir has a handsome and slim design with a styling that makes it look like a camera. The TouchWiz interface makes navigation a breeze and we love that you can upload your photos directly to online sharing sites. The photo quality is top-notch, and the overall feature set is very impressive. It has great performance as well.
The bad: The Samsung Memoir lacks Wi-Fi, its Web browser is not the greatest, and the touch-screen interface takes some acclimation. You are limited to preloaded TouchWiz widgets.
The bottom line: If you don't mind the price, the Samsung Memoir lives up to its promise as a top-notch camera phone.
Up until recently, the highest megapixel camera phones to grace U.S. carriers have been 5-megapixel shooters like the Motorola Zine ZN5. If we wanted to play around with higher-performance camera phones, we had to get our hands on unlocked versions like the 8-megapixel Samsung Innov8 from our friends in Europe.
But that has all changed with the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir, which is now available from T-Mobile USA for a much more affordable $249.99 (compared to the $700 or so for the Innov8). Indeed, this makes the Memoir the highest-performing camera phone with a U.S. carrier, though we're sure this accolade won't last long. The Memoir definitely delivers in the photo quality department, with great photos and camera features that rival even those on a standalone point-and-shoot camera. The Memoir even offers direct uploads to online photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket.
Of course, the Memoir wouldn't be much of a phone if it didn't have other features, too. It comes with Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz interface, a full HTML browser, support for T-Mobile's 3G network, GPS, a music player, and more. $249.99 is a little pricier than most other U.S. camera phones, but we think the Memoir's design and feature set more than make up for it.
Design
The design of the Samsung Memoir certainly walks a very thin line between camera and phone. The ergonomics are uncanny--the shutter button and zoom controls are on the top, the camera lens and flash are positioned in a way so that your fingers are unlikely to block them, and the touch-screen interface acts as a giant viewfinder--all like a regular camera. That small area where you would wrap your right-hand fingers when taking a photo? It's clad in faux leather separate from the rest of the phone, presumably for better grip. If it were not for the telltale call keys and the T-Mobile branding, we would've thought the Samsung Memoir was a camera and not a phone.
Be it camera or phone (or both), the Memoir is one svelte, elegant device. Measuring 4.2 inches long by 2.1 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick, the Memoir is clad in black with silver on the sides, and it's one of the slimmest high-end camera phones we've seen. Dominating its entire front surface is a 262,000-color 2.6-inch touch-screen display that looks simply stunning. The display is vibrant with vivid colors and sharp-looking graphics. You can adjust the backlight time and brightness, and you can personalize the display with wallpaper and a greeting message. While you can adjust the font type, you can't change the font size.
Like other Samsung touch-screen handsets, the Memoir has haptic feedback, meaning the phone vibrates to let you know your touch has registered. You can adjust the intensity of the vibrations if you want. The touch interface is pretty responsive and intuitive, but it did take us a little while to get used to the sensitivity of the screen, even after calibration. We would occasionally launch a program when all we wanted to do was scroll through the menu. We imagine this is something you learn to adapt to with time, but newcomers to touch-screen handsets might find it frustrating. Also, the Memoir has an internal accelerometer that automatically changes the display's orientation from portrait to landscape mode when you hold the phone horizontally. This only happens with certain applications like the Web browser and the messaging interface, and it only rotates clockwise by 90 degrees.
On the default standby page, you'll find four icons at the bottom row of the display. They represent the phone dialer, the phone book, the Web browser, and the main menu. The phone dialer has a virtual keypad with large alphanumeric keys, plus there are also shortcuts for the call log, voice mail, the messaging menu, and the phone book.
The Memoir features Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz interface, just like on the Behold and the Omnia. It consists of a tray of widgets along the left side, which lead to various applications like the clock, the music player, and so forth. You can also drag and drop them to the main screen for easier access to your favorite applications. But some of these widgets are more than just shortcuts. For example, the Weather widget will display the city you're in as well as your local weather report right on the main screen, and the music player widget allows you to control your music without having to open up the application.
You're unfortunately limited to the widgets that are preloaded to the Memoir, but Samsung did include a camera-focused widget. It allows you to upload your photos to online sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket directly, without having to use e-mail or a third-party program. This is definitely one of the highlights of the phone, which we'll mention again in the Features section. Aside from dragging and dropping the widgets to the main screen, you can also drag them back to the tray. To close the tray, just touch the little arrow icon.
