I've gone through many a cell phone and this one is by far the best of them all. It's small, has a million features, is easy to use, has great battery life and will make your friends jealous.

Pluses:

1. The size. This little guy is tiny! It easily fits in your pocket where you'll ALMOST not notice it. I say almost becuase it could be a bit thinner (the battery sticks out for some reason) and a teensy bit lighter. But see # 2.

2. Ruggedness. Put the Samsung 8500 in one hand. Put any StarTAC in another. You'll instantly be able to tell which phone is built to last. Simply put, the Samsung is a hardy creature. When you open and close the phone, you here a satisfying *thump*. Not a weak click. Kind of like the difference between closing the car door of a Lexus vs. Ford. Its just more well-built.

3. Features! I could go on and on with this point. So I'll mention some that you will use the most. Like multiple phone numbers for each name entry. So for "Bob" you can have his home, mobile, work, fax, etc... all under the same name entry. So nice. Voice dialing: you record a voice entry like "call Bob" and then all you have to do is say that entry and it automatically dials!

4. The screen. The 8500 has hands-down the best cell phone screen I have ever seen. (Except maybe the giant NeoPoint phone.) The green Indiglo backlight makes it real easy to see in all lighting conditions. And the graphical/dynamic font system makes sure that all entries are readable. And when you dial, the numbers are BIG!

5. Call quality. Once you get over the initial problems with Sprint PCS, the 8500 rules. Call quality is superb and drop-outs are rare. I haven't tried analog though.

6. Battery life. It lasts a LONG time. I am not a heavy user, but it lasts me at least 5-7 days. (Not on all the time.) If you are a frequent user, just charge her up every day or two and you'll never have to worry!

Some minuses:
1. It could be lighter.
2. The antenna is flimsy. Why can't Samsung make antennas like Nokia?
3. The vibrating ringer does not vibrate very hard. It is sometimes hard to tell it is going off.
4. The regular ringer could be louder.
5. Pricey.

Overall, I love this phone. It is expensive, but in my opinion definitely worth it!



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 199