- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 35 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Impressive, slick designed phone."
Pros: Great 2.0 megapixle camera, easy navigation, slick design, secure slider.
Cons: There's way too many AT&T additional feature buttons throughout the phones menus. It's easy to get a Micro SD memory stick in, but a real fight to get it out.
Summary: Years ago, I used a Motorola V400 when it was first introduced to Cingular. That phone had its good points, but this one puts those earlier Motorolas to shame. I had since moved on to the Cingular 8125 PDA smart phone.
It has been a rather interesting transition from the PDA phone to this one, namely in the available features and manipulation of phone programs. I didn't utilize the 8125 as it should, which is a work-oriented, email writing/checking machine. From what I've seen, the Z9 is great for reading and accessing emails but obviously isn't designed to be its chief operation.
I like slider phones, and this one has got to have one of the best sliding features on any of the AT&T phones. I didn't like the small size of the Samsung A737. The LG Shine is a nice phone, but my wife has the Red one and I prefer not to have the same phone as she does (we both used the V400 for a year or two before she migrated to the RAZR and I the NGAGE QD). The shine is also somewhat annoying when trying to slide it open, as it doesn't have a lip like the Z9 does to push it up and have it snap into place. I personally was going to get the Shine until I saw this phone.
As a music player, this phone is better than most I've seen. It definitely exceeds any of the default programs on my 8125. I've only put a few songs on the phone, but the sound quality is very nice and I enjoy prowling the menus and still being able to listen to music.
It is definitely thinner than the 8125 but still has some weight to it, though it's not terrible.
The camera takes great pictures, and the video is nice as well, though I don't use video that often.
I think the biggest change in the two phones is the call quality. I couldn't believe how crisp and vibrant my wife?s voice was over the phone. Even with her headset on, I could understand her clearly and not be bothered by the background noise as I was with the 8125. What's more, my wife quickly noticed the sound of my voice being more crisp and louder. I didn't slur words together anymore, or fade out at the end of my sentences (I honestly have no idea what was wrong with the person who ranked this phone with an abysmal. They obviously never used an 8125)
My only real complaint is that I'm tired of the endless features these phones are starting to come with where you're automatically connected to the internet. I don't use the internet on my phone, nor do I want to dish out the extra 20 or 30 bucks for unlimited data transfer. I have a big thank you to AT&T for sneaking in buttons easily mistaken for other programs to push a few additional charges for my carelessness.
The memory card is also a pain to get out once it's been pushed into the reader. Either my fingers are too fat to really get a good grip and push it out, or they didn't make it easy enough to get a finger on the card to pull it out. I tried, and it's not a spring loaded click in click out setup.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this upgrade in phones and I recommend this phone to anyone looking for a nice, sleek phone with great call quality and excellent pictures.
Oh yeah, it doesn't feel like it will break in your hand or drop it either. You don't find many phones with this feel anymore.
