Samsung Memoir Cell Phone Review - Messaging
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Marianne Schultz Published on April 10, 2009 Comment on this |
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| Without a native email application, the Memoir is not going to keep you in email heaven, but its SMS and MMS features are quite good. It's easy to find, add, and create media to add to messages. We wish the Memoir had a threaded message view to see SMS/MMS conversations and that emoticons were supported. | |
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Supported Email Services (0.0)
The Memoir offers quick log-in options for popular email services like Gmail, AOL, Yahoo Mail, and many more. However, there is no native email application on the Memoir - the email link in the Messaging application is a web portal and you must have a network connection to access any email account you set up, and we do not award any points for email capabilities when this is the case. Additionally, T-Mobile charges you for each email you download to read as a text message, making email on the Memoir an even less appetizing proposition.
The Memoir's email portal
Push Email (0.0)
The Memoir is not capable of push email.
Multiple Email Accounts (0.0)
Without a native email application, the Memoir does not earn any points here.
HTML and Attachments (0.0)
Without a native email application, the Memoir does not earn any points here.
Email Customizations (0.0)
Without a native email application, the Memoir does not earn any points here.
Time to a New Email Message (0.0)
Without a native email application, the Memoir does not earn any points here.
Email Usability (0.0)
Without a native email application, the Memoir does not earn any points here.
Instant Messaging (0.0)
The Memoir has an instant messaging client that offers easy set-up of AIM, ICQ, Windows Live, and Yahoo IM accounts. You can set up more than one IM account, but you can only be logged into 1 account at a time. Unfortunately, T-Mobile charges each IM sent and received as a text message, and we don't award any points to devices in this area when this is the case.
The IM account set-up screen
MMS Support (8.0)
The Memoir can send MMS messages, which are SMS text messages with media, such as a picture, video, or audio recording, included. In the Messaging application, clicking on the Create Message menu item at the very top of the application's main menu will bring you to a new SMS dialogue. Here, you can simply enter text, or use the shortcut buttons at the bottom to add an image, sound, video, or other item. The image, sound, and video options allow you to choose from an existing file or create a new one on the spot. The "other" option allows you to choose from a set of text message templates, insert an item from a contact record in the phone book, or a bookmark from the web browser.
Adding an image to a text message
We like it when a phone allows you to change an SMS that you're drafting into an MMS on the fly, and it's even better when there's easy integration to a phone's camera and other media. Compared to the iPhone 3G that doesn't currently offer MMS messaging at all, the Memoir is a winner in this area.
SMS Smiley Face Interpretation (0.0)
Smiley faces, also called emoticons, can be cute and fun additions to text messages to show a range of expressions and feelings. Unfortunately, the Memoir does not replace common emoticon entries as graphical images, turning that :) into a true smiley face.
SMS/MMS Ease of Use (7.0)
The Memoir's Messaging application is pretty straightforward when it comes to creating and reading SMS and MMS messages as well as organizing them, if you want, into folders. As previously mentioned, creating a new SMS or MMS is easy, as is finding and adding or creating media on the fly. The one thing that is missing is a threaded conversation view for SMS and MMS messages - if you are having a long conversation with someone and forgot the last thing someone said to you, you'll need to go find that individual message instead of being able to see it all in the same view, as you'd find on the iPhone 3G.
The main Messaging menu
Time to a New SMS Message (5.39)
To see how easy it is to create a text message, we time how long it takes to go from the home screen in the unlocked state to the moment a new SMS dialogue is up.
Creating a new SMS
There's a shortcut to the messaging application on the widget strip on the left side of the home screen, and from there, the "Create New" shortcut is in the bottom left corner of the screen, and this test goes very quickly on the Memoir, taking an average of 1.86 seconds. This speediness puts the Memoir behind only the LG Dare among our comparison devices. For more information on how we conduct this test see this article.
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