Samsung M240 Cell Phone Review

The same day it introduced the touch-screen Samsung Rogue, Samsung quietly unveiled the Samsung M240. Made for Sprint, the M240 is all about communication. Features are few–you don’t even get Bluetooth–and the simple flip-phone design lends itself to making calls. On that front it does a decent job, but its performance didn’t blow us away. You can get it for $19.99 with service.

Design
The Samsung SPH-M240 bears a slight resemblance to both the Samsung SGH-A237 and the Samsung SGH-T329. Though it lacks the color accents of the earlier handsets, the silver and black M240 has a streamlined shape with curves on the sides and at either end. As with the A237 and the T329, you feel that you could skip the M240 across a pond. The result is a simple, yet pleasant phone that fits comfortably in the hand. We also liked the textured back cover.

At 3.6 inches by 1.85 inches by 0.75 inch, the M240 slips easily into a pocket or a bag for traveling. It doesn’t feel too wispy even though it is quite light (just 2.9 ounces). The hinge feels sturdy, but the plastic skin isn’t likely to withstand a lot of bumps. On the right spine is the large volume rocker and on the left spine sit the headset jack and the Micro-USB port. The headset jack is 2.5mm rather than 3.5mm, but we’ll let that slide since the M240 isn’t a music phone. On the other hand, we welcome the standard Micro-USB port for the charger.

The vertical external display is another characteristic that the M240 shares with the T329. It gets points for design appeal, but it does come at a price. The text on the display (the date, time, and numeric caller ID) is tiny and can’t be changed. It also means that it won’t display photo caller ID, but that’s a moot point since the M240 doesn’t have a camera. You can adjust the contrast only.