A cool, useful, durable, great phone!
Written: Oct 14 '02
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Pros: Cool looking, lightweight, good features
Cons: Ping-pong messages don't always work, can't get onto the Internet
The Bottom Line: Good phone- lightweight, durable, and pretty darn spiffy if you ask me. However, if you want a phone with Internet capabilities, move on- this is not it.
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| duckyone's Full Review: Samsung SGH-R225 |
I always said I'd never get a cellphone. I hate when someone's phone rings during class, in the middle of a store, or even church! (My church had to put in their weekly bulletin a request to turn off all phones and pagers during the service, which I thought was amusing.) However, it came to the point where I actually needed one, and so I bit the bullet and went looking, and that is where I found this wonderful phone.
I paid only $50 for it after a rebate, I think that it was about $100 originally. I don't use it too often so I looked for one that looked cool, which was a dumb thing to do but luckily a good mistake to make. I wanted to buy a more expensive, smaller Samsung phone where you could make your own ringtone. My husband bought the more expensive one and proceeded to scratch the front of it right away. I, on the other hand, have a quite durable phone which I discovered also has a function to write ringtones. (I wrote the Super Mario theme and the Sailor Moon theme on mine, so I am a happy camper.)
This phone also does other nifty things. You can play games on it. You can pick which picture you want the phone to display (I picked the clock), and what color the blinking light can be- you can pick from red, orange, green, blue, and violet. I picked violet and get a great many compliments. And the phone is pretty. It is blue on the back and top, and silver on the bottom. The silver buttons match nicely. And the phone's screen lights up with a nice aqua-blue glow. It is very cool.
But most of you smart people probably care more about how it works, so I'll tell you. It has fairly good reception, except at my school where there is a Sprint tower in the chapel's steeple (I got this phone with a T-Mobile/Voicestream plan), which makes it so that I can only make calls when I am outside or in the chapel itself. But anywhere else I go, I can call and receive calls with no problem. For the most part, calls come in clear, unless of course the other person's phone stinks or they mumble really badly.
And if you are a silly person who has a phone but doesn't ever talk on it because you prefer instant messaging, this phone does that too. You can get a plan with a certain number of Ping-Pong messages (messages between cellphones) included, or you get charged a small fee per message sent. You can also use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) to talk between people on other phones or even computers. That charges per message sent or received as well. I choose not to use that- I love the function, but I would too quickly run up a massive phone bill, which is really no fun. I have, however, tried the Ping-Pong messages, which tend to be finicky and unreliable. Sometimes they work perfectly. Other times they show up on the other end as a jumble of symbols. Sometimes they take hours to get to the recipient. And sometimes they don't show up at all. I would suggest to you not to use them if you have anything particularly important to say because they may not reach their destination.
Also, sometime retrieving messages is tricky because the automated system doesn't recognize your password. This has happened to me once or twice. After a few tries, it has always been fine, and I have never lost a message as far as I know.
The phone comes with a hands-free set (good for drivers!), a recharging cord (the battery lasts about 2 days if you don't make hours of calls a day), and a handy carrying strap. It also has a large information book so that you can figure out what all the buttons do on your phone and what to do if it breaks. And I am not completely sure, but I think that the guy who sold me the phone said that it has a positioning thing in it so people with the proper technology can track you (or your phone!) down. Like I said, I am not completely sure and not sure that I need to know. Also, it is a very durable phone. I carry it in my pocket or in my backpack, have dropped it on occasion, and I think that my kitten has tried to attack it. Despite all that, it sounds and works fine, and the only damage inflicted is a slight scratch to the finish.
I haven't had any real problems with my phone. I can call other people by holding down one digit because you can program the phone to do that. Once you program a number into your phone, you can see their name on your phone everytime they call you, which is quite convenient. Calls come in clear, and reception is almost always pretty good. The only thing I don't like about the phone is that I can't get onto the Internet, which is another fun yet expensive feature that I probably don't need anyway. If you are the type who needs your news updates on the phone, don't be discouraged. For a fee, it will send you news and weather headlines, so you can be informed all the time.
I think that this is excellent for someone who doesn't need a phone to program and control their life. In other words, it is a basic phone that looks really cool. If you need the Internet on your phone, don't get this one. But if you want a durable, fun, useful phone, this is the one for you!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
duckyone
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Location: Middle of Nowhere
Reviews written: 183
Trusted by: 49 members
About Me:
Live with husband, baby daughter,and 2 cats. Work in retail. Fun times!
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