Canon Puts Efficiency On Press
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"Awesome tech-savvy phone with only minor kinks" on by fr3nzy06
Pros: Large and vibrant display, nice speakerphone, good mainstream e-mail and IM features, decent photo quality, useful bluetooth connectivity, mp3 player is on track, voice commands and microSD expansion
Cons: Normal call volume rather low, basic MP3 support, can't set mp3s over 26 seconds as ringtone, can't send files to phone via bluetooth, not possible to install java apps/games to phone from pc
Summary: Overall this is an awesome phone, so I felt that it deserved an awesome review. It's media features are limited, but they are pretty decent.
Though it doesn't come with a standard headphone jack, you can still listen to music over the speakerphone, which sounds really nice.
Call quality is pretty good, as I expected from my last Samsung, but I noticed that the signal tends to go towards the medium/weak side pretty often. I'm assuming this is due to the internal antenna, which Samsung points out not to cover up, but this is hard to not do depending on how you are used to holding your phone.
The phone's call volume I have say is only average. On the highest volume setting it will still be difficult to hear if you are in a setting with even the remotest noise, for instance, a fast food restaurant. But if this is a problem, you can switch over to the speakerphone and it should get the job done.
The 1.3MP camera makes for good internet-worthy photos, and it comes with some pretty snazzy camera effects. I'm not a big fan of phone video capturing, and needless to say, this phone doesn't make for much improvement in that area.
Samsung states that the mp3 player is only capable of playing back files encoded at 192Kbps or less, which is only somewhat true. If you have files over that range this can be circumvented by simply editing a fade-in into the first couple of seconds of the song since this is all the player checks for the bitrate. I know that 26 seconds is enough for a ringtone, but this is a drawback because it is a pain to not only have the mp3 you like on your phone, but to also have to chop it up so you can set it as your ringtone. This is more of the phone company's money-making ploy, so I can let Samsung off on that.
I do wish the video player had more compatability, such as with Windows Media, because as it stands it only supports poor quality 3GP/MP4 files.
Another thing I didn't like was the Samsung's PC Studio 3 software, specifically because of it's buggy bluetooth interface. If you want to connect to the software via bluetooth you have to go through a sometimes tedious process of syncing the phone's serial port option.
The phone's microSD slot is a blessing, allowing for up to 512MB (I've read that some people have used 1GB). I'm upset that while you can transfer java apps and games to the phone, you cannot install them. Unlike most Motorola phones, with Samsung what you see is what you get as far as being able to modify the phone.
I've been going over all of this stuff on the phone and talking to people for the past two days and haven't had to recharge yet after the first full charge, so battery life is on the plus side.
This is a very strong and innovative device all the way from its design to its included features. And yes, the keypad is very flat, so people with large fingers might have a little trouble, but it's worked great for me. This is definitely a good pick by Cingular, and at $130 it's not too much of a wallet-buster.Updated
After further review I found that the limit on MP3 ringtones isn't 26 seconds, it's 600KB. Also, you can send files to the phone via bluetooth, there are just limitations on which folders are accessible. -
"Sleek design but weak basic functionality" on by togtov
Pros: slide design, big beautiful screen, bluettoth, email capable, mp3 layout, micro sd card slot.
Cons: feels like cheap plastic, slides open too easily, call quality is very poor, lack of accessories.
