Samsung SPH-Z400

Sprint has introduced a handful of rugged cell phones with push-to-talk capability, some to military specifications, like the Samsung Z400. That means durable rubber sidings for this EVDO-network-compatible clamshell, plus standard but undistinguished features like a low-res 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder, GPS, Bluetooth and instant messaging and email functions that have to be used via Sprint's limited WAP 2.0 web browser. While owner reviews aren't plentiful, most complain about battery life. CNET's standard test yielded about an hour short of the promised 5.8 hours. Despite the rugged exterior, the Samsung Z400 weighs in at just 3.5 ounces. There's no music player, but there is a microSD memory card slot to store pictures and other data. The tiny exterior display screen is monochrome, while the internal screen is color, but just 1.9 inches.

Push-to-talk phones appeal primarily to two demographics: teens who don't want to use up their minutes and business users who want to communicate with one or more colleagues in the field without standard dialing, much like a walkie-talkie. The Samsung Z400 offers Nextel Group Connect (up to 20 people at a time) and TeamDC (up to 35 people). CNET says call quality is good whether using standard calling or the push-to-talk option. Owner reviews say coverage can be spotty, but that's a common observation across all push-to-talk cell phones. While the Samsung Z400 gets decent reviews, the Samsung Rugby and Motorola Adventure V750 are included in InfoSync's list of the best rugged phones; both of these models also have push-to-talk capability on AT&T and Verizon, respectively.

Be careful not to confuse the Samsung SPH-Z400 with the older Samsung SGH-Z400 slider phone, as they are very different phones but are both sometimes just referred to as the Z400 in reviews. One way of telling is by the dates -- the SPH-Z400 was released in 2008 and the SGH-Z400 in 2006. There are few reviews at this writing for the Samsung SPH-Z400. CNET has the only major professional review, plus some owner reviews. We also found a few owner reviews at PhoneScoop.com and PhoneArena.com.