Samsung SGH-D500

This article is about a mobile phone. For the ion exchange chromatograph, see Durrum D-500.

The Samsung SGH-D500 is a slider-style mobile phone developed and designed by Samsung. It was announced on October 8, 2004^[2] and released at the end of the year as a replacement of the SGH-E800. Considered to be stylish, and incorporating multimedia features such as a 1.3 megapixel digital camera with integrated LED flash, Bluetooth and a MP3 music player, the D500 became very popular^[3] and is credited with popularising the 'active' sliding phone concept across all brands.^[4]

Side view of the D500

Samsung SGH-D500

Manufacturer	Samsung Electronics
Series	D
Availability by region	November 2004[1]
Discontinued	2006
Predecessor	Samsung E800
Successor	Samsung SGH-D600
Compatible networks	GSM 900/1800/1900, D500E: GSM 900/1800/1900 + EDGE
Form factor	Slider
Dimensions	3.68 x 1.8 x 1 in (93.5 x 45.7 x 23.5 mm)
Weight	3.5 oz (99 g)
Memory	92 MB Internal, 80 MB available to user
Battery	800 mAh Li-Ion
Rear camera	1.3 megapixel
Display	176x220 pixels (QCIF+), 262,144 (18-bit) Color TFT LCD
Connectivity	GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots) 32 - 48 kbit/s, Bluetooth v1.1, IrDA, USB

The D500 won the prestigious award "Best Mobile Handset"^[5] at the 3GSM world congress in Cannes, 2005. The phone sold 10 million units worldwide.^[6] Other Samsung handsets that reached this milestone in the 2000s include: the E250, the E700, the J700, the T100 (the company's first million seller), and the S5230 (Star/Tocco Lite).^[6] The D500 was succeeded by the D600 introduced a year later.^[7]

Flashing

Due to wireless networks supplying the D500 to customers with branded software, this phone is very often "flashed" by owners. This removes/changes onscreen branding, the unpopular shortcut sidebar and non-optional sounds (e.g. branding sound on power-on/off). The new software can add features such as voice-dial and voice-command, and increased memory availability.

Criticism

The SGH-D500 was popular with consumers because of the large screen-size to front-surface ratio, the smooth button and sliding action, powerful flash, and good video/photograph/sound quality. However it received some criticism for not having expandable memory (via a memory slot). There are known issues with the screen of this phone. The screen connector can disconnect, resulting in various display issues. The screen is also vulnerable to being damaged through careless use or accidental impact.^[8]

Variants

• SGH-D500C: Asian variant
• SGH-D508: Chinese Anycall variant
• SGH-D500E: Variant with EDGE support

Related phones

• Samsung SGH-E800: Predecessor
• Samsung SGH-D600: Successor
• Samsung SGH-E730: Clamshell equivalent