kgmallory
10-09-2005, 12:58 PM
Pros :clap:
Compact, super-slick design.
Good Color scheme, black on silver, white backlight keys
Crisp Color
Great Speakerphone
Sharp Exterior Display
Ready-Link
Voice Features are Excellent
Battery Life
Internal Antenna
Synchronized Vibration
New Samsung Phonebook
Added new, normal sounding ringers - Not all ringers are lame melodies or songs.
Online phone software updates - No more going to the Sprint store to get updates.
Cons :irked:
Vibration transfer in phone
Slow key to menu/sound response
Can't end speakerphone call while closed flip
Flip snaps hard when opening or closing
DISCLAIMER: The last Samsung that I have owned was an A500 that I purchased shortly after it came out. Some of these features may or may not be new to more current Samsung phones, but are worth of pointing out based on my experiences with Samsung phones and comparing to the other Non-Samsung phones I have owned
Synopsis
I finally picked up the phone after driving 30 miles roundtrip to the next closes Sprint store on Friday, the 7th. After getting it and setting it up, I took it to the car to start playing with it. Now, I had researched the phone on the internet and had decided I wanted it over two weeks ago, but just had to play the waiting game. I did get to see it in person at my local store, but they only had the demo, which had arrived earlier that day and was not setup on display. The phone is your no-frills communications device, with a focus on just that - communication. It is a ReadyLink phone with built-in SMS and VoiceSMS, which is a new concept I will discuss later. It's features make it very easy to send messages of all types, including emails. There is no camera, and sports a monochromatic exterior display. It has great voice command features built-in, which further is greatness as a communication device. It also have a strong & clear speakerphone as well.
Among the first things that caught my attention was the slick design. It reminds me of the Motorola V60 with its color and tapered design. It slenders down towards the bottom. It has an internal antenna which is very nice and doesn't seem to affect it's reception at all. On the inside, the numeric, back, and left and right soft keys are backlight with white LEDs, while the launch pad and menu key are blue led. TALK and END are the usual red and green. The key colors give it a modern, clean and sophisticated look, but without the bright glare of blue LEDs. The interior display is the standard 65k color LCD using the same size as most of Samsungs other phones. I was expecting it to be smaller because the phone does not have a camera, but that was not the case. All my images from my previous phone transferred over without having to resize them. The exterior display is monochrome with the same white LED backlight as the keys. It can be inverted to be white on black or black on white. I prefer the white text/black background. It is functional and displays all the useful information that the main display shows including signal, battery, ring/vibrate status, ReadyLink status, Date & time in larger text. All the information is easy to read with no squinting required.
Samsung has updated their phone book to eliminate the phone book entry number which used to show up in the phones contact list, reducing the number of characters displayed when listing your phonebook entries. Now it uses just the name and the number type icon (mobile, work, home, etc) similar to many other manufacturers. They have also extended the number of characters that can be used to name an entry to 20. The usual groups such as friends, family, VIPs, etc are still there and can have their own ringer assigned. The phone book is farely simple, but thorough.
They have also installed a great suite of voicecommand features. The voice recognition software is intuitive and will respond to free-speech, without having to be programmed. It can be used for digit-dialing, as well as dialing any contact in the phone book without training and assigning voice command entries to each contact. It has voice prompts which assist in making sure the correct entry is used, using their text-to-speech protocol. When you say a name, it will repeat the name it found to match and ask you if it is correct. If there is more than one number, it will ask you which number you want to dial. Then just say, work or mobile, or home and it will confirm and dial. This is great if you use your phone in your car alot and want to keep your eyes on the road. It will also allow you to do digit dialing for numbers not in your phone book. When using the speakerphone, this feature is great. The speakerphone is super loud and very responsive. Using it with my wife, and also my brother, they couldn't tell I was on speakerphone. The only drawback, is that I have yet to find out how to end a speakerphone call while the phone is closed.
Among the newer features in the phone is the new VoiceSMS. This is a feature that records two-minute messages and saves them to your phone. They can then be sent to another phone or email address. When sent to another phone that has VoiceSMS, the message is stored on the phone like SMS messages, and can be retrieved at any time. For mobile phones without VoiceSMS, they are sent a text message with a number in the link. The recipient will dial this number and the message will play. It worked for my wife while I was at work the other night, quite well. They can be sent to any email address, and the voice is attached to the email in a WMA format, making it useable on any Windows PC. uses Vision, so it does not take away from your minute allocation to send them. Plus you can send a message up to 25 recipients at the same time. Perfect for telling a bunch of people to get on their X-Box live to play some Halo 2.
