The Samsung a517 is a sleek and stylish clamshell phone that offers advanced
music capabilities including AT&T mobile music and external music keys for easy
music navigation. It also includes MicroSD memory card expansion for holding
dozens of hours of music and Bluetooth connectivity with stereo music streaming
capability to optional headphones. Send instant messages or use MEdia Net to
access the internet while, or chat with your buddies using AOL, Yahoo!, and
Windows Live services. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera with video
capture, USB wired connectivity with mass storage capability, full-duplex
speakerphone, monochrome external display, and quad-band global roaming.
AT&T Service
The a517 operates on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed
data connectivity via AT&T's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates
for Global Evolution"), with availability in more than 13,000 US cities and
along some 40,000 miles of major highways. This high-speed, mobile data and
Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced
data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and
music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access,
and email on the go.
The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web
browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read
news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. It
also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to the Napster
subscription music service in addition to Music ID song-recognition software,
music videos and The Buzz music news portal.
It's also MobiTV capable, which enables you to stream or download video
content from providers ranging from MSNBC, ABC News Now, and CNN. MobiRadio lets
you listen to more than 50 channels of digital radio. (A MEdia Max subscription
bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.)
Phone Features
The phone sports an interior color LCD that has a 176 x 220-pixel resolution and
262 colors, while the small external monochrome display has a 96 x 96-pixel
resolution and displays caller ID, current time, battery level, and signal
strength. The internal phone book can hold up to 1000 entries with up to five
numerical entries plus one email address and picture ID per contact. Other
dialing features include 8 one-touch numbers for easy access to your most
frequent contacts and 30 missed number redial.
In addition to voice calls, text messaging, and MMS capability, the phone
also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4
protocols. You can also connect via instant messaging (IM) services such as
Windows Live, Yahoo!, and AOL. The A517 also comes stock with a built-in web
browser for downloads and mobile web browsing via MEdia Net. T9 text entry,
which is a technology that makes it easier for entering text on handsets, is
built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes
profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote
control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of
compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via
Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send
email, and access files from a server.
The 1.3-megapixel camera features a 4x zoom, multi-shot capability, self
timer, and brightness/white balance/metering controls. For video capture, the
A517 records clips in MPEG4 format up to 176 x 144 pixels (QCIF). Other features
include:
- Copy all numbers function copies SIM phonebook entries to handset
- Download ringtones, wallpaper, images, and more
- Java 2.0 support for app and game downloads
- Keypad and LCD backlight
- Full-duplex speakerphone
- Voice memo recording
- PIM tools: Calendar, calculator, scheduler, memo, task, currency
converter, world time, metric conversion
- Stopwatch (4 laps), countdown timer (up to 100 hours)
- Multi-lingual display (English, French, Spanish)
- My Business Card (contact cards that can be attached to MMS messages)
- Headset jack
)