Summary: I am of the opinion (although i LOVE my gadgets)that a phone should be a phone first and let all the peripherals make it that much more attractive not the other way around.The samsung d807 is a phone that boasts STYLE over SUBSTANCE. The call quality was not very good inside the house and even worse outside (in the wind, you can forget about hearing anything on the other end). For the Price of this phone i felt that it sould have included the mini sd card and at the very least a headset. all that is included is the charger and handbook. for $20 more the motorola SLVR includes both (however i will admit that the itunes app on the SLVR is less than perfect). The other downside to the phone is in the contacts application. DO NOT ERASE YOUR SIM CARD after copying your contacts to the phone. You will not be able to copy them back if you switch phones for any reason. I learned this the hard way. The problem then lies in the fact that all of your contact numbers are duplicated in the contacts list. On a more positive note, the screen is beautful and being able to use the bluetooth capabilites to transfer wallpapers from my laptop was fantastic at first. however, the graphic clock options for standby mode end up being so large (unlike the samsung a900 for sprint) that they get in the way of the wallpaper images. I was very disappointed in the samsung d807. I had high hopes and they were dashed against the rocks like a tech-geek shipwreck. - OV
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"Very cool looking phone" on by NYGiants
Pros: amazing screen, plenty of options, camera and video, fast d/l,
Cons: no vibe+ring, nav. arrows, a little small, no predictive text
Summary: I've only had it for a day, so maybe I'll find out how to do some of the things I don't know yet. The slide is effortless and very smooth. When you close the slide, you have to press unlock, then * to use the buttons if you don't want to slide it open. I don't like that - it's an extra 3 seconds everytime. Also, unless you're on vibrate, the buttons make an annoying beep sound with every button hit. The background display features many options of a clock and displays "cingular" across the middle. It would be good, but it interferes a lot if you put a self-taken pic as your background. Those are the only cons - minor stuff. The dial numbers are nice and soft, it lights up beautifully at night, and the colors are awesome. it's very easy to use, and the media mall goes very quickly. the camera stays dust-free beacuse it only shows when its slid open. i wish i could say the same for the screen. it's so nice, but it accumulates dust - maybe you're used to it, but i've only had flip phones in my life. There are a lot of different "noises" you can set for a lot of things, such as when you slide it open/closed, when you dial (you can choose number color and background color too), and turn on/off. I don't like that you can't set a custom tone for messages - you must use one of their preset 8 2 second tones. maybe my old motorola was just unique that it could do that. the speakerphone is loud but you can only activate it when the other person picks up, not when it's ringing - unless, you are using the very good voice command feature. it picks up your voice easily ("call john") and then automatically will put it on speakerphone.
Updated
I was WRONG in a few of the things I wrote initally, including 2 of the 3 cons. There IS vibe + ring, and not only that but there is "vibe then ring". The difference is the latter vibrates for like 5 seconds before it starts ringing. ALSO, you CAN put it on vibrate while it's ringing, something else I was wrong about. The speakerphone is very clear and I don't have to yell into it. The voice command is very nice also, as I mentioned. The phone turns heads everywhere I go and people wanna look at it. And I don't know anyone else who has this phone, which is cool I think. That's why I didn't get the RAZR - because evryone has one. There is also a "wake up call" feature which enables you to set an alarm and included settings like "everyday but weekends" and "everyday but sunday". Plus, there are 2 additonal alarms. So I would make my rating a 9 out of 10 now, because I was wrong on a few things. The only negative really is the small navigatinal buttons. I sometimes press cancel instead of down.Updated
I was WRONG in a few of the things I wrote initally, including 2 of the 3 cons. There IS vibe + ring, and not only that but there is "vibe then ring". The difference is the latter vibrates for like 5 seconds before it starts ringing. ALSO, you CAN put it on vibrate while it's ringing, something else I was wrong about. The speakerphone is very clear and I don't have to yell into it. The voice command is very nice also, as I mentioned. The phone turns heads everywhere I go and people wanna look at it. And I don't know anyone else who has this phone, which is cool I think. That's why I didn't get the RAZR - because evryone has one. There is also a "wake up call" feature which enables you to set an alarm and included settings like "everyday but weekends" and "everyday but sunday". Plus, there are 2 additonal alarms. So I would make my rating a 9 out of 10 now, because I was wrong on a few things. The only negative really is the small navigatinal buttons. I sometimes press cancel instead of down.Updated
there IS predictive text for textsUpdated
it shouldn't take me 4 tries to get it right, but i meant to say earlier that you CAN put it on SPEAKERPHONE while it's ringing. The ONLY 2 cons are the small arrow buttons, and the no d/l song ringtone for message - only little chimes.Updated
it shouldn't take me 4 tries to get it right but oh well. i meant to say before that you can put it on SPEAKERPHONE while it's ringing; I had said earlier only when the person picks up could you do it. so the only real cons are the small arrow buttons and you can't make a d/l song your text message alert sound - you can only choose their preset chimes. -
"Room for improvement .. But I like it a lot." on by For Rum
Pros: Style, Display, "Gizmos",
Cons: Proprietary Jack, Limited Sound Customization, Playlist Limit, mp3 Integration