Readylink is also included, though I haven't had a chance to try it yet, even though I have nearly 10 family members on Sprint, none of which use RL. I assume that it will be as good as it has ever been, especially on the exceptional speaker.
The usual SMS is built-in, which is GREAT for those of us who had been using PCS Shortmail to access our text messages. The phone has a status light which blinks green every few seconds when in digital mode, and red when messages are received, which is also reminescent of the classic Motorola starac.
The vibrating ringer synchronizes and vibrates to the beat of the internal ringers. It does not work with downloaded ringers, but the other 30 somethings ringers included support this vibrating feature. However, the vibrating seems to resinate in the phone for a second or two, even after the flip is opened and the phone is answered. Another concern is the phones tendancy to snap shut or open. When closing the phone, unless you are holding it the whole time, it will snap shut violently. So hard, that it almost makes me wonder how many times it can do it, before it starts to damage the phone. So you have to extra careful about that. I think this could be something that will reduce over time, as the springs are worked and loosened up. It also has the same response when opening the phone too.
CALL QUALITY:
Calls are strong and clear. They are easy to make, using the voicecommands or the phone book. So far none, have been dropped, even in my parents basement, where Sprint service is nearly non-existant. Speakerphone quality is great as well, though there still seems to be debate of whether or not it is full-duplex. I don't think it is, but I haven't noticed a problem in my speakerphone converstations.
IN CLOSING:
The Samsung A820 is an excellent phone for those who want a straight-forward, easy to use communicator. It does not have a camera, built-in mp3s, TV or video. If you need a tool for sending a variety of messages, a device with PTT support, or just a good phone with speakerphone features, this is a great device. It has a classy, professional look for those who want an up-to-date style, but don't need all the fancy features of some of todays other phones. If you are a shutter-bug, video-clipping junkie that has to send every little silly thing you see to your mom, step to the A840 or another MM phone. But if you want to communicate simply, the A820 is the way to go.
Oh, and one more thing...first Sprint phone that sports THE NEW SPRINT LOGO! :headbang2
(Writers history of Sprint phones....Sony Z-100, Motorola Startac, Samsung 8500, Samsung 4500, Kyocera 2255, Sanyo 5150, Samsung A-500, Sanyo 8100 x2, Samsung N-400 (loaner between 8100's), Samsung A-820)
Compact, super-slick design.
Good Color scheme, black on silver, white backlight keys
Crisp Color
Great Speakerphone
Sharp Exterior Display
Ready-Link
Voice Features are Excellent
Battery Life
Internal Antenna
Synchronized Vibration
New Samsung Phonebook
Added new, normal sounding ringers - Not all ringers are lame melodies or songs.
Online phone software updates - No more going to the Sprint store to get updates.
Cons :irked:
Vibration transfer in phone
Slow key to menu/sound response
Can't end speakerphone call while closed flip
Flip snaps hard when opening or closing
DISCLAIMER: The last Samsung that I have owned was an A500 that I purchased shortly after it came out. Some of these features may or may not be new to more current Samsung phones, but are worth of pointing out based on my experiences with Samsung phones and comparing to the other Non-Samsung phones I have owned
Synopsis
I finally picked up the phone after driving 30 miles roundtrip to the next closes Sprint store on Friday, the 7th. After getting it and setting it up, I took it to the car to start playing with it. Now, I had researched the phone on the internet and had decided I wanted it over two weeks ago, but just had to play the waiting game. I did get to see it in person at my local store, but they only had the demo, which had arrived earlier that day and was not setup on display. The phone is your no-frills communications device, with a focus on just that - communication. It is a ReadyLink phone with built-in SMS and VoiceSMS, which is a new concept I will discuss later. It's features make it very easy to send messages of all types, including emails. There is no camera, and sports a monochromatic exterior display. It has great voice command features built-in, which further is greatness as a communication device. It also have a strong & clear speakerphone as well.
Among the first things that caught my attention was the slick design. It reminds me of the Motorola V60 with its color and tapered design. It slenders down towards the bottom. It has an internal antenna which is very nice and doesn't seem to affect it's reception at all. On the inside, the numeric, back, and left and right soft keys are backlight with white LEDs, while the launch pad and menu key are blue led. TALK and END are the usual red and green. The key colors give it a modern, clean and sophisticated look, but without the bright glare of blue LEDs. The interior display is the standard 65k color LCD using the same size as most of Samsungs other phones. I was expecting it to be smaller because the phone does not have a camera, but that was not the case. All my images from my previous phone transferred over without having to resize them. The exterior display is monochrome with the same white LED backlight as the keys. It can be inverted to be white on black or black on white. I prefer the white text/black background. It is functional and displays all the useful information that the main display shows including signal, battery, ring/vibrate status, ReadyLink status, Date & time in larger text. All the information is easy to read with no squinting required.
