Samsung Behold T919

In general, experts call the Samsung Behold a jack-of-all-trades that doesn't particularly excel at any one function. At 4.12 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.5 inches, the Samsung Behold's form factor is similar to other candy-bar touch-screen handsets. Most reviewers welcome Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz user interface, with which you can drag app icons (such as for the music player) and place them on the home screen, even if it can be a bit sluggish at times. Samsung utilizes the Behold's 3-inch display well -- when in landscape mode, its virtual QWERTY keyboard takes full advantage of the touch display. Although the Samsung Behold is not a full-fledged smartphone, it incorporates many advanced features, such as stereo Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, a music player and an HTML web browser. The built-in camera overall takes good quality pictures, but critics say it won't serve as a replacement for your digital camera. Test images can be seen at InfoSync, where editor Philip Berne says that details are a little lacking. The music player is straightforward and makes use of playlists and a shuffle mode, and reviewers say call quality is good.

Reviewers say the Behold's full HTML web browser does not take advantage of its design like other touch-screen models, such as the Apple iPhone 3G and Samsung Omnia. Unlike the iPhone, which CNET feels "sets the bar for a phone with a full web browser," the Samsung Behold requires you to hit a button in order to zoom in to a website, rather than doing so automatically. The Behold's browser also defaults to the limited WAP (wireless application protocol) version of a website, rather than the full HTML version. Another miss for the Behold is its lack of Wi-Fi as a connectivity option. Experts unanimously agree that this is a big omission for a web-capable phone. On the upside, though, T-Mobile's 3G network is noted as having excellent speeds.

Although the Samsung Behold is not an iPhone killer, it is a capable touch-screen phone that handles a variety of tasks well. It is similar in design and function to the Samsung Instinct (*est. $130) -- a handset on Sprint's network that is also well liked by critics. On T-Mobile's network, most agree that you can't go wrong with the Behold, but Sascha Segan of PCMag.com is fond of Motorola's ZN5 (*est. $50) and its excellent built-in camera. The Behold measures up to T-Mobile's popular G1 (*est. $180), but techies might prefer the G1 because of its open-source Android operating system.