Smartphones these days can do almost anything. One can bet that a state of the art phone is going to cost a pretty penny. For those with limited funds they might have trouble finding a passable phone. But the Samsung SGH-A177 has just been released. Its an affordable phone with an amazing full QWERTY keyboard allowing for easy messaging.

The Samsung SGH-A177 is one of the simplest phones to be released in the past couple of months. Most phones are either a flip phone or a slider. The Samsung SGH-A177 is neither it is a simple rectangular phone. Many tech junkies might be put off by this while others might embrace the simplicity in its design. Unfortunately the phone was made almost too simple. The plastic shell around the phone doesn’t feel very strong. Anyone who is prone to dropping phones should be careful, or at least purchase a rubber skin case along with this phone. Also the screen on this phone is very small. Photos and games wont look as good as what we are obviously used to. If you don’t plan on taking much pictures than the screens display is negligible. One of the best features on this phone is its full QWERTY keyboard which was obviously designed for comfort. They keys are slightly raised which is a very big plus as most phone users cant stand flush keys. Also the keys make an audible click noise when you press them while typing. This phone was obviously designed with text junkies in mind.

This phone clearly lacks any of the features found on many of the heavy weight phones out there. The phone does come with a camera, instant message capabilities, and even Bluetooth. For some people this is all that they might need. The IM function and Bluetooth work well but the images captured on the camera are mediocre at best. Along with not being able to record any video the camera seems like an afterthought.

The phones performance could use some improvements. The speakerphone was an utter disappointment. The volume is very inconsistent. Calls sound extremely low, when the volume is adjusted to compensate the voices on the other end sound extremely distorted. When not in speaker mode the microphone can pick up quite a bit of background noise. If you are located in a loud area the person you are talking to will have a hard time trying to understand and hear you.

The Samsung SGH-A177 is an interesting phone. While it makes texting and messaging easy and comfortable it clearly lacks in a lot of other areas. If you are a serious text junky then this phone would be a wise purchase.