Forget the Motorola StarTAC! Get a SAMSUNG!
Written: Feb 24 '00 (Updated May 08 '00)
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Pros: Perfect size, Long-life battery, Quick charger, Loaded with functions, Clear display
Cons: Limited to Sprint PCS service, Easy to lose plastic cover piece, Hard to find a case that fits well
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| isong's Full Review: Samsung SCH 3500 CDMA / AMPS Cellular Phone |
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:
I mainly bought this phone for appearance. It's small (5.4 oz.), packed with functions, and is very unique. Samsung, a Korean manufacturer, has been making quality electronic products for quite some time. Their other lines of mobile phones also incorporates such functions as voice-recognition, microchip technology, and minimal battery consumption.
FEATURES:
This phone is packed with features such as:
- Dual band technology (digital and analog capabilities)
- Memo recording functions (ten 10-minute voice memo slots)
- Good battery (up to 170 min talk time, up to 150 hr standby)
- Built-in Internet browser
- Data/Fax capabilities
- English/Spanish language option
- 13 different ring tones plus silent vibration function
- Different ring - incoming call indicators
- Voicemail/pager/email indicator
- Desktop quick charger (second slot for extra battery)
- 179 slots of phone number storage/20 voice dial storage
- User-friendly graphical interface menu function
- Last 27 number redial function
- Ear-microphone capability
- Scratchpad memory
- Call timers
- Caller ID
TESTIMONY:
I've had the phone for about three months now. I didn't really want to go with the Sprint PCS service since they don't offer very good coverage here in the Northwest (Oregon/Washington). Since I live in the Portland-Metro area where coverage isn't really a problem, I decided to go with their $30/300 anytime-anywhere minutes package. It's okay so far, but when I go to the coast, my PCS coverage is non-existent. I have to revert to analog coverage and Sprint charges me for it.
Other than the service, the phone is great. I get good reception pretty much where ever I go and voicemail is very easily retrievable. Although I have not used the web browser function (Sprint charges a per minute fee for this), I went to the Sprint store and tested it. It works well, but if you need to type something, you need to use the buttons on your phone (pain in the butt). So, I guess if you REALLY needed to use the browser function, you could (to check sport scores, stock info, etc.). They have a leather protective cover that's available for this phone, but it doesn't fit the phone well and makes the phone look unreasonably bulky and ugly.
I would recommend this product to anyone who is looking to buy a PCS phone. Although this phone can only be used through Sprint, I believe it's worth every dollar ($150). Motorola's StarTAC phone sells for about $199 and it doesn't offer quite as many functions as the Samsung. The fit and finish of the Samsung phone is clearly set apart from the Motorola counterpart. You can notice the different right away from flipping the earflap open. The Motorola phone seems like it will break, while the Samsung phone feels very sturdy. The only thing I found to be a problem was the small plastic cover that protects the car charger outlet on the bottom of the phone. When you take it off, it's very easy to lose. Samsung could have easily made this piece be attached to the phone so that it couldn't be lost. But this is something very minor and does not hinder the performance of the phone at all. Samsung has put a lot of thinking into this product and I'm looking forward to their upcoming line of phones in the future. Watch out Motorola, here comes Samsung!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
isong
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Member: Ingi
Location: Beaverton, Oregon
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 178 members
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