Review: Samsung's SCH-U620 TV Phone for Verizon

Samsung SCH-U620

Samsung SCH-U620

Samsung SCH-U620

Samsung SCH-U620

In January of this year at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless unveiled their new V CAST Mobile TV service. It also introduced the first two devices that would work on that MediaFLO based digital TV network: the Samsung SCH-U620 and the LG VX9400. Fast forward a little more than 3 months to today and we now have V CAST Mobile TV services offered in a number of metropolitan areas of the US, including our little corner of the world here in Philadelphia. In fact, the Mobile TV service just went live here only a week ago, making this the perfect opportunity to test-drive the Samsung SCH-U620 in the real world to see if digital TV on the go really works.

Physical Aspects

Physically the SCH-U620 is a near clone of the GSM SGH-D600 that was first sold in 2005. Apart from a couple of the D600's chromed controls being blacked out on the U620, one would be hard pressed to tell them apart. Except, of course, for the U620's TV antenna that can be extended out from the right side of the phone. All of this adds up to a phone that is not all that thin, small, or light by today's standards. Its 107g (3.8oz) weight is by no means excessive, though its 23mm (.9") thickness does make it perhaps seem a bit frumpy. Still, its height and width of 95mm x 47mm (3.7" x 1.9") are pretty reasonable.

Our review unit was clad in a two-tone black and dark gray color scheme with a few small chrome highlights. Dedicated buttons for the TV application, the camera/video recorder, and the voice dial/speakerphone are located on the right side, with the headset jack, volume control, and microSD memory card slot being on the left. Each side also has a speaker opening. A 1.3 megapixel camera and assist light are located on the back above the door for the user replaceable battery.

The slider mechanism on the SCH-U620 is very solid. It makes use of a fairly stiff spring in both directions. This keeps it from being accidentally opened or closed. Stiff is also a good word for describing the navigation controls that sit below the display. While accurate, I found the d-pad to be annoying to use because of the amount of force required to navigate in a direction or to press the center OK button. The keypad was far more user friendly. It is reasonably large and easy to use and should please most folks.

My biggest gripe with the Samsung SCH-U620 revolves around its display. The 2" QVGA display is very bright, sharp, and colorful. Quite nice, really. But the plastic cover that protects it has a very high gloss finish and is slightly curved, which makes it very bad when it comes to screen glare. It was a constant thorn in my side when I was trying to enjoy the V CAST Mobile TV service.

Overall the U620 is very solidly built. The whip antenna is pretty thin, but I don't think that will be a problem since it will spend the vast majority of its time safely stowed away in its silo.