Samsung's Got A Winner
Written: Aug 14 '00 (Updated Aug 31 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Clarity: |
 |
|
| Portability: |
 |
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
|
Pros: compact size, strong battery life
Cons: price vs bundled accessories
|
|
|
| 1GQ's Full Review: Samsung SCH 8500 CDMA / AMPS Cellular Phone |
If you don't read the rest of the review, read this...My first impression of the phone was WOW!!! I've used a few cell phones in my day, I started out with the good 'ol Motorola PT550, moved up to the ultra-chic MicroTac Elite and then graduated with the then trendy hi-tech StarTac. Jumping on the digital band wagon I waned off the Motorola path and onto the euro superstar Nokia 2160, followed by the still popular 6160 and ending with the undeniably sheek (but ever useless) 8160. Being the consummate geek that I am, I just couldn't resist the Samsung SCH-8500, especially with the lure of wireless web!
Bearing an uncanny resemblence, when I first saw the SCH-8500 I thought it was the latest incarnation of the StarTac. Dressed in a stylish matte silver, the 8500 looks clean and crisp. The buttons are well placed and for the most part are easily pressed (I'm used to small keys). Ergonomics as you'd expect on a phone this small is non-existent, but the phone is still comfortable to hold for extended periods, thanks to its slim design and lightweight. I found the battery life of the stock battery to be quite amazing, lasting about 2.3 hrs of real world talktime.
As you may know from my epinion on SprintPCS, I'm not a big fan; but to their credit, service for the most part is crystal clear even when the 8500 starts to drop reception strength. As for that whole wireless web business, well lets just say I'm unimpressed. First the connection is soo slooow, the interface is horrible, and doing anything more than checking your stock prices is a true lesson in frustration. Steer clear of this feature...Sprint charges extra $$$ for this service.
As far as the phone is concerned, I do have a couple of minor quibbles. First, Samsung failed to create a good bundled accessory package. What I got was a charger that takes 2-4 hours to reach a full charge, what I didn't get was an extra battery or car plug! Clearly Samsung needs to head over to Europe for finishing school...or maybe Nokia just spoiled us all. Second the phone heats up after 5 minutes or so of use, yes this is common on small phones even expensive euro's like the 8160 but heck its mid 2000; will we ever get a ultra-compact phone that doesn't overheat?
A word of caution, the 8500 doesn't have a built in clock! It syncs its time with Sprint's network when you turn the phone on; though not a problem for me, if you travel outside of SprintPCS areas the 8500's calendars and alarms become kinda useless! What were they thinking?
I'm not going to dish out the specs, you can view them at Samsung's website:
http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/prod/telecommunication/prod_tel_detail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0636047511.0966309021@@@@&BV_EngineID=calihldlfkebedicfcffcgfk.0&prod_id=SCH-8500&category=%2fTelecommunication%2fWireless+Phones%2f8500+series#2
Overall I love this phone, it has style, portability, and excellent battery life combined with reliable service. The wireless web as I guessed was a gimmick but the phone can hold its own without. Give the SCH-8500 a try; Sprint has a 30day return policy, its hard to go wrong :-)
I hope you enjoyed this epinion and vote it "Highly Recommended". --1GQ
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
1GQ
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Miami
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 87 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.