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"Blind purchase.. with no regrets." on by vaeyn
Pros: Expandable memory, camera flash, great sound quality
Cons: Fingerprint prone due to glossy coat, have to spend more $ to make use of the phones MP3 capabilities
Summary: Honestly, I bought this phone out of looks alone.. that and the RAZR I wanted was out of stock, but I'm extremely happy with this phone and feel very good that I've not chosen to go the way of the bandwagon RAZR users. Now, going back to my blind purchase, I handled the phone for a good 20 seconds without really knowing what it can do and decided to purchase it right on the spot. Now that I've had it for a couple days I figured I could share my (rather short) experience with it.
This phone is your typical clamshell design and rather light weight. When folded down it displays a green 4-shade OLED screen with time, date, whos calling, signal strength, song, title, whether vibrate is on or off and other various icons. Sidenote on the external OLED, I'm not all that positive, but some phones may or may not have a blue colored OLED, mine is green. The outside phone is very prone to fingerprints since it has a glossy coat, but the vertical display is really something different. There is no external antenna (internal only) and also has plugs for charging, head set/phone jack (2.5mm), volume keys, a speaker phone key and USB support for transfer of files like MP3s for it's audio use.
When opening the phone you will find that the directional keys are locked to specific programs functions. Only the down key can be changed (default is calender). The buttons are nicely raised and large so if you have big hands (like me) you will find using this phone is easy and enjoyable. There are 2 extra buttons alongside the directional keys. The left one is your camera/camcorder and the right one is your voice activated dialing.
Despite what many sites keep saying, you CAN download ringtones from Verizon's library and other various places. There's rumor of a trick you can do with Bluetooth involving transferring files from your PC (like mp3s) and using them as ringtones, but I haven't done it myself. This phone seems to be the one that many will want to really enjoy the V-Cast service Verizon offers. This truly may be the all in one media phone.
Sadly after buying this phone I realized that I could not fully use this phone's worth and still have to buy a MicroSD card to hold my MP3s. As well as a seperate USB cable to transfer music AND headphones that specifically fit the kind of headphone jack the phone has. All that is probably an extra $80 at least just to experience all the capabilities this phone has to offer. Oh well! I'll need those items sooner or later anyway.
The battery life.. is.. eh.. so so. Aside from the full charge I gave it 3 days ago, I've talked on it several times, downloaded numerous items and left it on standby and the battery has dropped to about 40%. I'm afraid how fast it'll drop when I begin using the mp3 player.
Regardless of it all I still enjoy using this phone and am satisfied with my blind purchase.Updated
I got so caught up in talking about the actual phone that I forgot to add my opinion on how it functions when taking actual calls, ha. Well, in my area (a rather small city or town) I've had very poor results with other companies. I've been through Virgin Mobile pre-paids, Boost Mobile pre-paids, Cingular paid and pre-paids and it just felt like the quality was sub par. Not to mention that living with aluminum siding didn't help with reception at all with those older phones. I've made several calls on this phone (indoors and out) and every single call was as clear as it could possibly be. It was like the person was standing right next to me (or, I suppose as clear as a landline to landline connection). Very nice. -
"Great overall phone" on by dcghost
Pros: Great reception, Perfect keypad size/design, great features, unique color, easy to use speakerphone button, great sound quality and clarity from both speakers and earpiece
Cons: Not too much
Summary: This review and feedback includes opionions from myself and Verizon employees. I am a manager at a Circuit City store where our Verizon kiosk does not have the phones yet, but I bought it today and brought it in.
I have had 0 problems with the phone so far and I love it, so has most others.
The feel of the phone is fantastic. I swapped out my a950 for it which was a very nice phone but had small keys. This phones layout and key size is fantastic. Much easier to type with.
The speakerphone button is perfect. Yes, it can be easy to accidentlly push, but its also easy to make sure you don't. However, if you enjoy the speakerphone button, the ability to answer and hangup with it is great. You actually have to hold it down for a few seconds to answer or hang up which prevents you from accidently hitting it while on a call.
Overall it's my favorite phone ever. The black is not for everyone, but I love it. It's sleek, light, great design, perfect number and menu pad, the speakers are loud and crisp and I have had no muffling through the ear piece, it has been crystal clear. I also recieve better reception then with my a950. Over all A+ -
"If all you really want is a phone, not a gadget box, the Samsung sch A930 is for you." on by fuelmagic
Pros: Excellent call quality, durability, useability, battery life.
Cons: Cheesy ring tones. Would prefer the regular sound of a classic phone bell ringing.
Summary: This review disregards all the gadgetry aspects of this phone. It is about the use of the basic phone, not the internet, text messaging, camera, MP3 player, etc. The Samsung sch A930 has all of these features, but if you're like me you'll never use them. All I wanted was a really good phone, and I've found it.
These are the basics that I expect in a phone:
GOOD SOUND QUALITY--not just for me but for the person on the other end. Whether it's business or I'm just having a good time--sound quality is very important. This phone has excellent sound quality on both ends. Many people say that it sounds like I'm talking on a corded phone.
LONG BATTERY LIFE--I don't talk a lot but I expect the phone to be ready when I need it. I tested the phone to see how long it could remain on standby without recharging. Get this: 17 DAYS! I put maybe 5 minutes of talk time on it during that period. On the 17th day I made a short phone call--and it still worked clearly. The phone was in low power mode by then, speaker phone inoperative, screen only staying on for a moment before turning down. The battery indicator was flashing and it started giving me warning beeps every few minutes, but the phone still sent and received the call perfectly.
