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"Owned it for 3 days; quite happy with a few caveats." on by JesseGPresley
Pros: Much smaller than the enV or like QWERY phones. Texting with QWERTY so much easier than with normal keys. Quality feel. Good reception.
Cons: Some key problems, I will elaborate below.
Summary: My first review on the internet. Let me preface this review with the fact that I am not a techno geek, nor a techno phobe. I bought this phone to be used as a tool. I do not buy phones every few months and don't plan on downloading videos or songs.
I broke my LG 8600 about 6 weeks after I bought it, so figured I might as well get this one because the dual flip design appealed to me. I was never very good at texting using the normal keys of a cell phone. It's about the same size as the 8600 and just .25 ounces heavier, which is a good tradeoff for its extra features.
Build quality is fine. I'm not totally in love with the champagne colored case, but it isn't really a big deal. I'm not one of these guys who wears his phone on his belt (dorky) so I wanted something relatively slim for my pocket.
It's easy to maneuver around the phone, I did not need to use the instruction booklet.
My gripes.
When you open the phone like a clamshell, there are alot of keys you won't be using. In my opinion, these should not light up; thereby making it look less cluttered. In the same vein, the "dual use" number keys should only have the pertinent symbols light up in each of the phones two opening modes. For example, when opening like a clamshell, the large QWERTY letters on the numeral keys should not light up. Conversely, when opening it like a Sidekick, the small "tuv" and "mno" letters should not light up.
Samsung made the main number keys grey to stand out against the other black keys. Naturally this is moot in a dim or dark environment, and they instantly match the other useless keys when opened like a clamshell. A good idea would have been to make these keys a negative image, meaning a black number on a fully lit button; making a much starker contrast in both light and dark conditions.
When you open the phone in landscape mode (Sidekick style) the left and right MESSAGE and CONTACTS buttons are on the bottom left and right. Fine, but they disable the top left MESSAGE button, which does not make sense to me. It's more intuitive to have that key directly below the word on the screen.
As another review commented, the "P" key can be hard to type due to the fact there is a ramped up bit of plastic to its right.
Despite my few gripes, I like this phone and don't plan on replacing it any time soon. In comparing the size to a RAZR, It's .02" shorter and .04" more narrow .01" thicker and .11 ounces heavier. -
"Overall the phone is an amazing phone for anyone that wants to turn a few heads." on by Troyhilldom15
Pros: Good reception, Nice keypad, Vibrant screen, Good picture Quality
Cons: When using the flip phone part the numbers arn't as spacious as i would prefer however this is a minor problem.
Summary: I have had the phone for less than a week now and it is the best phone i have ever owned better reception than any other phone nice vibrant screen good call quality nice camer feature ecept you have to open the phone to use the camera you cant just hit a button on the side(it lacks one)but i would recomend this phone for anyone who wants to turn heads the only complaint i have is that the numbers for dialing when in the flip phone form are not a spaced out as i would like them as prementioned in the cons, but that is not a problem because i text msg alot more than i talk and the keypad is nicely spaced out when texting the space button is in the center like as in a real keyboard as opposed to the enV or The V i had both of these phones and i much rather prefer this one trust me you can't go wrong with this phone and also this phone is even cheaper than the enV i literally threw my enV away as soon as i got this phone(not really haha) but i'm selling it on ebay for a mear $100.00 so go and check it out once agin take my work for it this phone is AMAZING!!!!!!!!
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"Poor sound quality, small keys" on by dolansc
Pros: TXT Keyboard, versatality
Cons: Sound quality, Phone Keys, Email Sync Extra
Summary: While it has some very neat features and versatality, it fails miserably at its primary function: phone.
Sound quality was absolutely terrible. My voice sounded garbled constantly to people I talked to. When listening to calls, I found the audio would hiccup constantly. My previous phone (motorola vx3) had its issues, but as a phone the audio quality was excellent. This was barely passable.
The speakerphone, available in horizontal mode, was also terrible. Again, I could barely hear people and likewise, they could barely hear me.
Furthermore, the keypad for making phone calls was absolutely tiny and impossible to read. It was really difficult to make calls. Unless you were staring at the keyboard right in front of your face, you couldn't tell what you were pressing.
The one area the phone excels at is texting and the QWERTY keyboard is awesome for that. However, I was hoping to have it sync to email, but found that to be ridiculously expensive. Additionally, I felt the phone's software was hackneyed and didn't seemed to be designed to handle the wider view, nor be able to handle the more advanced features.
This phone tries to do everything and does nothing well. If you want a phone to do all the fancy things, you are better off spending the money on a smart phone. -
"Good job on design" on by mciurzyn
Pros: Texting capabilities, Quality of phone
Cons: size of numbers
Summary: I usually do not do reviews but in researching this phone I felt I needed to respond to some of the critisism and try to help some of the people who are looking at what this phone can do for them. First of all you must remember this is a phone. The phone features are pretty much the same as any cell phone. I have become a fan of text messaging lately and this phone is great for that. I have to tell you I work in the construction indusry and have very large fingers. I have no difficulty operating the key pad on this phone. You must master the skill of using it as far as how it is designed. You need to adjust to the style which is a very thin and compact phone. The only quirk I found is the placement of the P key. It is somewhat blocked but just get use to it. When you get use to the design it works very well. The keys are nice and tight and the typing feel is very good. I have had Samsung phones in the past and never had an issue with the quality of construction. This phone is great especially if you are looking for something thin and compact. Not bulky like the enV. The dual hinge is also a great feature. It works as a very good speaker phone in landscape mode. The number keys are a little small but that is something you need to compromise on for the keyboard feature. I personally use the speed dial function which makes the problem go away. The coolest feature is that I am able to connect through my Garmin Nuvi GPS unit and have the hands free speaker phone in my truck. Samsung has done a great job on this PHONE, and I highly reccomend it to anybody. I log over 6000 minutes a month so I think I can judge this phone objectively.
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"Only good for texters/IMers" on by lowkey579
Pros: Newer version of AIM, good for texters
Cons: Everything else was just average.
Summary: I returned the phone the next day for the lg vx8600. I didn't like how you couldn't access Get it Now or the web with the phone open on portrait, but ONLY on landscape. I don't have big fingers (maaaaaybe kind of stubby) but they keys were just TOO small. The number keys were hard to read too. Also, the LG had a signal strength bar or two more than the Samsung the entire time I had the Samsung, despite the fact that they were side by side. I think the concept was great, but it wasn't carried out well. I don't think it's a practical buy unless you text/IM more than anything else.
When you're using the web with the phone in landscape, there's no scroll option and also the webpage that you're viewing (even My accounts) doesn't take up the entire screen. It's still squished to the size of how it would be if you were looking at it on a portrait-flipped phone.
Also, although the hinge seems pretty sturdy, it did allow for some wiggle-age with the top half of the phone when it was closed.
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