<Update on September 19>
I recently traded this phone in for a Sanyo 4000. Ack. I hate the Sanyo. This phone (despite its flaws) is sooo much better than the Sanyo. See my review of the Sanyo if you want a little comparison. I think I will be trading BACK to the Samsung ASAP.

<Update on August 7>
Hmm. How frustrating it is for me to have to write this. Even though I really love this phone, I'm beginning to have problems with it. Come to find out from a coworker, the wiring inside the speaker/earpiece hinge is rather delicate... and it breaks down over time. The sound on this phone cuts down to barely audible at times, and this is quite frustrating because the outside of the phone itself is extremely durable. I've dropped it numerous times now without any signs of wear (other than a little scratch). Sprint replaced my coworkers phone, and I'm happy to hear that they're being reasonable about replacing them, but this is still not something I should have to put up with. The signal quality doesn't seem to be as strong as it used to, seems as though the contacts in the antenna are also breaking down. I still get good reception most of the time, but the little signal strength meter keeps telling me to get lost. =) The battery time has not diminished though, and I'm quite happy about that. Seems like the LiIon battery they put on these guys was really well designed. My last little complaint about the phone is the fact that the keygaurd feature on this phone was _not_ well planned. The earpiece/flip/cover will shield the keypad from being messed with, but not the top three buttons (OK/VoiceMail, scroll, and Menu). Keyguard (when activated) can only be turned off by flipping open the phone or holding down the OK key. What good is keyguard if it's deactivated by an exposed button? Example: I put phone in pocket with keyguard on. Something presses against my phone, and holds down all three exposed buttons for a few moments. Keyguard is deactivated. Another little press through my pants (the OK button again) and I've dialed Voicemail. Ack. This has not happened _yet_ but given enough time, I'm sure it will. I would like to know what good keyguard is if it is so easily disabled in situations like that. Ack. Anyhow, that's about all I have to say about this phone after having used it for about 4 months or so. BTW, my coworker says that his speaker died sooner than usual because he had his phone set to vibrate 24x7. I guess the contacts/wiring aren't designed to be heavy duty like that.
</Update>

I've had enough experiences with other people's cell phones that I was beginning to dread the day I would have to get one of my own. Well, that day has come and I'm actually quite pleased with what I've ended up with.

My vision of cellular phones (including PCS models) has been that of an expensive little gadget that's 3 times the price of a regualr cordless phone, and way worse sound quality. This phone has totally changed my perception of what a cellular phone can be. Let me just say though, that I in no way claim that you would recieve the same service quality I'm getting out here. The network provider I went with (possibly the only choice?) doesn't have it's network _everywhere_ yet, so coverage might be a little spotty where you are. I live in the SF bay area, and most providers try to provide the best coverage in the major metropol. areas, so if you live outside of town (or in the outskirts) your coverage may be less than perfect. This is no fault of the phone, and I hardly blame it for lackluster coverage. My house is located in the east foothills of the valley, so coverage can be a little flakey at times, but for the most part I'm able to use the phone while I'm at home. All the voicemail features, memo recording, caller ID, etc, work up here, and within about 1/4 minute down the hill, the coverage is rock solid. The phone delivers sound quality superior to 95% of the cordless 900MHz phones I've used, and its battery life is superior as well.

It can be left on in standby mode and last for days, and usually gives me about 2 or more hours talk time on a full charge, but I don't normally use it that much in a given day. Every night I charge it, which does no harm to the battery, as it's a Lithium Ion type. These batteries do not develop a 'memory' like Nickel Cadmium (and even Nickel Metal Hydride to a certain extent) batteries do, so you don't need to worry about completely draining the battery. The included charging station is great if you have a second battery; it provides a slot to charge batteries without the phone, in addition to the standard cradle for use with the phone. The phone charges quickly, so if you do wear out the battery, it wont be very long before it's back in service.

I have yet to use the built in minibrowser, as I fear the steep prices that are likely to be incurred... (I have nightmares of downloading programs through a palm 7, palm.net charges by the kb!)

The phone provides voice dialling up to 20 different entries, as well as a seperate phone book feature that allows you to save many more numbers. The voice dialling is super for making calls in traffic, or for those frequently called numbers. I have my house and office on speed dial and it makes a huge difference during rush hour. =) Which brings me to the headset jack on the top of the phone... It's great, and the official samsung model is used, you can even answer the phone via a small button on the mic. (Think an earbud with a little inline microphone about 4 or 5 inches down the cord) This enables you to keep your phone clipped to a belt or inside a pocket and answer without needing to dig the phone out to flip up the earpiece.

The one small little flaw in this product is the fact that it is designed to be low power... PCS and even 'regular' digital require very little power to operate. When the phone is in PCS or Digital mode, the phone has a great deal of standby time and talk time. In 'Analog Roam' mode, the phone will just suck the battery dry. On a short trip to LA and back, the phone was in analog roam mode for the majority of the journey. I placed a 15 minute call in LA (PCS), and also placed a 10 minute call in analog mode on the return trip. The battery was nearly dead after only 14 hours of standby and 25 minutes of talk time. Be aware that analog calls really consume juice... Also, when the phone is brought into some stores, the phone switches to Analog mode. Upon leaving the building, it can sometimes take more than 5 minutes to switch back to PCS for some reason. If that happens, just power cycle the phone and it should reconnect to the PCS network. I think I saw that in the users manual, so it shouldn't cause any harm to the phone.

Summary:

Great phone, looks really cool, and has excellent sound quality. Great buy for anyone in need of a good solid cell.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 150