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Is it a mobile phone that takes pictures, or a digital camera that makes calls? That's what the 8-megapixel Samsung Memoir may have you asking. And, after spending some time testing out this phone, I'd say the answer is both. This is a device that is, truly, just about equal parts camera and phone.

Design

The front side of the Memoir sports a big touch screen with minimal hardware controls beneath it--an iPhone-like design that's become common.

But the backside of the Memoir is anything but common: It looks almost exactly like your standard digital camera. You see the lens to the 8-megapixel camera (which features a sliding lens cap), plus the Xenon flash.

PROS: The touch screen features a resolution of 240 by 400 pixels, which is sharp enough to display images (especially all those 8-megapixel photos you can take) crisply and clearly.

CONS: At 4.4 ounces, the Memoir is a bit heavier than comparable phones, but it's still petite enough to slip in a pocket unnoticed. I also found the touch screen to be a bit unresponsive -- I often had to tap it harder than necessary, especially when trying to scroll.

Camera

The camera is really the star of this phone, and there's a lot to like about it. It offers 8 megapixels of resolution, so you'll be able to blow your photos up to much larger sizes. You also get auto-focus, a Xenon flash, 16 x digital zoom, a multi-shot mode, the ability to take continuous or panoramic shots, a self-timer, and a slew of scene settings.

It will capture video clips in addition to still images.

Accessing all of the camera features from the Memoir's touch screen is easy, and you also get a dedicated camera shutter button for taking snapshots, plus a toggle button that lets you zoom in and out. My snapshots came out very good, with accurate colors and crisp images. I really liked what I saw. It occasionally had trouble capturing images of moving subjects--my young children. But then, my standalone digital camera often has the same problem with those same subjects. The photos that the Memoir took were comparable to the images I get from my basic digital camera.

One nice touch is the Memoir's ability to upload your photos directly to various photo-sharing services, like Flickr, KodakGallery, Photobucket, or Picasa. Links to all of these services are available from the phone's home screen.

Making Calls

PROS: Voice quality and volume were very good in all of my test calls. I occasionally noticed an echo, but it was very minor.

CONS: The biggest downside to the dual-sided design is the location of the camera lens; it's raised slightly, and it sits right where my fingers wanted to be when I was making calls.

Browsing the Web

PROS: The Memoir includes a full HTML browser, and you can view pages with the phone held vertically or horizontally. You can easily zoom in and out on pages, too. The phone supports T-Mobile's 3G HSDPA network for speedy browsing. Pages loaded very quickly in my tests.

CONS: Even though it has a full HTML browser, the Memoir did not always display sites correctly. Images occasionally overlapped with text, and sections of pages sometimes went missing. And while the Memoir supports 3G networks, the same can't be said of Wi-Fi hotspots. That means you'll have to rely on the availability of a high-speed cellular network for speedy surfing.

Messaging

PROS:The Memoir supports a variety of POP3 and Web-based e-mail accounts. Set up is a breeze; in most cases you need to enter only your user name and password. You also get access to instant messaging clients such as AIM, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger.

CONS: The e-mail interface isn't exactly pretty--it's plain looking and a bit cluttered.

Software

PROS: The Memoir features Samsung's TouchWiz interface, which makes navigating the phone easy. A row of widgets--icons that are shortcuts to certain phone features or applications-- runs down the left side of the screen, and you can customize the list with your favorites. All you have to do is tap an icon to access your favorite feature.

CONS: The phone doesn't run a true smartphone OS, so you're not going to find a lot of software on board. You do get a handful of utilities though, including a voice recognition app, an RSS reader, and some games.

Multimedia

PROS: The Memoir comes with built-in GPS and includes the TeleNav GPS Navigator application, which delivers turn-by-turn driving directions right to your handset. You also get a very basic music player.

CONS: T-Mobile doesn't offer a music service, so you have no way to download songs directly to your phone--you'll have to transfer tracks over from your computer. And beyond the excellent camera, the Memoir's multimedia features are very limited.

The Samsung Memoir is available from T-Mobile for $250 after a $50 mail-in rebate and when signing a new two-year service agreement. It's a bit pricey for a phone, but when you consider that you're getting a digital camera, too, it's not so bad.

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Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.