For texters concerned about the lack of a physical keyboard, the Memoir does have a virtual QWERTY keyboard. After you create a new message, you can tilt the phone horizontally to reveal the landscape QWERTY keyboard that spans the length of the display. The keyboard is roomy and the haptic feedback helps to ensure accurate typing, but it's not quite as smooth as using the iPhone's virtual keyboard. We like that you can type messages with the T9 alphanumeric keypad if you wanted to, and the dedicated punctuation keys are nice (You still have to switch to a different keyboard for symbols and numbers). When in the Web browser, the QWERTY keyboard even has a .com key, which is certainly helpful when entering URLs.
There are three physical keys underneath the display; the Talk, Back, and End/Power keys respectively. The microSD card slot and headset/charger jack are on the left spine. On the right are the camera shutter button, a screen lock key, and the volume rocker that also acts as the camera's zoom controls. On the back is the aforementioned 8-megapixel-camera lens with a built-in retractable lens cover. There's also a Xenon flash, but no self-portrait mirror.
Features
The Samsung Memoir's camera is the primary reason to get this handset, despite the fact the Memoir comes with a whole host of other advanced features. We'll get to that shortly, but first we wanted to let you know a few essentials before we delve into the main course. The Memoir has a large 2,000-entry phone book with room in each entry for four phone numbers, four instant-messaging usernames, a Web site address, birthday and anniversary dates, a street address, and notes. You can save callers to groups, pair them with a photo for caller ID, plus one of 23 polyphonic ringtones.
Other essentials include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a calculator, a notepad, a task list, an alarm clock, a world clock, a timer, a stopwatch, and a currency and unit converter. It also has voice command, PC syncing, Web-based e-mail for a variety of providers (AOL, Yahoo, GMail, Comcast, etc.), instant messaging, GPS support, and stereo Bluetooth. The Memoir is also one of the few phones to support T-Mobile's 3G network. News junkies will also like the built-in RSS reader. Though there's 3G, there is no Wi-Fi, which is quite a disappointment seeing as there's a full HTML browser and photo upload capabilities.
The Samsung Memoir's camera is similar to the Innov8 in terms of features. The 8-megapixel camera can take pictures in up to seven resolutions, from a large 3,264x2,448 to the smallest 320x240. Some of the more typical camera settings include color effects, white balance presets, 8x digital zoom, a self-timer, three quality settings, a mosaic-shot mode, three shutter sounds with silent option, and nine fun frames. You will even find more advanced camera settings like an adjustable ISO and exposure metering.
You also get 12 preset scene settings for certain conditions like portrait, landscape, sports, indoor, beach, sunset, backlight, and more. If you've ever had problems with jerky photos, you'll like the Memoir's antishake mode. Smile-shot helps you to snap a photo only when the people are smiling, and blink detection lets you know when someone has blinked. We've tried both smile and blink detections, and it worked flawlessly. For business travelers, you'll like the ability to use the camera for capturing business cards, so you might never have to carry a bunch of business cards home with you again. There's even a panorama mode that lets you auto-stitch photos after shooting seven photos in quick succession from left to right (or vice versa).
The camcorder is impressive as well. The Memoir can record clips in two resolutions (640x480 and 320x240) in one of three modes: normal mode, picture message mode, and slow-motion video mode. Videos in normal mode are kept for however much storage is on the phone. Picture messages are capped to 30 seconds, and slow-motion video capture is shot at 120 frames per second. The settings are similar to the still camera.
Photo quality is simply amazing. We're very impressed by the sharp images, accurate colors, and little to no image noise. After you're done shooting photos, you can store them in the phone or up to a 8GB microSD card. You can also e-mail them, send them to a friend, plus you can upload your photo directly to one of four online sharing sites--Flickr, Kodak Gallery, Photobucket, and Snapfish. You just log into your preferred site, and upload directly from the phone--no need for a special e-mail address or a third-party application like Shozu. We really like this feature, since you do not need to resize your photo down to a more Web-friendly resolution and can instead upload the full original photo if you like. The Memoir also supports geotagging if you want your photos to be tagged with the location where you took the photo.
The Memoir has a pretty simple music player. It supports album art, you can create and edit playlists, there are shuffle and repeat modes, plus six equalizer settings. You load music onto it with a USB cable by dragging and dropping into it. You can set the player to play in the background while multitasking.
Thankfully, the Memoir also offers a full HTML browser. It is similar to other Samsung browsers--you can scroll through pages by dragging your finger across the page. You can use the camera's physical zoom controls to zoom in and out of Web pages, which is very nice. And as we said above, the virtual QWERTY keyboard on the browser has a dedicated .com button, which helps in entering URLs. You can save bookmarks easily, and you can get rid of the surrounding controls for full screen mode if you want. It's not quite as good as the iPhone's browser of course, but it compares favorably with other proprietary Web browsers.
