The Samsung SGH-a877 Impression is one of the Korean giant’s latest QWERTY messaging devices for AT&T. What sets this device apart from the rest, however, is its use of a high-quality, 3.2-inch AMOLED(INFO) touchscreen display that can render blacker blacks and brighter colors than a traditional backlit TFT display. In that way, you can think of AMOLED as the Plasma TV of the cell phone world. We give the Impression the once over in this 3 part video review.

Physical Aspects

With a body that measures 114.5mm x 58mm x 16.5mm (4.5in x 2.3in x .6in) in size, and weighs 151.3g (5.3oz), the a877 Impression is by no means a small or particularly compact device. It does, however, sport a rather nice physical design that is more attractive than some of Samsung’s other full touch devices, like the Instinct.

The slider mechanism works quite well, and the keyboard has very good, consistent feel – except for the space bar, which can be finicky at first. The 240×400 pixel resistive touchscreen(INFO) requires minimal pressure to activate, and the vibration haptic feedback makes it easier to use. The three keys on the front of the device work well, and there are decent volume and “multitasking” buttons on the left edge. The camera shutter on the right is also fine, but the unlock button is quite bad, being way too thin to use easily.

It’s no lightweight, but the a877 Impression has a good, solid design that works well for the tasks the phone was designed for.

Thru MobileBurn