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75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ring, ring. Hello there., June 28, 2007
Just a forewarning (this is a long, unedited review):
I am not a huge follower of phones, but I have been with the new 'at&t' [formerly 'Cingular'/'Pacific Bell Wireless' before the name change] almost since the beginning of the wireless service for the average consumer. I feel I have a good understanding of the provider's network, including its reception limitations and highlights.
I have been using many 'freebie' phones -- the Nokia 6190, 3360, and 6010... and various other free phones in between, which just so happen to mainly be Nokias -- so my observation of the Samsung A727 will be based on that incredible leap from those phones to this little slim-line device.
Design:
The design is very attractive; though normally, I do not pay much attention to those details as much as I focus on what I require in a phone. However, you can tell the phone was built well (seems more streamlined and mesh rather than the older phones that allow you to switch covers to `customize') compared to what you could get for the same amount of money a few years back. It is obviously based on the trend of `razor' thin phones which could/could not be a good thing... so it means less external customization [which is fine by me].
The major thing to get used to is how thin this phone is - and I personally do not understand why anyone would want thinner (or why some reviewers envision this for the cell phone future). It feels like (if given the casing material didn't feel reinforced) it is thin enough to break if you put it in your back pocket... which I still think is possible, so I put it in my front ones. The A727's cousins (the `distant cousin' A707 and the `almost family' A717) defeat this problem by offering the same [or similar] technology as a flip phone.
I mentioned a little earlier than the phone's casing/shell feels like reinforced rubberized-grip plastic... or some sort of polymer that everyone (incl. the manufacturer) fails to mention. Whatever it is, the material seems more durable (by density and weight) than what you usually get on a phone if it's not aluminum-based -- but I won't know for sure until I drop it someday. I am almost certain the casing is mostly some form of plastic, since the battery lid is definitely plastic, and feels like the rest of the case; however I will update as soon as Samsung gets back to me about what it's made of [paragraph cut short until I get an update].
The TFT screen -- visible in daylight, which I can say some Motorola phones don't do -- is large, bright and crisp. However, you pay for it with smaller, streamlined buttons below it. Yes, as many other reviewers pointed out, these buttons have no grip to begin with - coupled with being very close together makes it hard to text or to dial a number correctly without having a mistake (and having to erase). It may take some getting used to, but there are more buttons on the front of this phone than I have ever seen on my `freebies'. Also, due to the phone's thinness and center of gravity, it may be hard to text with one hand until you learn to balance it in your fingers (hard to explain, but you'll understand if you try it out in stores). The buttons are definitely not friendly if you have fingernails at all... or even blind (no features to tell the buttons apart)... but maybe that's just my opinion.
Overall, the design of the phone is nice and pleasing, but it does require some getting used to. I can imagine that some people have already gotten over these hurdles if they have had other `razor' thin phones -- it is definitely a new thing to use a small `candy bar' design this thin though, so be prepared.
Reception:
Well, the reception of this phone is mixed. However, I think this is due to how the phone works and how the new at&t wireless service works. I have not noticed it before, but this phone makes bad reception calls more evident (by artificially boosting the voice), but keeps the good reception calls clear. You will notice that there will be times that this phone switches from E (meaning a digital signal) to 3G (which I am sure is the high-speed, possibly satellite-based signal) and vice versa. Think of 3G to be a roaming feature (without the extra charges... I think) when it comes to calls... I found that talking in `E' mode meant I had usually good call quality and little to no time saying `huh?' or `what?' However, when the phone switched to `3G mode' signal, the voices became distorted and artificial... or even blurry.
The caveat to the above experience is that on `3G mode', I would have 2-3 bars of signal... and on `E mode', it usually meant I had full signal. If you go into the basement of some building or parking lot, you will most likely be in `3G mode.'
I am happen when my phone is in `E mode,' but somewhat displeased with `3G mode' -- I do not know what the cause of this is... but I feel it happens with other at&t phones, just that the older phones don't tell you what kind of signal you're using... so it could be more service than the phone itself. Please comment if you have witnessed this. However, the phone is very crisp when the reception is high, but artificial and blurry when the reception is low (if you live in an area that has good reception all around, then it will probably be excellent).
Side note: I find that I can text in places that normally would be considered `no signal' zones. Very handy for situations -- should try driving up to some remote places and seeing how well the signal holds.
