Music is sluggish but the rest makes up for it

Telecom customers have always got the short end of the stick when it comes to mobile phones - Vodafone users are able to choose from a much wider selection of handsets.

A glance at Telecom's online store shows how thin the selection is: Samsung's A920 ($599) has the look of a late-eighties Casio digital watch, and the Sanyo Pinkalicious ($299), an unashamed child-magnet, wins no points for style.

Nokia has added respectability to the 027 mobile line-up with the multi-talented 6265 ($799).

But Nokia - which still produces some of the most stylish phones in the world - is pulling out of making the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) phones that work on Telecom's 027 network.

Telecom's handset hopes now lie in the hands of Samsung, Sanyo and LG.

That could be worrying for Telecom, but these companies still know a thing or two about phone design, even if they have to steal the best ideas from the traditional phone giants.

The Samsung Blade (A900) is the most stylish phone available to 027 users and it's a clever copy of Motorola's hugely successful Razr.

Its sleek case, dual screens and flat metallic keyboard mirrors the Razr's. It even copies the original's biggest flaw - a measly amount of onboard storage.

Unfortunately the Blade's 50 megabites of memory don't really cut it for a phone that's built to serve a second function as a music player. It's a great shame, because the Blade is very competent in the music playing department. MP3, M4A and AAC music files can be transferred from a computer via the supplied USB 2 cable. The phone appears as a storage device on Windows Explorer, the music files can be dragged across.

The Blade's basic onboard music player is supplemented by software that can be loaded on to a computer to generate song play lists, as in iTunes or Winamp.

Music can be downloaded from Telecom's music store direct to the phone for $3.50 a track, but the Blade's memory will fill up quickly. Users can also connect wirelessly using Bluetooth to make transfers.

If Samsung had included a miniSD or Transflash slot to allow for adding on a memory card, the Blade would be the perfect phone for music lovers on the 027 network.

But the Sanyo 9000 is still the dream phone - it comes with a generous 1GB memory card for storing songs. It doesn't look as nice as the Blade, but it has the credentials as a music player, and is cheaper at $599.

The Blade has two front speakers which deliver reasonable volume for playback but tend to top out on loud tracks.

Headphones are provided, but the lack of a standard jack that would allow other headphones to be used is annoying.

The 1.3 megapixel camera is neatly tucked into the hinge of the phone and an LED panel that flashes to tell of incoming calls doubles as a camera flash. The digital pictures and camcorder footage, which is taken at a rate of 15 frames a second, are what you'd expect from a low-resolution camera - slightly blurry and washed out but fine for picture messaging and creating screen wallpapers and email video clips.

The waif-like profile of the Blade makes it easy to overlook one of its greatest assets - the high speed modem that connects to the internet at 300-400Kbps. That's more than adequate for surfing the web.

Users can check email and use the supplied web browser on the phone or connect via USB cable or Bluetooth to provide internet access on a laptop.

A powerful little phone that slides easily into the pocket, the Blade will disappoint only those who want a high-capacity music player in a phone.

Samsung Blade

* Pros: Slim profile, twin displays, fast modem.
* Cons: Low onboard memory, no removable memory, non-standard headphone jack.
* Price: $0 - $699 (depending on your account plan).
* Herald Rating: 7/10.