Samsung SGH-E490 has magnificent looks. Stylish and slim ( not as slim as the Ulra series), fits well in palm of both men and women.   Removable faceplates in wine red or silver to woo both genders. The rectangular casing and keypad also comes in two colors, one is silver, while the other black and silver. There is a secondary external mono display (128 x 32 pixels), 32 x 8 mm with backlight in 7 colors. Also on front panel is lens of the built-in camera with self-portrait mirror.   Flipping the phone open with single hand is a bit difficult, longer nails may help. The main display features TFT technology at 176x220 pixels resolution, size(35x43 mm) displays up to 65 K colors. Just under the screen are two powerful stereo-speakers.   The volume output by the speakers is loud enough to make sure you won’t miss a call even in a crowded place. The all black keypad is better than the half silver one in silver casing. The keypad is evenly lit in bright white that makes it easier typing in the dark too.  The main menu is composed of nine items that can be displayed either in 3x3 matrix or in a list form. One good thing about the menu is that the handset memorizes which function was called up last time and when you re-enter the menu automatically highlights it, this goes for sub-menu items as well.

Samsung E490  (actual size)

The interface layout for SMS and MMS is straightforward and easy. You can add a text message, tune, image or a video clip, however all this shouldn’t exceed 295 Kb in size. The E490 comes pre-installed with several message templates as well.

The phone features one special function for sending SOS-messages. If you find yourself in emergency, press the volume key four times, the message "I am in emergency. Please help me" will be sent to contacts submitted earlier ( 5 Recipients), all incoming calls from these numbers will be picked up automatically. Also number of Repeats can be set up manually.

Organiser, File manager, World time etc. are some more desirable features. Browser facilitates both WAP and HTML a page should not be heavier than 500 Kb.

Built-in 1.3 mega pixels camera can output pictures up to 1280x1024 pixels and is reasonably good.

The E490 has four games in demo-mode (Tetris, Minigolf  Las Vegas, Lemmings'  Asphalt Urban GT), while  the silver edition has 7 games,  (in addition to the above mentioned there are Bobby Carrot, AirShip Racing and Arch Angel). More Java downloadable.

Features at a glance:

Frequency	GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Form factor	Clamshell  E 490 comes with an extra faceplate that can change the looks of the phone.
Colour	Red/Silver and Red/Black (different keypads),  extra removable faceplates
Dimensions and weight	94 x 49 x 15.5 mm, 85 g
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh,  Talk Time: Up to 250 hrs  Standby Time: Up to 6 hrs
Display	main: TFT, 65K colors, 176 x 220 pixels, 35 x 43 mm;  second external mono display (128 x 32 pixels), 32 x 8 mm, backlight in 7 colors
Ringtones	Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, 30 preset, Downloadable
Music	Stereo speakers  MP3/AAC/AAC+ player
Camera	1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video
Messaging	SMS, EMS, MMS, T9
Internet	WAP 2.0 / xHTML  GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps,  EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps  Yahoo search
Memory	Up to 1000 Phonebook Entries, Photocall  call records: 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls  22 MB Internal Memory  Supports micro SD card (TransFlash)
Connectivity	Bluetooth, USB
Other features	Vibra alert, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree  Organizer, Unit convertor  Java MIDP 2.0
Games	Yes, downloadable

Disadvantages:
~ no WLAN, HSCSD, 3G, Infrared
~ no FM
~ not enough memory for video capture

Advantages:
~ magnificent looks
~ Stylish & Slim
~ Micro SD cards
~ Good internal display
~ Multiple bluetooth
~ mp3 player is good
~ one touch internet facility is very good

Samsung E490 is certainly sleek and stylish. Its looks are a great asset.