Samsung a747 SLM Blue Phone (AT&T)

Other products by Samsung

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches ; 2.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000X1OHL4
• Item model number: A747
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,103 in Cell Phones & Service (See Bestsellers in Cell Phones & Service)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Sporting an ultra-thin clamshell design--so thin, in fact, that they had to subtract a vowel from the name--the Samsung SLM (aka, A747) can take advantage of AT&T's wealth of rich multimedia services, including music downloads, streaming Cellular Video, and Video Share between phones. The SLM is also the first AT&T device to support Napster music purchases over the air (OTA) so you can easily purchase and download music directly to your phone rather than waiting to transfer from your PC. Exuding sophisticated style, the SLM is also packed with loads of must-have phone features, including Bluetooth connectivity for headsets and stereo music streaming, a 2.0-megapixel camera/camcorder, mobile email and instant messaging, and MicroSD memory expansion.

In addition to downloading from AT&T Mobile Music, you can make over-the-air purchases from Napster on the Samsung SLM.

A portable personal assistant as well as cell phone, the SLM includes a full range of personal organization applications and access to AT&T Mobile Banking.

AT&T Service Options
This AT&T phone can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas. The AT&T 3G network uses the dual-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900 MHz network (also known as WCDMA), making it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services with speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. It also gives AT&T the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it's fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go. You'll also enjoy quad-band GSM connectivity, which allows you to make calls in more than 190 countries and access data applications in the more than 135 countries where AT&T offers international data roaming.

With 3G connectivity, you'll be able to access AT&T's Video Share service, which enables you to send a live, one-way video stream to another compatible phone during a standard voice call. The service also allows you to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. (Customers must be in an area served by the company's 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.)

It's packed with multimedia streaming and download capabilities. AT&T's Cellular Video (CV) service features content from CNN, The Weather Channel, iFilm, Comedy Central and exclusive premium content from HBO and much more. And you get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the, access the Napster subscription music service, stream music video, discover what's playing with Music ID song-recognition software, and find out what's hot with The Buzz music news portal. (A MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T's Internet, video, and music services.)

The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.

Mobile Banking from AT&T
The SLM is one of the first phones pre-loaded with AT&T's Mobile Banking application, which is compatible with accounts from banks including Wachovia, SunTrust, Synovus, and BancorpSouth. Mobile Banking from AT&T affords you the flexibility to stay on top of your banking needs while you're on the move, enabling you to check your account balance, securely transfer funds between your eligible accounts, view and pay bills, and review your transaction history. AT&T customers pay no additional fee to access mobile banking and, because the application resides on the handset, the service is optimized to reduce the number of new page views necessary to complete a transaction. Minimal data usage charges apply and vary based on individual use.

Phone Features
Weighing just 3.17 ounces and measuring about one-half of an inch thick, the SLM features a 96 x 96-pixel, 65K color external screen and a 176 x 220-pixel, 262K TFT internal color screen. The 50 MB internal memory (shared with the MP3 player and camera) can store up to 1000 contact entries, with each entry supporting 40 digits and 16 characters. It also features eight one-touch dialing numbers for quick access to your most frequently dialed pals, and a view of the last 30 incoming/outgoing/missed calls. The phone is compatible with 64-note polyphonic and MP3 ringtones, and it also provides a vibration alert for when you need to keep things quiet.

You can load up your MP3 files on optional MicroSD cards (up to 4 GB in size) via a USB connection from your PC, or download music from AT&T Mobile Music. If you have a Napster membership, you can easily search its music catalog of 5 million songs, preview samples of each song, and purchase and download songs directly to the SLM in less than a minute. The SLM also supports the full AT&T Mobile Music suite of services, including XM Radio Mobile, Pandora, MusicID song-recognition service, and VIP access--a mobile fan club and music-discovery service.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, object push, file transfer, audio/video remote control, and basic printing. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server. Send contacts, calendar events, and pictures/videos/voice memos wirelessly.

The 2.0-megapixel camera can capture still images in four resolution settings (1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixels), and it features a multi-shot mode (up to 9 images), a self-timer, and brightness controls. It can also capture audio and video clips up to 1 hour in length (saved to a MicroSD card).

