Samsung SGH-R225 - Can It Be Good If It's Free?
Written: Sep 03 '02 (Updated Oct 01 '03)
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Pros: Price, looks, functionality, low power consumption, GSM, works in Europe, durable
Cons: "Travel" charger not suitable for travel, sound quality/reception could be better
The Bottom Line: I like the R225 much better than my old phone and I am impressed with its design, durability and functionality. There is ...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Samsung SGH-R225 |
I had been a Verizon Wireless customer for 3 years and wanted to get a better phone and better sound quality. I am also going to Europe for vacation, so getting a GSM phone would be a good idea – I would be able to use the phone in Europe as well as in the US.
So I got Samsung SGH-R225 from T-Mobile (VoiceStream Wireless). The phone is free after rebate and the service includes free nationwide roaming and long distance.
I got this phone because it was free, looked nice, was reasonably small and had a lot of features (including the ability to send and receive emails, text messages and even use AIM).
Size and Looks
The phone is small – much smaller than my previous Samsung – especially the battery. The R225 has an antenna that, unlike some other phones, sticks out about 1”. Not a problem for me.
The phone is quite light and can be put in the pocket. Four upper buttons are shiny (chrome-looking). Other buttons as well as the upper part of the phone (display surrounding area) are silver-looking.
The screen and the buttons are backlit by the intense blue light with duration adjusted from the menu. This makes the phone easy to operate in the dark. But during the day it makes symbols on the buttons somewhat less visible.
The phone has separate [Send], [End] and CLR buttons ([End] button also serves as power on/off when held for several seconds). It also has two “soft” buttons that correspond to functions that appear on the screen and two scroll buttons.
GSM
Unlike Verizon phones and phones of other companies that use CDMA or TDMA transmission standard, the R225 uses GSM, which is a standard used in Europe. In the US, I know that Cingular uses it as well as T-Mobile (VoiceStream) and I believe AT&T wireless has some GSM coverage.
The R225 thus will work in Europe as well as in the US. I was skeptical about the GSM coverage, but so far has not been disappointed – the phone works well in downtown LA, Pomona, I-5 North of LA, San Francisco...
Update: the phone worked extremely well while I was on the trip to France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. The GSM coverage was extensive and the sound quality was very good (I used the phone to call to the US from overseas). It also held charge well and did not require recharging during the 3-week trip (I only powered it up to make calls).
The phone also allows connection to computers/laptops for wireless Internet access and features other data services. The R225 is a dual-band phone with one band suitable for the US operation and another one for Europe.
Reception
My old phone used to have problems with reception as well as sound quality. The R225 is good in this area - the signal strength indicator shows much better signal strength/reception than my old one.
The transmission is digital, so there is no static associated with analog mode my old phone used to slip into for no apparent reason.
However, the R225 tends to be less clear and more noisy than the Nokia 6610. It also tends to drop/disconnect conversations more often than the Nokia 6610 does (both were tested in the same areas of T-Mobile network).
In Europe (I used it in Poland, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy), the reception and sound quality were very good, much better than in the LA area.
SIM
The phone uses a smart card called SIM card. It is small, removable and is located under the battery. It stores phone numbers, subscription information, passwords, etc. Thus, it is easier to switch to another phone and not have to re-enter your phone numbers, etc.
Text Messaging, Email, AIM
The phone can send and receive text messages, emails and allows you communicate with friends on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). I tried out the AIM functionality and it was a bit difficult to use but it worked. If you already have an AIM account, the sign-on is straightforward.
T9
The phone allows you use the predictive T9 text entry, which means you no longer need to press the same button several times to enter the words. You press the button only once, even though it may correspond to different letters, the phone analyzes your input and finds the suitable words in its dictionary.
I found that it works well, except when I tried to enter “San Francisco” in the Schedule, it became “Ran Francisco”. But other than that – it worked very well. Plus, I you can press “ ” (which is a also a Δ button) to switch to the next suitable word. After I pressed “ ”, the “Ran” changed to “San”.
Display and Service Light
The manual said that the service light (LED) can be switched to different colors. I thought that the blue screen/button backlight can be switched to different colors, but nope. Service light is a small LED in the upper left corner of the phone. When you have service/reception, it blinks green (by default, you can change the color).
You can change the LED color according to the person who calls you – the phonebook entries can have different LED colors assigned.
The display is quite large and fits several lines of text as well as icons and pictures. There are some neat animations when you make a call. You can also make the phone display an analog clock when idle.
Battery
The phone uses a slim Li-Ion battery that supposedly lasts up to 250 min of talk time or up to 120 hours in standby mode. I haven't measured the standby or talk time precisely, but the battery definitely lasts at least several days.
Charger
The phone comes with so-called “travel” charger. I think they meant “domestic travel”, because the charger only works with 110-volt AC. So you cannot use it in Europe – I will have to hope that the phone holds the charge throughout my trip – I will not be making many calls, since the roaming in Europe is $1 a minute.
The charger has a plug at the end and does not resemble a stand in which the phone is put. It is just a piece of wire with a jack.
Other
The phone has an organizer-type schedule, but I find it less convenient to use than my Palm. There are several games, a bunch of preloaded ring tones, slots for downloadable tones and you can even create your own. The phone has its own phonebook (100 entries), but I use the one on the SIM card (250 entries) so it is easier to transfer it to another phone later if needed.
You can lock the keypad by holding * for several seconds and unlock it later by pressing the left soft key and a *. One thing I dislike is that the phone goes into the mode where it displays whatever you select: the analog clock, a picture-screensaver or a standard greeting when idle and to switch to the “ready” mode, you have to press any button. In other words, to lock the phone you have to press any button and then hold “*”.
Also, to dial or go to the menu, you have to press any key and only then go there.
My previous phone had voice dialing capability, but the R225 doesn’t. Which is OK, since it didn’t work all the time anyway.
Bottom Line
I like the Samsung R225 much better than my old phone and I am impressed with its design, durability and functionality. There is room for improvement in the reception/sound clarity area, but overall it is a good choice.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): free
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 838
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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