Alright, I've been wanting to get my hands on the Samsung Ultra series for a while now. So I thought I'd start off with the X820, which is now formally known as the 6.9 Ultra.

Looking at it in it's box, you tend to think " this isn't so slim", but the fact of the matter is, when you hold it in your hands.. when you see laying flat on the table, you can't help but be amazed at how such a thin device can cram so many features... (and yet the soon the be released P990 is so bulky, but with similar specs in some areas).

So Samsung, we know that you're far from original when it comes to phone designs. Yes you take the ideas of other manufacturers, but we'll let it slide because you do it so well and add your own "Samsung Flavour" to it.

The last Samsung I used was the P300, it was a great phone, but I couldn't get used to the wide screen layout rather than the traditional view. I thought I'd give it another shot with the X820, so lets see how it fairs out shall we?

The X820/6.9 is a perfect suit phone. To be honest, all of the ultra series will fit nicely in a suit pocket without giving you the buldge. Yet as mentioned, although it is as slim as a wafer, you'd be shocked at the features that have been crammed into such a lovely device.

So who is this phone for? Do I need this phone just because it's slim? Well.. we don't need anything in life except for food, water, and shelter, but we sure do love our luxuries. It's slim, attractive, and crammed with functionality so why not? I'd say it's directed to those who don't want to sacrafice space or functionality.

The design is nicely shaped. It's not wide, not too large and fits nicely in the hand. The buttons are easy to press. The screen is nice and bright. The camera is a healthy 2MP for these days.

A few people complained that the little buldge was ugly (where the camera is). But I like it. It's also usefull for when you put the phone down. It makes it easy to lift the phone.

The screen is very very nice. The images are vibrant and very smooth. The brightness is also very good and reading messages in direct sunlight is good.

The new UI system is also something I like alot. The icons look nice and everything is organized. You no longer have the option of four color 'skins', you now have a dark theme and a light theme. That's alright, no complaints here.

The 2 MP camera has a fast refresh rate and is indeed a marvel. Yes there is a video option built in. The compression ratio is also improved compared to older models. You have the usual special effects and frames to mess with.

The speaker is very loud although with the couple of video's already on the phone, it seemed that the audio in playback was a bit low. Of course this could be the video itself and not an issue with the phone.

One of my favourite functions of the phone is that you can lock the menu. You can either lock it so that if someone tried to access the whole menu they need to enter a code, or you can lock the messages area only (or the files specifically). I love such a function! I don't know why other phones don't have this feature.

I've covered the basics so I hope it helps give you a general idea of what a lovely phone this is.

Specs:
80 MB internal memory
Triband UMTS
Features: mp3 player (customizable hard button), bluetooth, PC Sync, Sound recording.
2MP Camera
Screen: 262K internal screen (TFT)
System: Generic Samsung
Sound: one speaker.
Main feature: slim.

The box is very small and slim. It is like the iPod Nano box. You know that the prize inside is going to be thin. It comes with the battery, headphones, sync cd and usb cable. I was surprised that it didn't come with the special cable to plug it into the tv. Ah well, can't have everything.

When you first switch it on, you see a smooth animation and the phone automatically searched for the appropriate settings, if not available, it'll set the defaut.

Unlike the other Ultra phones, this model only comes in black so far. No other colours have been announced. I can't imagine another color being so slimming anyway.

As mentioned, the keypad is great. It's nice to press, has a glossy surrounding and is easy to get used to the keypad layout. All is well.

I should mention, that although it is a thin phone, it has great build quality. It is great and not fragile. Of course, you shoudn't put it in your back pocket.

Sound Quality on the phone is great. No thinness of bass, no tinny sound, no problems that I could notice.

Video:
Video was actually pretty good. It was smooth and didn't show much pixelation. Good thing it has a high frame rate. 29fps I think.

Organizer
Calendar, tasks, notes, secret memo, alarms, timer, stopwatch, record sound, calculator and world times, and a few games. Oh and don't forget the menu lock.

Phonebook
The phone book is nice and simple. A few taps and you're away.

Settings
Also known as the Control Panel. Anything is accessible. From brightness of the screen to sound quality. You are able to change skins, wallpapers, ring tones, and even the sound the phone makes when you dial a number, switch the phone on, or cycle through menus.

Pros
Amazingly thin..
Fast bluetooth.
Great screen.
Very fast menu system.

Cons
New memory support
No radio (not really needed but would have been nice)
No TV connection wire.

My verdict? It's battery holds on for a long time, it looks nice, has a great screen. What else could you want. It'll be a long time before you get a thinner phone..

the best place to get a great deal is Fluid Mobile :) http://www.fluidmobile.com

or Compare a Deal http://www.widgx.net

Here's a bunch of pics.