United States customers will be very happy to learn that Samsung has come out with a world-band CDMA/GSM phone branded for Sprint users, but can also be unlocked for Verizon customers. The Samsung Ace allows for CDMA customers to use their service here at home, but also be able to use their phone overseas with the built-in GSM connectivity. It runs Windows Mobile 6 and the physical appearance of the Samsung Ace actually looks a lot like Samsung's Blackjack family of smartphones.
The Samsung Ace measures approximately 4.5 x 2.5 x 0.5-inches and weighs about 4 ounces, which makes it very similar to the Blackjack in dimensions and weight. It's compact size makes it very easy to fit into a pocket or purse without really noticing it. On the front, there's a 2.3-inch LCD display, which is a little smaller compared to other Sprint Blackberry devices, but the display is very sharp and detailed. Below the screen, there is a center select button surrounded by a four-way toggle, along with send/end buttons, a Today (home screen) and back button. There is also a full QWERTY keyboard, which has raised buttons that are actually quite large and spaced apart very nicely, making its keyboards one of the best we have ever seen. It is very comfortable to type on, which is key for messaging, and it is certainly a better keyboard than the one on the Blackjack.
On the right side of the phone, you'll find the exact same thing that's on the Blackjack...a microSD slot, a scroll wheel, and a back button. On the left side is where you'll find the proprietary Samsung power jack and on the back lies the 1.3-megapixel camera (sans flash), a self-portrait mirror, and the speaker. Picture quality using the camera was actually pretty good, objects were colored correctly and were mostly sharp. There was some pretty timely shutter lag at times, however.
Even though the Samsung Ace does have GSM capability, you cannot use it with any U.S. GSM carriers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, because when you are in the United States, it will automatically only use its CDMA antenna. Once you are overseas, you can use any international SIM card to connect to any international GSM network, however, you will not be able to use any overseas 3G network for Internet connectivity. In the United States, the Samsung Ace is EV-DO capable with Sprint's network, which means with a data plan, you can get speedy Internet service for Web browsing or with Sprint's TV service, you can watch video clips from various TV networks, such as CNN and Comedy Central. Sprint also has a deal with Sirius satellite radio, which means for an extra cost, you can listen to streaming Sirius satellite radio via the EV-DO connection.
The Samsung Ace runs Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition, which means it comes with the full version of Microsoft Office Mobile and even comes with Windows Live integrated applications for maps, directions, and telephone directory information. The Ace also comes with a few other programs pre-loaded that are pretty standard on a smartphone, including a PDF viewer, a calculator, a world clock, and many others. There is 64MB of onboard memory in the Ace and the microSD slot can handle a card of up to 2GB. The Ace also is Bluetooth 2.0-enabled and it does lack Wi-Fi and built-in GPS.
The performance of the Samsung Ace was very typical of Windows Mobile devices. It can get a little clunky and not responsive at times, but overall it isn't horrible. Unfortunately, smartphone users have grown to live with Windows Mobile's sluggishness and quirks. As long as you exit out of programs in the built-in task manager, you won't run into any problems. The Samsung Ace has a talk time of just over 4 hours, which is right on par with other smartphones on the market today.
Overall, if you are a CDMA customer in the United States and want to be able to use your same phone overseas on GSM networks, this just might be the phone to buy. Other choices might include a Blackberry, but sometimes those can be a little too overwhelming with features for the casual user.