Samsung has updated their phone book to eliminate the phone book entry number which used to show up in the phones contact list, reducing the number of characters displayed when listing your phonebook entries. Now it uses just the name and the number type icon (mobile, work, home, etc) similar to many other manufacturers. They have also extended the number of characters that can be used to name an entry to 20. The usual groups such as friends, family, VIPs, etc are still there and can have their own ringer assigned. The phone book is farely simple, but thorough.
They have also installed a great suite of voicecommand features. The voice recognition software is intuitive and will respond to free-speech, without having to be programmed. It can be used for digit-dialing, as well as dialing any contact in the phone book without training and assigning voice command entries to each contact. It has voice prompts which assist in making sure the correct entry is used, using their text-to-speech protocol. When you say a name, it will repeat the name it found to match and ask you if it is correct. If there is more than one number, it will ask you which number you want to dial. Then just say, work or mobile, or home and it will confirm and dial. This is great if you use your phone in your car alot and want to keep your eyes on the road. It will also allow you to do digit dialing for numbers not in your phone book. When using the speakerphone, this feature is great. The speakerphone is super loud and very responsive. Using it with my wife, and also my brother, they couldn't tell I was on speakerphone. The only drawback, is that I have yet to find out how to end a speakerphone call while the phone is closed.
Among the newer features in the phone is the new VoiceSMS. This is a feature that records two-minute messages and saves them to your phone. They can then be sent to another phone or email address. When sent to another phone that has VoiceSMS, the message is stored on the phone like SMS messages, and can be retrieved at any time. For mobile phones without VoiceSMS, they are sent a text message with a number in the link. The recipient will dial this number and the message will play. It worked for my wife while I was at work the other night, quite well. They can be sent to any email address, and the voice is attached to the email in a WMA format, making it useable on any Windows PC. uses Vision, so it does not take away from your minute allocation to send them. Plus you can send a message up to 25 recipients at the same time. Perfect for telling a bunch of people to get on their X-Box live to play some Halo 2.
Readylink is also included, though I haven't had a chance to try it yet, even though I have nearly 10 family members on Sprint, none of which use RL. I assume that it will be as good as it has ever been, especially on the exceptional speaker.
The usual SMS is built-in, which is GREAT for those of us who had been using PCS Shortmail to access our text messages. The phone has a status light which blinks green every few seconds when in digital mode, and red when messages are received, which is also reminescent of the classic Motorola starac.
The vibrating ringer synchronizes and vibrates to the beat of the internal ringers. It does not work with downloaded ringers, but the other 30 somethings ringers included support this vibrating feature. However, the vibrating seems to resinate in the phone for a second or two, even after the flip is opened and the phone is answered. Another concern is the phones tendancy to snap shut or open. When closing the phone, unless you are holding it the whole time, it will snap shut violently. So hard, that it almost makes me wonder how many times it can do it, before it starts to damage the phone. So you have to extra careful about that. I think this could be something that will reduce over time, as the springs are worked and loosened up. It also has the same response when opening the phone too.
CALL QUALITY:
Calls are strong and clear. They are easy to make, using the voicecommands or the phone book. So far none, have been dropped, even in my parents basement, where Sprint service is nearly non-existant. Speakerphone quality is great as well, though there still seems to be debate of whether or not it is full-duplex. I don't think it is, but I haven't noticed a problem in my speakerphone converstations.
IN CLOSING:
The Samsung A820 is an excellent phone for those who want a straight-forward, easy to use communicator. It does not have a camera, built-in mp3s, TV or video. If you need a tool for sending a variety of messages, a device with PTT support, or just a good phone with speakerphone features, this is a great device. It has a classy, professional look for those who want an up-to-date style, but don't need all the fancy features of some of todays other phones. If you are a shutter-bug, video-clipping junkie that has to send every little silly thing you see to your mom, step to the A840 or another MM phone. But if you want to communicate simply, the A820 is the way to go.
Oh, and one more thing...first Sprint phone that sports THE NEW SPRINT LOGO! :headbang2
(Writers history of Sprint phones....Sony Z-100, Motorola Startac, Samsung 8500, Samsung 4500, Kyocera 2255, Sanyo 5150, Samsung A-500, Sanyo 8100 x2, Samsung N-400 (loaner between 8100's), Samsung A-820)