Summary: I researched this phone extensively before purchasing it so I knew its limitations going in. I still chose it because the pros outweighed the cons for my needs, and no phone is without flaws. Yes, the speaker volume is definitely lower than my old Moto but not so much that it's a problem, and I never used the Moto at full volume anyway. I could only see it being a problem if I were in very noisy surroundings. But using an earbud would fix that. As pretty much everyone has said, the phone is very stylish and the display is awesome. The gizmos are cool - camera, video, Bluetooth, personal assistant tools (calendar, alarm, notes, stopwatch, measurement converters, internet, etc. and they all function fine. One of the main draws for me was the mp3 player. iTunes would have been cooler, but this one suits my needs. I wanted it mainly to use when I rollerblade and not to have it permanently attached to my head. It's really basic: no searching, categorizing, album/artist, etc. Just a list of song files that you add to a playlist (only one list possible, with a 100 song max). You can shuffle or not and repeat or not, that's about it, and only for songs on the playlist. If they are on your memory card but not on the playlist, you can play them but only one at a time. I have a 1 GB card with about 160 songs on it, 100 of which are on the playlist. The other limitation here is that you can't use any other functions when the mp3 player is in use. You CAN answer an incoming call and then switch back. You won't blast your ear drums out with the mp3 player, but I've found it sufficiently loud for the most part. Although there have been times when I wished I could wring just a little more volume out of it. The important thing is go get a good set of headphones with good sound/air blocking earplugs that fit your ears. I got a JVC set for $40 at that work great when I'm rollerblading. At first I was using some cheap things that I had laying around and the difference is night and day. I wish you could customize more of the sounds, like the slider open/close tone, and the various message alert tones using your own music file creations. You can only chose from the phones limited tones. I don't know if you can use tones purchased form Cingular for these things, but I'm not buying them. The menu doesn't appear to allow for this, but maybe once you have purchased files residing on the phone the menu changes? I don't know, just a thought. You CAN use your music files for ring tones, which is good because the included tones are limited and horrible. But I've been messing with mp3 files and created some cool stuff. This also comes in handy if you want louder ring volume. Just create you own louder files. Transferring graphics and music files to and from my laptop is a breeze with the Bluetooth feature. I've seen a bunch of posts where people complain about fingerprints on the screen, but you only see them when the screen is off (black). Not an issue for me. The keypad is fine for me. Some found it "slippery". The camera takes very decent pictures. I've only messed with the video a little bit but it works... These were not important selling points for me but they're cool to have. Here's a tip: turn the Bluetooth off when not in use to extend the battery life. I listed the proprietry jack as a con. It would be nicer to be able to plug standard accessories in, but you can get an adapter instead of buying proprietary accessories. I'll probably think of something to add after I submit this but that's about it right now.
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"This phone is a great phone that does everything well with just a few flaws here and there" on by warwithin21
Pros: style, camera, screen, bluetooth,menus , memory card slot
Cons: personal settings and profiles, buttons , lack of accesories
Summary: First off this is a very small phone which almost rivals the razor in size. The phone looks very good in the black and silver and does not seem to scratch easily. All of the buttons work well and are easy to use, and I even found it pretty easy to text on this phone the front menu buttons though are a little slipperly and I do find my self constantly hitting the wrong button. As for the features of this phone the ones that stand out to me are: the 1.3 mega pixel which takes excellent pictures for a phone while they do not look too good on the phone if you load them onto the computer they look alot better. The camera has a ton of settings, but is missing a flash which makes low lighting a problem. The mp3 player is easy to use and since you have the memory card you are able to hold numerous songs. The sound quality is average but not great. Samsung did not include a connection cable to link to your computer as well as a headset and memory card so you will be spending a lot of extra money on these things if you plan to use the mp3 player which is frusterating. Bluetooth works extremely well and it is easy to operate. The sound quality while on calls both for head sets and hands free devices in cars is very good. What i really like though was the voice recognition on the phone which makes it easy to dial names as well as numbers with bluetooth. The basic features of the phone are all done well, and you can go through the menus relativly quickly. The battery life and call quality also perform well it was amazing how much better i could hear people when i got this phone compared to the Sony Ericsson s710a. The one thing that really upset me about this phone was the settings menu. First off you only have one profile on the phone, but there are no choices for work, home, car etc. Instead you just have one that you constantly have to change. Secondly this phone has a beautiful screen, but samsung decided to stick a huge clock in it. They did however give you choices for the clock, but no matter which one you choose it still clutters the screen. There also was very few choices to change the menu colors and dialed #'s. All together this is a great phone that I love to use, but is missing a few things that I believe could of easily been fixed, and would have made this phone perfect, but I do not think you could get a better phone for the money
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