The Samsung Intercept is a mid-level Android phone with all the functionality, but none of the whistles, of its more expensive counterparts. Despite that, it is a suitable smartphone alternative for users on a budget.
Physically, it takes on Samsung's familiar design, with a slightly elongated profile, curved corners and chrome-plated sides. Unlike many of their newer releases, it doesn't come with an AMOLED screen. Regardless, the 3.2-inch WQVGA touchscreen offers enough brightness and sharpness to be easy on the eyes. Plus, it's capacitive, so the touch interface is very responsive. Below the display sits a square select button that doubles as a fairly accurate touchpad. The device also comes with a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard, with four rows of well-spaced, adequately-raised keys for comfortable typing.
As a phone, the Intercept makes for good calls. Volume was loud and voices sounded natural, despite easily being able to tell that you're talking on a cellphone. Speakerphone was fine, but it invited plenty of background noise, making it difficult to use in noisy environments. Battery is rated at 5.5 hours of talk time, easily making for a whole day (or more) of casual use.
Available stateside from Sprint, it only has EV-DO Rev. 0, so broadband speeds should be notably slower than most other 3G-equipped phones. Regardless, browsing on the Webkit-based browser remained fast. Expect some buffering time on your YouTube videos, though. It comes equipped with an 800Mhz processor, so you should zip through most regular smartphone functions, as well.
Android 2.1 comes preinstalled on the phone, so you get the usual robust set of capabilities, from Google Maps Navigation to full-featured messaging to the mass of onboard apps. Samsung sheds the TouchWiz UI for this model, which comes with Android's default screens. Other notable features include voice-to-text, Flash Lite support, a number of Sprint's multimedia apps preinstalled and a 3.2 megapixel camera (no flash, sadly). The latter offers average photo quality, with a few editing options.
Overall, the Samsung Intercept is solid for its $99.99 price tag (with a two-year contract). If you've been hankering for an Android phone, but have been hoping to skimp on costs, this should be a definite consideration.
