Samsung Android Phones – Intercept

The Samsung Intercept was launched for Virgin Mobile in 2010 and it looks a little bit like some of the other smartphones rolled out by Samsung with its rounded corners and a black face. The Intercept is offset by a bright silver trim and comes with several silver accents. This device measures 4.43 x 2.19 x 0.59 inches and has a curb weight of 4.9 ounces. We appreciate that the back cover is made from soft touch materials which make the phone more pleasurable to hold in the hand.

It comes with an average 3.2-inch display of WQVGA resolution that manages to be fairly responsive. We like that it is colorful on the eye and it’s also bright enough. Below it you will find the regular four Android backlit sensor keys for Menu, Home, Back and Search. Looking on the right side of the Samsung Intercept we notice the 3.5 mm jack and the camera shutter, while on the left you can have access to the microSD card slot (up to 32GB) and the volume rocker. On top is the microUSB charging port while the back hosts the decent 3.2 mpx camera and a mirror.

The Intercept comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that has buttons which are a little bit smaller than the ones you’ll find on the Transform model. We have to mention that the center buttons are flatter in comparison to those on the periphery, while the placement of the Function key should be accessible to most users.

The device is running on Android 2.1 without the company’s proprietary TouchWiz interface so you get a standard Android user experience. It features the usual array of Google services, including Gmail, Google Places, Google Talk, Google Calendar, YouTube and Google Maps with live turn-by-turn directions. Also on board you will find the ThinkFree Office suite which works just about the same as the QuickOffice app. As for preloaded apps, you will notice the Virgin Mobile Live which can stream music from the Virgin Music service, along with Facebook, AirG Chat and Amazon’s MP3 music store application. You also get the usual clock, calculator, calendar, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and an airplane mode.

As a phone, the call quality is very good as on both end of the lines the volume sound clear and loud, with minimal distortions. The speakerphone volume is also clear and provides true-sounding voices, however the volume could have been a little bit higher but nothing to worry about.

The battery life of the Samsung Intercept has a rated talk time of up to five and a half hours while in standby mode it should be able to last for 14 and a half days. According to FCC’s radiation tests, the smartphone has a digital SAR rating of 0.51 W/kg.