It always comes back to size. Pack in as much functionality as you like, but pocketability and sheer dimension-squeezing, can't-believe-it design will always get heads swivelling and wallets opening.

Samsung's Ultra range, of which the D900 is a debut member, boast extreme slimness as their headline grabber, with two breaking records on account of their waif-like measurements.

The handset on test here is - currently at least - the world's slimmest sliderphone at an astonishing 12.9mm thin, yet still manages to cram into its svelte casing a digital music player and 3-megapixel camera, plus a feast of mobile functionality.

Slim it may be, but the D900 doesn't go shouting its vital statistics from the highest building. Indeed, to look at it front on it's a fairly regular Samsung sliderphone handset with the usual array of navigational tools on display.

Features

It's got Samsung's standard four-way joypad with central selector key lies beneath the imposing screen, flanked by two soft-keys, call and end keys, and a cancel button.

Dominating the handset, the 2.1-inch screen is resplendent in its deep black setting, which only serves to accentuate its clarity. Samsung has also made the most of the 12.9mm depth, with a camera shortcut key located on the right-hand side along with the headphone/charging port, and a volume rocker next to a microSD card slot on the left. That's some impressive use of not much space!

Sliding the handset open using the neat raised bridge avoids sticky finger marks on the screen, and reveals a white backlit keypad that sits flush in the casing beneath. Individual keys utilise the handset's extra width, and are both well-spaced and perfectly sized for regular use.

While much is made of the D900's slimline proportions, what's perhaps more impressive is the fact Samsung has somehow managed to squeeze in a 3-megapixel camera with auto focus in amongst its feature-set; not bad when you consider the weighty bulk of other 3-megapixel shooters.

Pressing the camera shortcut key will take you straight to the imaging menu, where you're given the option of shooting stills or video clips, and viewing previously shot media. Extensive options are on offer when it comes to settings for exposure, white balance and ISO, and several effects can be applied to both camera shots and video footage.

Basic image editing can also be carried out in-camera from within the Image Editor application, or using the programs contained in the PC Suite.

Shooting video is given added versatility by the ability to pre-set the length of shot according to its intended distribution method. For example, if you're only interested in sending MMS clips to your mates after a night out then simply choosing 'Limit for MMS' will configure the settings appropriately.

'Normal' will leave you free to shoot up to the constraints of your memory card at whatever quality setting and image size you want up to 352x288 pixels. Unfortunately, utilising memory over and above the built-in 80MB store is down to you, as no microSD comes bundled. Nonetheless, with cards getting cheaper all the time, this is no major problem.