You can customize the Memoir with wallpaper, alert tones, and more. If you want more options, you can download them from T-Mobile's t-zones store. There are no included games.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Samsung Memoir in San Francisco using T-Mobile. We were impressed with the call quality. Callers sounded loud and clear, with natural voices, and nary a sign of static. On their end, callers said we sounded fine as well, though they did complain of the occasional background noise. Speakerphone calls performed admirably as well. Callers could still hear an echo, but it wasn't that bad. We could certainly hear them loud and clear, though with a slightly tinnier voice quality.
Music quality was pretty good. The external speakers give out a rather hollow sound with not a lot of bass, but the overall sound is fine. We would recommend using a headset for better audio quality of course.
The Memoir supports T-Mobile's 3G network (UMTS 1700/2100). It is very fast. We connected to Web pages in seconds and were able to upload a 2.2MB photo in just under a couple minutes.
The Samsung Memoir has a battery life of 5.5 hours talk time and 12.5 days standby time. It has a tested talk time of 5 hours and 5 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the Memoir has a digital SAR rating of 0.618 watt per kilogram.
User reviews
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Great Mobile Camera Phone, but not a smart phone
by Email2 on March 8, 2009
Pros: Classic mobile phone design, good reception, bright screen, small - but responsive keyboard, okay mp3 player and very good camera
Cons: No widget available, no 3.5mm headphone jack, nearly no accessories available, the screen is too small for web browsing, and the mp3 player is just too basic and lacks any meaningful tone controls.
Summary: Since I own both the Memoir and the iPhone 3g, their is no reasonable comparison between the two because they are two different types of phones. The iPhone is a ...
Summary: Since I own both the Memoir and the iPhone 3g, their is no reasonable comparison between the two because they are two different types of phones. The iPhone is a smart phone/gadget phone and the Memoir is a basic camera phone with some VERY basic smart phone features.
For what the Memoir is, a camera phone, it is well executed and sits atop the camera phone hierarchy. If you're looking for a Blackberry or iPhone type phone, this is not a reasonable alternative.
Nevertheless, based on the Memoir's performance as a camera phone, I would highly recommend it.13 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Finally a TMobile phone I really love
by lemonstarch on March 9, 2009
Pros: 8mp Camera (why I bought it)
Widgets/Desktop
Touchscreen
GPSCons: GPS can be slow loading
Stuck with TMobile's email "pull"
Touchscreen on the widget bar can be difficult to scroll
No WiFi
Widget bar and Apps are limited to the what's on the phone
No separate headset and charging slot.Summary: I have had this phone 3 days and I am very pleased. I bought this phone for the camera as I had a Sony Ericsson P1i, that phone had a ...
Summary: I have had this phone 3 days and I am very pleased. I bought this phone for the camera as I had a Sony Ericsson P1i, that phone had a 3.2mp camera that wasn't very good. I conducted a photo test with my Kodak 8.1mp digital camera and the Memoir, I was pleasantly surprised the camera on the Memoir turned out to have just a tad better quality. I know that earlier some blurry photos surfaced before this phone was released but I haven't had any blurry photos. The camera is packed with features which is very nice but the most important and yet perhaps most anal feature I was looking for, which the Memoir has, was a protective shutter to cover the lens.
The widget bar is a handy tool but even more handy is being able to drag an app to the desktop (e.g. music player) to control it on the desktop. Scrolling up and down on the widget bar with your finger can get iffy as it can often open up an application when you're not intending to. The web browser is okay (html browser) but not my favorite. You can turn the device widescreen for more web space and the touchscreen is effective. You are limited to TMobiles email pull for gmail or any other web base email. It's annoying as it takes time to load and once that's loaded it's more loading for each email. The media player is great for video and music, I loaded a feature film mp4 I have for my iPod that's a .5gb and it played with no problem.
I do wish the phone had a separate headset and charging slot. If you use the supplied earbuds in a car or at home you won't be able to charge the phone at the same time. Battery life is adequate but using the camera extensively will drain it. Also nice, the phone has sensors so the screen automatically turns off when you hold the phone close to your head. Overall I am very pleased all the other standard phone features a phone requires can be found and work excellent. In the end I do hope Samsung does have an software update to open the phone up for more applications (google maps, etc).8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazing phone
by blaird22 on February 26, 2009
Pros: I bought this phone right when it came out. I did a lot of research on the phone, and was really excited. I was not disappointed, even with very high expectations. There are some really good features, and the camera is amazing.
