Samsung Moment impresses from the start

AUSTIN, Texas (LIN) - With Sprint's introduction of the Android powered Samsung Moment to its smartphone lineup, the carrier seems to be on a fast track to catching up to other carriers already deep within the Android fold. But is the Moment phone enough to make your mechanical tech-loving heart skip a beat?

Hardware:

Right from the start I was very impressed with the Moment, especially when comparing to other Android phones offered at present. The first thing you notice after unboxing is the screen, spectacular in both touch sensitivity and color range. As a matter of fact, I have only seen one other screen that I think comes close to the quality of the Samsung AMOLED the Moment uses – that of the Droid – and only because of it's superior resolution and size. The Samsung screen bests it in all other ways, and that is great news since it is a touchscreen-based phone. Touch selection and general navigation went off without so much as a hiccup using the touchscreen, and after growing accustomed to it I must admit that I'm a bit heartbroken to have to go back to the standard LED on the G1.

Another welcome feature was the optical trackpad, which aims to improve upon the trackball design found in many smartphones. Although users familiar with current trackball handsets may have a bit of a learning curve using the optical trackpad, it is reminiscent of those years ago when computer users eschewed their ball mice for the more accurate laser-guided models. The trackpad is quite functional, sensitive enough to get you to where you need to be going, and in general feels like it would be less problematic (no roller to get dust and dirt stuck in) and more appealing visually than either the HTC trackballs or the Motorola D-pads that I have seen.

The Moment also is one of the newer generations of Android phones built with non-physical touch sensitive buttons on its face, save the call and end buttons. At first I thought that these would be the Achilles heel of the Samsung, suffering from being either too sensitive or not sensitive enough, and again I was surprised at just how well they functioned. They are more accurate than the same style buttons found on Verizon's Droid, and once again I can only say good things about how well they behave.

Speaking of keys, this is the first Android phone for Sprint that features a hard keyboard. The keyboard is very well spaced, even for my large hands, and it doesn't suffer from problems like the keys being too flat (Droid), or there simply not being enough room to type comfortably ( Motorola Cliq ). While I wish the function and symbol keys had been switched around, overall I found the keyboard very fast and accurate to type on. One of the few problems I had with the unit was murky feedback of the spacebar (especially if you don't press directly in the center of the button), but all other keys had a nice solid click when pressed.

One of the main differences between this device and many other Android devices available is that Samsung has taken the high-road in terms of CPU chipset. Gone is yesterday's 528 MHz Qualcomm, its replacement being a more capable 800 MHz CPU. The speed bump, although not mind-blowing, is noticeable and seemed to help push the speed of the OS in ways not possible on older phones using the 528 MHz CPU.

Other hardware features to note are a 3.2 MP camera with flash, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a dedicated voice control button, ringer volume button, and dedicated camera button. The battery is rated at a pretty standard 1440 mA, although it should be noted that it gets you much further than you would think thanks in part to the power sipping AMOLED.

In your hand the Moment feels very solid, and that is going to make users very happy.

Software:

The Moment is a Google-branded device, so that means the handset is loaded up with Google apps like Gmail, Google Maps, and a few others that can be missing from non Google-branded phones that run a customized version of Android. Samsung set it up with Google's standard 1.5 (Cupcake) Android experience, which is a good thing in this reviewer's opinion as Moment users may not have to wait long to receive new firmware versions as there is no heavy customization to be done to the OS as is the case with the HTC Hero .

In addition to the built-in Cupcake goodness, there are a few apps and widgets that are exclusive to Sprint as part of their bid to cater it towards their network. One of these, NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, is a tool for race fans that links them to the most recent developments on the track, including video, schedules, and overall points charts to show you who leads the pack.

Another proprietary Sprint app is its mobile television option, SprintTV, which gives users the ability to watch television programming on the fly. This app seemed to be the most problematic of the bunch and out of the 6-7 times I tried it, I never got its "featured" list to load no matter how strong of a signal seemed to be