In addition to voice calls, text messaging, and MMS capability, the phone is also compatible with mobile email as well as instant messaging (IM) from AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo!. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for entering text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users. Other features include:

• Speakerphone
• Backlit keypad
• Call timer
• Alarm and world time
• Multi-lingual text display (English, French, Spanish)
• Pre-loaded games, with more downloadable via AT&T
• Headset jack
• Personal organizer: calendar, calculator, currency converter, tasks, notepad

Vital Statistics
The Samsung SLM weighs 3.17 ounces and measures 3.96 x 1.99 x 0.51 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 250 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as 850/1900 WCDMA (3G) frequencies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid phone, March 29, 2008

By	Brian Ausura (Bethlehem, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this phone as an upgrade from the Samsung e317 about a month ago. Overall I've enjoyed using this phone. It's solid as a phone, music player, and it's thin. The phone fits in my pocket nice and easy. Battery life for me has been average and the camera is ok.
I like Samsung for their applications and ease of use, especially how easy it is to put it in silent mode. This phone continues with that tradition. It's easy to customize contacts with ringtones, photos, and change shortcut buttons. What makes this phone really better than my old one is the microSD. It's really easy to add photos, MP3s, and video clips to the card. I just use the adapter, that's included, to turn the micro into a standard SD card, and plugged it into my computer to add the files.
Once the files are on the card it's easy to find them. You can tell Samsung focused on audio. There is a button specifically for the music player, which allows you to create playlists, search by artist, and albums. The phone comes with an adapter that allows you to use standard headphones but it's awkward, it does come with Bluetooth stereo capabilities, but I haven't used that yet. On the bottom of the phone is a speaker that I thought didn't work until one day I closed the phone while music was playing and suddenly music came out of it, which was a nice surprise. Also that speaker does playback MP3 ringtones and message alerts when phone is closed, I have no problem hearing the phone while it's in my pocket.
When I first got this phone and saw it could play videos, I wonder what it would be like to watch videos on a cell phone screen. It turned out to be pretty neat watching music videos, movie trailers, and sport clips on it. It's great showing them to my friends.
Battery life for me has been average when compared to my old phone, lasting about 3 days between charges. Perhaps that's because I use more of the multimedia functions like listening to music and watching videos. Also it takes forever to charge the battery.
Another thing I didn't like was the camera and its rotating camera lens. It feels the camera responds slower then on my old phone and makes it difficult taking pictures of kids, who never want to sit still long enough to prevent blurry pictures. Once the camera snaps the final photo doesn't match what I thought was initially shown on screen. I tried to use the external screen as a viewfinder like my old phone, but I couldn't, so I'm stuck having to keep the phone open to use the camera. The problem with the rotating lens is that when it's rotated to face away from the user it reverses the image when the image is upright. To prevent reversing the image you have to take pictures upside down which is really hard to do. The up button on the side of the phone allows you to change the perspective of the lens.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great all around phone, February 19, 2008

By	P. N. Hayden - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really have enjoyed this phone. It replaces a similar Samsung slider. The feature set of the phone is very good. I have not used the internet capabilities of this phone because I am a cheap-skate. All other features have worked great.
It appears to be more sensitive to signal than other phones (razor, a437..). Voice quality is great on both ends. The speaker phone is one of the better I have tried. The screen is not a bright as my last Samsung (sgh-809 I think) but plenty bright. The brightness of the screen is directly proportional on any phone. That said the battery life of this phone is pretty good. ~4 days with light use.
Everyone that buys this phone should get the data cable. I bought it off ebay, and it works fine. (samsung M300 APCBS10UBEBSTD USB Data Cable) And for the color, I would not call it blue but it does look exactly like it does in the picture.
I would highly recommend this phone to anyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars wish i'd never bought it, October 30, 2008

By	Francis Mericola (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm on my second one - the first was replaced under warranty because it would drain the battery - it would act as if a program were running, even when it wasn't supposed to be, thus draining the battery. On the replacement, I've deliberately drained the battery, plugged into the charger overnight, and when I unplug it in the morning it says "low bat'. However, if I turn the phone off and turn it back on, it shows a full battery. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with this phone for another 19 months under my ATT plan. Wish I'd never bought it.