Cons: The GPS doesn't work very well. The phone has rebooted on me a couple times. There is no App store
Summary: This is a great phone, though it is pricey. It is feature rich, with a very usable virtual keyboard. It is nice that you can tilt it upright and the ...
Summary: This is a great phone, though it is pricey. It is feature rich, with a very usable virtual keyboard. It is nice that you can tilt it upright and the keyboard becomes a standard t9 keypad. I had very high expectations for this phone after doing weeks of research and waiting for it to come out. It is everything I expected. The pictures it takes are simply unreal coming from a phone.
6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I've only had it for a couple day's, but I love it!!
by c_dee123 on February 27, 2009
Pros: 8 Megapixel Camera and all of the options that go along with taking pics.
Touch Wiz
Sleek Look
Ease of useCons: I wish the screen was a little larger
GPS is slow to load
I wish you could customize the widgets more
The priceSummary: Cconsidering you are getting a phone and camera in one package, the price isn't horrible.
I was a little worried about texting on a touch screen (I have heard ...Summary: Cconsidering you are getting a phone and camera in one package, the price isn't horrible.
I was a little worried about texting on a touch screen (I have heard mixed reviews about accuracy on most phones), but after test driving this phone, I found that it is very accurate.
I love that I don't have to remember my camera when going somewhere, the pictures I take on the phone are just as good as a picture I would take from my camera.
Using the web browser is very fast on T-mobile's 3G network.
I haven't had much luck getting the GPS to work.
I wish there were more options when it comes to the widgets.
Overall, a great phone/camera. I would definetly recomend this phone to a friend.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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above average phone.
by abcyesn on March 10, 2009
Pros: good camera
Cons: not enough features
Summary: yeah the gps is real good this time, the web browser is updated, it shows images on web pages more clearer than the behold, i didn't even have the ...
Summary: yeah the gps is real good this time, the web browser is updated, it shows images on web pages more clearer than the behold, i didn't even have the thought of hacking the browser, thats how good it is. the camera is just pure awesome, high qaulity pics and vids.......new widget icons i love the weather widget which downloads the current status of your local weather condition, the microsd card slot is on the side of the phone instead of inside the back cover, which is more convenient this time.
share your opinions with me at http://www.Samsung-Memoir.com see ya4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pretty Good Phone
by gatordon22 on May 13, 2009
Pros: Camera, GPS, Web, Speaker, Calls
Cons: No Wifi, T-Mobile has this thing locked down. Battery
Summary: I have had this phone since it was released back in Feb. It is a very good phone for what it is. What it is not is a smart phone. ...
Summary: I have had this phone since it was released back in Feb. It is a very good phone for what it is. What it is not is a smart phone. The camera works very well outside, but inside pictures take time to get looking good. The good news is the camera has all the settings you would find on a standalone point and shoot so you can find the correct combo of settings to get good looking pictures indoors as well.
The web browser is improved over the Behold and no hack is necessary. If the onboard browser is giving you trouble on a certain site OperaMini is available for the Memoir so you can give that a try.
The GPS on this phone works great. For me it takes less than a minute normally to have it up and running after launching the app.
Phone calls are quite good on this phone and the speaker is more than loud enough for most situations. Other apps such as the music player, voice recognition, calc ect. work well and make this a well rounded phone.
I have no problem with the Touch Wiz interface. It is easy to navigate and typing on the full keyboard is not a problem. The only problem is that you will have some inadvertent button pushes while navigating on some screens.
T-mobile does have this phone locked down and there are very few apps that work on this phone.
You can go to www.Samsung-Memoir.com and you can learn how to load some apps such as Google Maps, MGMaps, OperaMini, several free games, and hundreds of movies.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good Enough
by Cookie399 on March 18, 2009
Pros: 1. Best Camera/pictures that I have used to date. 2. Voice Activation/Speaker phone work well enough where I'm not straining or going crazy. 3.Love the sleeker design, very un-blackberryish. 3. Responsive keyboard even if you have nails.
Cons: 1. A little slippery to use. 2. Needs more widgets. I agree with most of the other reviewers about it's cons,but this is no iphone killer, and it's not really meant to be, but it is feature rich in spite of the few that are missing.
Summary: I really like this phone - a lot! Though some may not like the touch keypad (like me), I do like the responsiveness and unlike an iphone I can use ...