I am pleased with the phone's reception as I live in the heart of the Bay Area. However, I do notice my calls to Sprint-based cell phones are less clear compared to my calls to Cingular/at&t, Verizon, and local lines.
Features:
The phone comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, which I suppose is cool, but unnecessary - good for emergency shots at high quality though (like a car accident or something you want to catch). Very easy and intuitive to use (the button on the right side of the phone is the camera button - just press and hold, then click for each shot). The quality of the pictures taken is quite high, so make sure you don't jitter too much if you want a good shot (the resolution of photos seem to be 1280 x 1024).
The MP3 player is unnecessary in my opinion -- and it seems to require special / separate headphones to make the sound quality higher (no full range... missing bass, some low tones, no mids, but retains the high notes). I guess it is nice to have an all-in-one phone, but I will continue to keep my MP3 player separate in case I run the cell phone battery out when I need it.
What I do like is the ability for microSD file transfer -- no need for a data cable when these little memory cards are so cheap and versatile unless you're looking to unlock or something. If you want a new ringtone, picture background, video, or game, you can download it and put it on the microSD and transfer to the phone - very handy feature... especially when these little memory cards are getting a) cheaper and b) larger.
The battery life is poor with the standard battery it comes with. I found 3.5 hours tops of talking time and probably 3 to 5 days of standby - less of each if you do massive amounts of texting. This probably can be alleviated by turning down the TFT screen lighting, but it turns down pretty instantly (2-3 seconds) if idle.
There aren't enough customization options in the phone's operating system. While you can change the format to mimic, say, a Nokia's menu... you only get to assign 4 buttons to certain pre-determined tasks (like opening up a blank text message). Though this is handy, I'd like to be able to customize all the buttons that are unnecessary to the phone (like the music button) to, say, profile selection... just in case I want to change ring profiles quickly during a meeting (which doesn't seem possible at the moment).
3G speed Internet... well... I haven't used it yet, but I'm sure it's nice (I've seen it with other phones). Probably difficult to use until you get the text-typing down.
Final note: there is no large amount lag in the operating system when switching menus or using memory intensive features (as with older phones of its kind). I like this because I remember older phones having such a lag that made it useless to make calls with.
Conclusion:
In the end, the phone is nice looking, decent in features, and performs better than other phones in terms of reception and call quality-- but of course, you can always find a few faults in each category. However, the major things I look for in a phone is good reception and a phone design that fits in my hand comfortably as I do whatever tasks I need to do. All the other features are `nifty,' but unnecessary to me, so my star rating is based on those qualities.
I believe the quality of calls is very good compared with it's relatively lower SAR rating (radiation) of 1.05W/kg [head] compared to older generation phones and the first generation of slim phones which had close to the legal max (1.6W/kg in the U.S. and 2.0W/kg in the EU).
Here's a recap:
Pros:
-call quality is great for times of good signal
-screen is large, and still visible in daylight
-plastic casing feels reinforced / sturdy
-slim line fits easily in tight pockets
-operating system is intuitive
-`E mode' versus `3G mode' signal indicator is a plus
-little or no lag in the operating system
Cons:
-buttons are too close together / no grip / no strong physical features for `blind dialing'
-features are nice, but most are unnecessary (don't need an mp3 player)
-center of gravity is awkward; texting one-handed requires getting used to the balance
-no extensive customization options (like changing phone profiles quickly)
-lower battery life (maybe due to the screen brightness)
-still feels a bit flimsy
I give this phone a flat 4 out of 5 (or rather 8 out 10).
It is nice and I would keep it because it much better phone than the `freebies' for a decent price after 2-year contract; just don't expect it to be everything you want in a phone (if there such a phone like that). Good quality in calls with a small sacrifice in battery time is good - but it could be better.
I'm sorry the review is so long, will edit it when I have the time.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent phone, September 20, 2007
This phone is getting mixed reviews. I think whether you like it or not essentially comes down to what you look for in a phone. Someone here mentioned never getting decent signal - I can only say it must have something to do with where you spend your time. For me, I get really good signal strength in most areas, not so good signal in some others; but even with a weak signal I'm able to place and receive calls and even access email and web functionality.
The good:
This phone is just plain sexy. It's amazing that so much functionality is packed into such a tiny, sleek little package. As appearances go, this one is definitely a looker.
