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Samsung D840: Shine killer?

It's silver, it's shiny and it's made in Korea -- but it's not the Shine. No, this is Samsung's latest slider phone and it also comes in a metallic casing

Andrew Lim
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Not one to lag behind its fierce competitor LG, fellow Korean giant Samsung has also released a metallic silver slider phone similar to the LG Shine. It's called the D840 and it's currently available with Orange for free on a monthly contract.

According to the press release, the D840 is made up of magnesium and fibreglass-infused plastic. The front section features a large colour screen, underneath which lies a standard Samsung navigation pad with softkeys. Some people might prefer this layout over the Shine's roll bar.

Fortunately, the navigation area features mechanical buttons instead of touch keys, making them easier to use than the ones on the Samsung E900. The keypad itself, however, is completely flat and has a lip at the bottom that could make it difficult to use, but we'll reserve our final judgement until after we've tested it out properly.

The feature spec is pretty similar to the Shine's: there's a 2-megapixel camera, an expandable microSD slot and Bluetooth connectivity. Interestingly, the Samsung D840 only measures 12mm thick, which is 7mm less than the Shine, so if you lack pocket space you might want to check it out.

Overall though, we're not as blown away as when we saw the Shine and while this may be the more practical phone, it doesn't have the same wow factor as its competitor. Expect a full review soon. -AL