Summary: I really like this phone - a lot! Though some may not like the touch keypad (like me), I do like the responsiveness and unlike an iphone I can use my nails to use it. I like that it doesn't look like Blackberry or a Blackjack and is sleeker, and the pictures and video come out great, vibrant, which is what drew me to the phone in the first place. The phone itself works fine but I still have drop issues at some places where I live which is a T-Mo problem, not the phone. While it's a little slippery to use for someone like me who is always dropping things, I just have to get one of those rubber suits for it. I like that it packs a lot in for a small package. I don't need a super stereo, but by including a Micro SD in the package it's great way to store your photos/music and contacts and take it with you. It is pricey as it does lack a few features you would expect, but it still a pretty good little camera/phone.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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This is perfect for everyday use
by trowa50 on May 23, 2009
Pros: The camera, the 3g, the games, the speakerphone, the ringtones that work well with alarm clock(bug song), The feeling of being unique
Cons: the battery, not very precise keyboard, youtube can be choppy
Summary: If you are a person who likes to take a lot of photo's wherever you are, get this phone. it is perfect for social events. for those times you ...
Summary: If you are a person who likes to take a lot of photo's wherever you are, get this phone. it is perfect for social events. for those times you can't carry your phone and camera. being a guy, i don't have many spots to put bulky items, this was a very good compromise. i only wish it had a slide out keyboard as opposed to the touch screen for texting
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Greatly enjoy this phone
by Brethek on May 21, 2009
Pros: takes awesome pictures, touch screen was easy to get accustom to, simple quick keys and with the expandable memory this phone is two device in one (digital camera and phone)
Cons: Don't have any this phone is exactly what it is designed for
Summary: If you are looking for a smart phone don't get this one people it was not designed for you. The memoir is exactly what it is a digital camera ...
Summary: If you are looking for a smart phone don't get this one people it was not designed for you. The memoir is exactly what it is a digital camera and phone all in one.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Phone is great.
by sand66 on May 18, 2009
Pros: On my 4th phone from T-mo. I think i will keep this one. The camera is on par with the ZN5 i think it is a little better. I'm so sick of Blackberry and the Iphone. This phone is a 10 out of a 10..........
Cons: No wifi. I just get Edge where i live. stinks.
Summary: If you want the best camera and cell phone get it.....
Summary: If you want the best camera and cell phone get it.....
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: T929
- Description: Is the Samsung Memoir a mobile phone with a camera? Or a camera with a mobile phone? Either way, with 8.0 megapixels, a Xenon flash and a host of dedicated camera functions, the Memoir sets a standard. But the Memoir doesn?t stop there. It?s also a music player, a full Web browser, a GPS navigation system and one of the most advanced touch screen phones in the world. Smile.
General
- Product Type Cellular phone With digital camera
- Service Provider T-Mobile
- Width 2.1 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 4.2 in
- Weight 4.4 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
- Band WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- Phone Design Candy bar
- Antenna Internal
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Voice Dialing Yes
- Call Timer Yes
- Conference Call Capability Yes
- Voice Recorder Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Additional Features aGPS
Communicator Features
- User Memory 100 MB
Messaging & Data Services
- Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
- Mobile Email Yes
- Supported Email Protocols POP3
- GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Yes
- EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates For Global Evolution) Yes
- Internet Browser Yes
- Messaging / Data Features Text messages, HTML Browser
Multimedia Features
- Downloadable Content Ring tones, Wallpapers, Audio files, Video files
Digital Camera
- Camera highlights With a resolution of 8 megapixels, this model will give you better pictures than other phones.
- Sensor Resolution 8 megapixels
- Digital Zoom 16
- Camera Light Source Flash
Organizer
- Alarm Clock Yes
- Calendar Yes
- Reminder Yes
- Calculator Basic
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 240 x 400 pixels
- Color Support Color
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Features LCD touch screen
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
Power
- Type Power adapter
Battery
- Talk Time Up to 330 min
- Standby Time Up to 300 h
Accessories
- A-Data Speedy Series flash memory card - 2 GB - microSD (33795596)8.99
- ATP SD Trio Professional PLUS card adapter - flash: microSD - Hi-Speed USB (32128464)17.00
- Centon 2GBRSD3-1 - flash memory card - 2 GB - microSD (33503634)11.84 - 13.29
- Centon flash memory card - 4 GB - microSD (33362243)16.74 - 70.99
- Samsung WT17200000136 - case for cellular phone (33560848)9.44
- Samsung pouch for cellular phone (33639000)11.14
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
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