LOUD, CLEAR SPEAKER PHONE: Sounds good on my end, easy to hear. Caller on the other end could hear all of us conversing around the table too. I often use the speaker phone when somebody calls and I don't want to isolate myself from my friends--I just turn on the speaker and let everyone in on the conversation. This speaker phone works very well.
GOOD BROADCAST/RECEPTION: I've had no problems anywhere in town. Even works in the back of the warehouse where other phones were kinda finicky. I appreciate the signal strength bars being located on the outside of the case. I can check the reception without even opening the phone.
EASY TO USE: I could figure out how to program the phone directory without reading the instruction book. It's fairly intuitive. The name slot accepts only letters and the phone number slots accept only numbers. This helped to make it very easy to punch in names and numbers quickly for home, work and mobile phones.
YOU NEVER HAVE TO THUMB THROUGH THE DIRECTORY TO FIND A PERSON'S NUMBER: Okay, this is kind of "gadgety" but I'm beginning to think that voice activated dialing is a necessity on a portable phone. Once you input the names into the directory it immediately knows how to recognize them and pronounce them (in English). All you have to do is press one dedicated button and the phone will ask you who to call. Just say the name--and it recognizes it in the directory and repeats it back to you. Then you say "home", "work" or "mobile" and it will dial that number for you. It's amazing. And it's EASY.
EASY TO HANDLE, HOLD AND DIAL: The dial numbers are well spaced, raised, and have a positive "click" when touched. You can hear a "beep" with each number and they show up jumbo on the screen. It is easy to touch any key without also pressing the others. The keypad is also beautifully backlighted so that you can clearly see the it in the dark. I also appreciate having the day, date, time, signal and battery indicators permanently illuminated on the outside of the case because these are useful things to know at a glance. It also makes it easier to locate the phone in the dark.
This is an excellent phone. I like the feel of it--it has a little weight, a hand friendly shape, solidly built and not too small. Easy to handle--even for a person with fairly large hands.
The Samsung sch A930 is a classy looking phone, well built and handles nicely. If you are among those of us who just want a good quality phone then this is the phone for you. For those purposes, I rate it a 10! -
"Another Great Samsung Phone" on by jdicker6
Pros: Sleek design, external music controls, SIMPLE voice dialing
Cons: speaker phone button
Summary: I've had this phone for about a week now and really have no serious complaints. Like most Samsung phones, this one is built like a tank. Some have mentioned that it feels "cheap". I thought this at first, also. But then, flipping through the user manual, found the section about VibeTonz. Apparently there is something about the VibeTonz hardware that creates the springy feel when closing the phone. This is not a sign of weakness, but a side effect of the Vibetonz feature (the User Manual provides an explanation). After reading that I began to ignore the springiness.
Like all other Samsung phones I've had, call quality is very good on average. Good sound, and I've had no complaints about how I sound to others.
The rotating camera, while only of average quality, has some great features that most other camera phones do not, including built-in flash, zoom, black and white, sequence, a feature that allows you to stitch multiple images together and others. Good stuff.
Another thing that is kind of neat is the ability to have a movie set as wallpaper. Take a video of anything you want, go to My Flix and choose to set it as wallpaper. I thought that was a neat feature, although it may hurt battery life if you leave the phone flipped open.
I like the all black design and I like being able to play my songs using the external controls. I'm not sure how to open the MP3 player in the phone menu, but I don't need to -- it's right there on the outside. If you're not techy or you find menus annoying like I do, the handiness of these controls is perfect.
I was also pleased the first night I had it when I decided to experiment with the voice dialing. I was pleased to find that I had to do ZERO PROGRAMMING. I simply said "Call Chris", and it did. For people with more than one number it asked me "mobile or home" all without me doing anything.
The one thing I would warn people about is that the speaker phone button is "conveniently" located next to the volume buttons. If you aren't careful you may hit it accidentally when answering or talking...leading to a very loud speaker right in your ear. Also, there is no icon on the external display letting you know speakerphone is on. So if you turned it on once, but didn't turn it off, be careful next time you answer the phone...watch the screen when you open it for the speakerphone icon.
Sticking with volume for a second, another good thing about the phone is that when you set the Master Volume it will always stay there. What I mean is this: I set volume to Medium Low. When I was in a call, I turned the volume up to hear the conversation better. After the call I went to turn the volume back to Medium Low...only to discover it was already there. This is handy since the maximum volume can be very loud for a ringer due to the stereo speakers.
All in all, this is another great samsung phone. It's less bulky than some others (the A950 for example) and performs equally as well if not better than most other phones out there with similar features. If you're looking for a feature-rich phone that's simple and functional, yet attractive and somewhat neat/trendy, this is the phone for you. -
"Amazing phone full of great features" on by DragonFB
Pros: Everything I want, style and features, durable
Cons: No updated menu
Summary: I got this phone, my brother got a choclate, and he is envious and rightfully so. This phone not only looks great but is feature packed and durable. Mistakes happen and unlike my old LG VX7000 it dosnt break after a few drops onto hard floors. The MP3 player is an excellent feature, thier is no clumsy atenna, its internall, price is great and its got EV-DO. I personnally like the external screen, it gives me the things i want, date, time, and coverage, without all the flashy stuff that just distracts me. Unlike the CNET editor I like the design with the all black and it is a very compact phone. The speakerphone is great for when I am driving, or i could just get a bluetooth headset. The picture options and quality are fantastic and the video taking also comes out nicely.
My only disappoints would have to be the lack in menu changing, and the EV-DO coverage is often times lacking in more rural areas. Plus the fact that Verizon tries to get you to buy thier kits for the music part of the phone.
Great phone and I suggest it.
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