lilmissdisney's Full Review: Samsung SCH U740 Cell Phone
The Samsung U740 (aka Samsung Alias) replaced my absolute wonderful Samsung T300. I am still a bit sad about replacing it. Sure the phone was about 7 years old, but it still was a bit before I was ready. Don't worry though, the Samsung U740 will still get a fair review.
I am a bit like a dog, when it comes to loyalty. If I get quality products from a company, I search them out when I go to replace something. Samsung is one of the companies that has earned my loyaty. So, when I thought about a new phone Samsung was the main, if not only, company I looked at.
I bought my phone on Ebay. I wanted the black version and they stopped making it, so Ebay was the only place to find it. I don't remember how much I paid for it. I have tried to black out that part, since in the heat of the auction it ended up more than I planned.
When I stumbled upon the Samsung U740 Alias, it caught my eye, with its texting versatility. The Alias has the ability to open like a normal clamshell phone. It can also open sideways, turning the T9/ABC texting keyboard into a QWERTY keyboard, complete with a little space bar and an enter key. Many people complain that the keys are too small. They are a bit small, but I haven't found too much of a problem. They are not too sensitive. If I accidently hit another key while texting it doesn't normally show up on my text.
My biggest pet peeve is the number lock key. If you hit the number lock key once it stays locked, until you push it again to release it. I could scream about that! Many times I would be typing and not realize the number lock key is still on and end up with a whole paragraph of symbols, instead of words. I would then have to delete it and start again. I understand how there are times that it would be convenient to have the number lock key locked, but the majority of the time you just need it for one quick thing, like adding a comma to your text message.
All the Samsung phones I had before all took the same chargers and headsets. This is the first one that had a different type of jack. The jack is another one of its cons and it is not because I had to buy all new accessories. The jack is a pin type jack and there is only one jack for the chargers and the head set. The problem, the type of jack will not allow it to take a normal headset. It can only take a Samsung made one.
The phone comes with a headset adapter, to let you use a normal headset with it. You plug your headset into the adapter and plug the adapter into the phone. I have only tried it with one of my cheapy 99 cent store headsets. I couldn't get it to work, but I didn't really try hard, because the adapter was a bit to awkward for me. They should have just found a way to fit a normal headset jack in the phone. It is nice that they give you an adapter with the phone, though, and not make you buy one.
The problem I found with only one jack is that I like to use the headset form of hands free device and not a bluetooth device. I even use it while I am at home. If the battery goes dead while I am talking on the phone and I am using the headset, I have to remove my hands-free headset to be able to plug it up, to charge it. I end up using the speaker phone to continue the conversation. The speaker phone on the Alias is nice and clear, but if I wanted to use the speaker phone, I would have in the first place. Though, it is nice to at least have another hands free option.
The main thing I want my phone to do is be a phone. I do not want bells and whistles to take away from its main purpose. Well, its bells and whistle do not seem to take away from its purpose. The reception is great. I haven't had any trouble in any of the areas I go. The sound is nice and clear too.
One of the bells, or is it a whistle, is the mp3 player. It is nice to have little mp3 player always on hand. You can fill up an optional little SD card, that goes in the side of the phone. It is spring loaded, so be a bit careful. My brother took it out one time and it launch almost across the room. You can play the mp3 player while it is closed, too. It has play and skip button controls on the front of the phone. The volume button is also conveniently located on the side.
The video and still camera is not bad. Cell phone cameras never have the best quality. But, it is enough for basic need and easy photo texting.
I like how if you are texting the normal way and you want to switch to QWERTY, you can close the phone and it will give you a few second to open it up sideways and continue your text with the keyboard.
I haven't used the mobile web, because I am not big on paying the extra fees. It takes musical ringtones, but not mp3 ringtones. You can easily go to places like ventones and turn your favorite mp3's into a rintones for free or buy them from Verizon, if you prefer to pay. The phone has a scheduler, normal and tip calculator, alarm clock and world clock, stop watch and a notepad.
The voice recognition is not at all as good as my old Samsung. I stopped using it, because I was tired of it not understanding me. The screen is nice, bright and clear. The battery life could be a lot better, with about 3 and a half hours talk time, but it is fairly normal for most cell phones.
You might feel a very little bit of give when you flip it open side ways. That is because there is only one hinge holding it, which allows it to open both ways. Don't be worried, the phone is very durable.
The Samsung u-740 Alias it a great versatile cell phone.
Recommended:
Yes
Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
Samsung U740 Replacement Phone: The Samsung U740 is a flip style dual band (CDMA 850 / 1900) cell phone that features a QWERTY keyboard in landscape v...More at 1800mobiles.com
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