Samsung SPH-N400 - Love it except for when I'm grocery shopping!
Written: Dec 01 '03 (Updated Dec 01 '03)
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Pros: color screen, address book, perfect size,, crisp display, easy to use, flip styling
Cons: Doesn't work well in the grocery store or large superstores
The Bottom Line: An attractive feature packed phone.. Now if only it would work in the grocery store!
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| marytara's Full Review: Samsung SPH-N400 |
Over the summer I replaced my previous cell phone, a Samsung SCH 3500 with the Samsung SPH-N400. My older flip phone had done me pretty well. But, I'd had it for something like 2 years and it was starting to drop calls. My husband had the same phone and similar problems, so we both decided to go and upgrade them.
I selected the Samsung SPH-N400 for a variety of reasons including the fact that it had a really cool color screen and glowed blue. Yeah, Yeah - I know that is probably not a good reason to select a phone but its the truth. My phone cost around $150 at the local Sprint PCS store.
About the phone
To begin with, this is a flip style phone. I've had many cell phones over the years (Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung) in both flip and handheld styles. Personally, I prefer a flip style phone because when "flipped" open, there is an earpiece somewhat close to your ear and a mouthpiece somewhat close to your mouth. I just can't seem to grok the teeny weeny handhelds which when held up to your ear the mouthpiece is somewhere just past your earlobe. Also, with a flip phone the keypad is protected which is a necessary in my purse, pocket, diaper bag, or wherever my phone shall end up. Thus, my reasoning for sticking with the flip style.
The features on the Samsung N400 are plentiful. With optional fees and accessories this phone can be a camera and also connect to the web. I did not opt to purchase the additional camera equipment or sign up for the web access. Personally, I'm around a computer enough at home to see the need to try to connect when I'm out. My phone is for personal and for use with my business and I just need telephone features plus a few extras.
Phone Specifications: (from the Samsung website)
Dual-band, tri-mode
Full color display
High luminescent blue backlighting of keypad
Digital Camera Support -- with purchase of camera attachment
Enhanced Polyphonic Ringer Sounds - over 20 options plus vibrate
GPS-Enabled for location-based services of the future
Internal Phone Book, Calendar
English & Spanish text and voice prompts
TTY compatible
PCS Vision capable - messaging, web, ringers, screen savers, PCS Business Connection and games
What I like about my Samsung N400
The Samsung N400 looks great. As I said previously, the looks of this phone were pretty much the reason that I purchased it. The phone itself is a grey/silver color and its a nice size. If you are looking for a teeny weeny phone, this isn't it. I've seen lots of smaller phones and even smaller flips. This phone isn't a big monster either. It only weighs 4 ounces and the dimensions are 4.25" x 2.04" x 0.82". I find the size of it to be just right for my small hands and also small enough to fit inside just about any purse or even the front pocket of my jeans.
This phone has an awesome display. The display screen is color and lights up. You can choose from several pre-programmed screen savers, mine looks like an aquarium. Or if the ones that are in the phone don't suit you then you can download more of them for a small fee (last I looked they were $1-3 dollars each) on the Sprint PCS website. The same goes for personalized ringers. The phone comes with many to choose some (most of which are melodies, but one is of a chicken clucking), and the option of downloading more for a small fee.
I really like that when you are dialing a number it reads out in large numbers on the display, ok more than large - they are huge. When a call comes in the caller ID numbers are also very easy to read. I can also assign special ringers to certain people or for certain types of calls to ring a certain way. For example, if there is no caller ID available to ring one way and another if the phone can identify who the caller is.
I found it very easy to navigate the menu buttons and change my ringer, and personalize my phone's look and feel. Now, I'm not a dummy. But, I am also not the most technically minded individual. I'm sure there are features on this phone that I just haven't figured out and may never use. However, all of what I've wanted it to do has been quite easy to figure out.
When I first got my phone I added in all the frequent phone numbers that I dial and then some. The phone allows you to set up multiple phone numbers per person (distinguished by icons for work, home, etc), assign people to groups, add in other info like birthdays and more. When you put in their names you can use both lower and uppercase and aren't restricted to some ridiculously low amount of characters per entry. My address book has around 40 entries and there is room for many many more.
This phone charges very quickly and is fully recharged within 2-3 hours. When its charged the light on the top glows green. If its charging the glow is red. And, if there is a message in your voicemail this light blinks.
What I don't like about the Samsung N400
The button to switch the ringer volume on/off or to vibrate mode is on the side of the phone and is easily bumped in my purse or pocket. There doesn't seem to be a way to lock this button that I've found.
The speakerphone, which my husband thinks is pretty cool is not that good of quality. Anytime I've had someone on speaker they complain about static. Also, I feel like I have to yell for them to hear me. In the car its easier just to use an earpiece type of hands free kit then to mess with the speaker phone.
The talktime seems low on this phone at around 3 hours or so. My phone has to get recharged every couple of days which seems to be a bit more frequent then my previous phone. I suspect its the color display and glowing blue keypad that are battery hogs.
Last but not least, I continue to have the some problems maintaining a connection when I'm in big stores like the grocery store or superstores like Target or Wal-mart. I am not sure if this is the phone or my service provider (or a bit of both, perhaps) that causes this frustration.
Overall
Despite a few complaints on the Samsung N400, I really do love this phone. In the 6 months or so that I've had it so far it has held up quite well. (I've dropped it and had no troubles) and I use this phone daily. If you are looking for a phone with a lot of features on it that also looks great this just might be the phone for you.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 140
Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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Epinions.com ID:
marytara
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Location: Jersey Shore
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