CES 2009
Samsung had only a few new products on hand at CES.
First up is the T119 for T-Mobile. This entry-level bar-style phone covers the basics and not much else.
It is small and comfortable to hold. It has very little weight, and the diminutive form factor makes it a snap to put into your pocket. The back of the T119 has a soft-touch paint job, so it shouldn't slip out of your hand.
The display is a bit on the small side, and also doesn't have the best screen quality we've ever seen. It is just barely large enough to display the nine icons in the basic T-Mobile menu system. All the icons showed pixelated edges. It also wasn't a very bright display.
The soft keys and send/end keys below the screen feel good. All four keys have good travel and feedback. The D-pad was a little less responsive. In fact, it was downright bad.
The dialpad itself was comfortable and felt great. The keys are covered with a soft-touch paint and that made them just grippy enough so that your fingers didn't slide around on the keys. It is also well spread out. Your thumb doesn't have to travel too far to hit the keys, nor does it feel squished.
Other than that, there's not much else to say. It has access to T'Zones, simple messaging services, and that's about it. Check it out at T-Mobile if you're in need of a phone that will mainly be used for calling.
You can watch a video tour of the T119 here:
Samsung also had its new pico projector and was demonstrating how well it works.
This accessory can project video onto a screen so users can share content with a group of people more easily. The MBP200 is a blocky piece of hardware. It is rectangular and has sharp edges all the way around.
The front is dominated by a large viewing screen and the control pad. The screen is fine for viewing content, but obviously that's sort of missing the whole point of the device.
Below the screen is a 4-way directional pad for interacting with the menus, with some control buttons below that.
The lamp itself is carefully packed into the side of the projector and has a sliding hatch that protects it from injury. The bottom of the projector is where you'll find a sliding lock key and a 3.5mm headset jack.
The projected images we saw weren't all that great, but we were in a well-lit room. We didn't have a chance to see how it performs in darker environments. According to Samsung, the largest image it can project is about 50 inches in diameter. The demonstration was showing an image close to about 36 inches. It looked reasonable sharp, and the colors were accurate, but the brightness was just not there in the room with the lights on.
The MBP200 uses microSD for storage and supports cards up to 16GB. It can be used to view files, documents, pictures, and videos. It also supports music playback and can be used as a personal media player.
Last up is the new r470 TwoStep for U.S. Cellular. Samsung didn't have this phone on site, but it was officially announced during the show.
It is a simple flip phone that has external music controls and stereo speakers, as well as a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth, and it supports microSD cards up to 8GB.
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