Samsung SGH-X507
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: The Samsung SGH-X507 is easy to use and offers a decent feature set for a basic phone.
The bad: The Samsung SGH-X507 had poor call quality, and the design feels the tiniest bit cheap.
The bottom line: The Samsung SGH-X507 tries to be a good basic phone, but it can't quite pass the quality test.
It's a pity that carriers spend so little time marketing basic cell phones that lack cameras. Undoubtedly, many consumers want a phone that only makes calls, but a carrier's emphasis on fancy and profitable handsets often leaves these simpler models behind. That was certainly the case with the Samsung SGH-X507 for Cingular Wireless. Though the phone has been out for a few months, it took us that long just to get our hands on a review model. But now that we have one, we can report it can't match the Nokia 6030. Call quality was unreliable and ... Expand full review
It's a pity that carriers spend so little time marketing basic cell phones that lack cameras. Undoubtedly, many consumers want a phone that only makes calls, but a carrier's emphasis on fancy and profitable handsets often leaves these simpler models behind. That was certainly the case with the Samsung SGH-X507 for Cingular Wireless. Though the phone has been out for a few months, it took us that long just to get our hands on a review model. But now that we have one, we can report it can't match the Nokia 6030. Call quality was unreliable and we didn't like the handset's plastic feel. At $79 with service ($129 if you pay full price) the SGH-X507 is a tad expensive for a basic phone, but you should be able to get it online for free.
Design
It would be difficult for the SGH-X507 to have a simpler design. With clean lines and a minimalist style, it squarely fits the definition of a basic flip phone, though the silver-and-dark-blue color scheme manages to give it a bit of character. At 3.3 inches long by 1.75 inches wide by 0.75 inch thick, it's very compact despite a small external antenna, and at 2.9 ounces it's won't weigh you down in the least. On the other hand, we were unimpressed with the plastic feel of the phone's casing.
The 0.8-inch display is a tad small, but it manages to pack in all the information you need, including the time, date, signal strength, and battery life. The display is monochrome but that's not an issue, because the SGH-X507 doesn't have a camera. A volume rocker sits on the left spine just below a covered headset jack while the charger ports rest on the bottom of the phone.
The SGH-X507's internal display supports 65,000 colors and measures 1.75 inches. Though it's not particularly bright or vivid, it gets the job done and is fine for this caliber of phone. The simple menus are easy to use, and they feature animated icons. You can change the display's backlighting time, contrast and brightness, and the font color and style.
Hide Review As a senior managing editor for CNET, Kent German heads up the CNET Reviews team in San Francisco. Formerly a cell phone reviewer, he still blogs about wireless news and offers his take on the wireless industry. When not at work, he's planning his next trip to Australia, going for a run, or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
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