14 DAY TRIAL // A new mobile phone is now available for AT&T's customers, namely the Samsung a657, a rugged and tough device that has been “built to withstand the harshest conditions and most demanding users.” The new mobile phone comes with Push to Talk (PTT) capabilities, the same as the previously released Samsung Rugby a837, also available with AT&T.
The new Samsung a657 rugged device is described by the carrier as “ideal for transportation, construction, maintenance, landscaping, and other on-site businesses.” The handset comes to AT&T's lineup in a candybar form factor, while featuring support for a quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), as well as for a dual band UMTS/HSDPA one (850/1900 MHz).
The handset's display is able to provide a 176 x 220-pixel resolution, as well as support for 262K colors. More specifications include a built-in flashlight, a Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity and USB 2.0 capabilities, and 100 MB of internal memory, coupled with a microSDHC memory card slot, which offers support for up to 16GB of additional storage space. It also sports an MP3 music player, MusicID, XM Radio, as well as a video player with support for Video File Formats such as MPEG4, AMR, H.263, WMV.
The specifications list of the mobile phone also shows that support for AT&T Navigator (with a dedicated GPS key) has been included as well, along with Multimedia Messaging, Text Messaging, E-mail, Instant Messaging (AOL, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!) and the Multi-tasking capability for simultaneous use of voice and data. The new Samsung a657 measures 4.53 x 2.05 x 0.77 inches and weighs 4.34 ounces. Its battery can offer up to 3 hours of talk time, as well as up to 10.5 days of standby time.
The mobile phone carrier has listed the new Samsung a657 on its business webpage, yet it seems that the handset cannot be purchased for the time being.