This phone has features I've never seen in a phone before. You can cut, copy, and paste when composing text (SMS, etc.). It has a "whisper mode", which turns up the sensitivity of the microphone so you can speak quietly and still be heard by whomever you're talking to. When you're in the browser, you can send the URL of a page you're on in an SMS message, or via Bluetooth.
Speaking of SMS, it has an outstanding T9 implementation. The dictionary is amazingly comprehensive. The way it learns words is really well done - no need to switch into multi-tap mode and then back. It does a really good job of handling weird punctuation (for example, you can easily hyphenate words without confusing it, it just goes right along with you). One of the issues I had with a previous Samsung phone's T9 was that it was very difficult to type a '1' following any word, because it would attach it as punctuation. Then when it realized you wanted a digit, it didn't have the sense to move it away from the previous word. This phone doesn't have that issue at all. Typing letters and numbers and punctuation just plain works the way you want it to. This phone has easily the best SMS features I've ever seen in any phone.
The screen is gorgeous. Not much more to say about that.
Call clarity is outstanding. I've never owned a clearer phone. It sounds every bit as clear as my land line at home. It's truly amazing.
Auto-reject! This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen on a cell phone. You can add phone numbers to your auto-reject list, and when calls come in from those numbers, the phone will ignore them and send them straight into voice mail. You can do the same for calls with unknown numbers. That feature alone is worth the price of admission. I have a couple of numbers from which I get calls where no one speaks at the other end; now that they're on my auto-reject list, I forget they exist because the phone handles them for me. It's great.
Battery life, while not exactly amazing, is really good. I use my phone a lot, and I have to charge this one every couple of days (my previous phone had to be charged at least once a day, sometimes more).
The application switcher is very nice. The phone can multi-task, and there's a handy button on the front for managing multiple tasks.
Bluetooth just plain works right. I've had no issues pairing it with my Mac and my Jawbone headset (and my Plantronics Discovery 665 before that). Transferring files from my Mac to the phone is a breeze.
You can use your own mp3's as ring tones without the need to use any sort of online ringtone uploader. Just transfer them to the phone, and as long as they're under 300k it will let you set them as your ring tone. No need to ever buy one.
The software is very stable. If you've had one of those phones (and there are many out there) that have problems locking up, rebooting unexpectedly, and just plain being a pain, you know how important this is. I've used the heck out of this phone and I have yet to see it freeze up or do anything else it shouldn't.
I'm trying to think of all the cool things this phone offers, and I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out. For the first few days of ownership, I spent a lot of time poking around in it and going "Oh wow, it does that?!?"
The bad:
Yep, the buttons are small, and it can be hard to distinguish them by feel. Lots of people complain about this, and they're not wrong. As for me, I've quickly gotten used to it, and only occasionally hit a button I don't mean to.
I'd like to be able to re-configure what the two soft buttons do on the main screen, but unfortunately there's not a way to do this.
I'd also like to re-purpose the music button on the unit, but there's no way to do that, either. Since I don't expect to ever use it I think it's sort of a wasted button. It would be nice to be able to configure it to do something else.
No GPS. If you rely on GPS in your phone, this is not the one for you - it doesn't have it.
No voice-command. You can't even voice-dial entries in your address book. Sort of disappointing, but it isn't a show-stopper for me.
The bottom line:
I've owned a lot of different phones, and I'm extremely particular about my phones (I wound up with this one because Sprint tried to replace my Samsung A900M with a RAZR, and I essentially told them what they could do with their RAZR and switched over to AT&T). This is one of the coolest phones I've ever owned, and I am very, very happy with the choice I made.
I definitely recommend this one. I plan to keep mine for a very long time, and I hope Samsung continues this line in the future. I'm partial to Samsung phones, and I think they've done a really outstanding job with this one.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No complaints here, March 5, 2008
Being a person who doesn't really LOVE talking on the phone but does it usually only when necessary, I must say that this phone is all that I need. Even though this phone isn't loaded with features, the ones that it does carry are useful and easy to use. Basically, this is a phone for someone who doesn't need his/her phone to do everything but clean the car.
Furthermore, I believe that a review of a phone should be about the phone. My hometown is in the middle of nowhere, with no service at all, so I'm quite familiar with dropped calls, regardless of what phone I own at the time. Blame the carrier for the lack of service/dropped calls--not the phone.
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