Cellphone Reviews Blog

Sony Ericsson Z750a Phone Gray ATandT

The Sony Ericsson Z750a clamshell phone is ready to access your favorite streaming music and video thanks to its tri-band 3G connectivity, which makes it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music, stream tunes from Napster and eMusic, and watch video streamed from CNN and Comedy Central via AT&T’s Cellular Video. This phone also offers quad-band GSM connectivity for easy globetrotting. Stylishly accented with curved corners and a mirror-finish, the Z750a also has a hidden external display that only lights up when your phone is in use (such as when a call comes in). Other features include an internal 320 x 240-pixel screen, Memory Stick Micro expansion, full HTML browsing with RSS feeds, and Exchange ActiveSync for push email, calendar and contact synchronization.

The Z750a has an external display, but you only see it when your phone is in use.

AT&T Service
Compatible with AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas, this phone offers tri-band HSDPA/UMTS connectivity (850/1900/2100 MHz). You’ll get average download speeds of around 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) and speed bursts up to 3.6 Mbps, as well as simultaneous voice and data services. Multi-task while you are on a call–search for movies times, look up directions, or send messages. You’ll also get more done with faster access to email, and enjoy speedy Internet connectivity with richer graphics and easy-to-use personalization options.

In areas where 3G network access 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 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 Cellular Video (CV) service and the Internet while on the go. Cellular Video features content from CNN, The Weather Channel, iFilm, Comedy Central and exclusive premium content from HBO and much more. It also features AT&T Mobile Music, which provides access to Napster and eMusic subscription services as well as Music ID song-recognition software, music videos and The Buzz music news portal. The handset is XM Radio Mobile-capable, so you can enjoy streaming live digital radio as well. (An AT&T MEdia Max subscription bundle is recommended for accessing AT&T’s Internet, video, and music services.)

The Z750a 3G phone is compatible with AT&T Music, Cellular Video, and XM Radio services.

Phone Features
The Z750a has an internal 2.2-inch LCD that provides 262K colors for excellent depth and a 240 x 320-pixel resolution. The external monochrome OLED display has a resolution of 36 x 128 pixels, and it displays current time as well as battery level. It also offers four-way toggle navigation surrounded by a backlit ring, a backlit numeric keypad with tactile feedback, two soft keys, and a Web browser shortcut key. The phone has a slot on the left spine for using Memory Stick Micro (M2) media and a dedicated music player button on the right side. This phone can store up to 1000 contact entries, each with fields for five phone numbers as well as the ability to save callers to groups and pair contacts with a ringtone.

While this isn’t one of Sony Ericsson’s Walkman digital audio player-equipped phones, the Z750a does offer multiformat music playback that includes MP3, WMA (unprotected), and AAC, as well as such features as shuffle and loop modes, stereo widening, and an equalizer. Additionally, you’ll be able to purchase and download real-music ringtones (72-chord polyphonic) in a variety of formats (MP3, MP4, AAC, AAC+, eAAc+, WMA, WAV). You also get a built-in FM radio with RDS, which displays the name of the currently playing song (when tuned to compatible radio stations). With the TrackID service, you can identify any song that you can hear by just recording a snippet of sound using the microphone. It also includes a flight mode that lets you keep listening to tunes with the phone’s network connectivity turned off.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity with EDR (enhanced data rate), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. 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.

The built-in 2.0-megapixel camera captures stills in three resolution modes (1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, and 640 x 480 pixels), and it includes a number of options to help you create great shots, including a 2.5x digital zoom, two quality settings, three color effects, night mode, and white balance and brightness adjustments. You can also shoot video to your heart’s delight (as long as you have space on your memory card), or limit it to 25 seconds for sending to friends and family via MMS. It provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth), and this phone makes it easy to send snapped photos directly to a blog or an online photo, complete with text.

The phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3 and IMAP4 protocols (with easy setup for receiving AOL, MSN and Yahoo! mobile mail), while the included Access NetFront Web Browser allows you to surf full HTML web sites. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Support is built in for sending and receiving text, video, graphics and sound via messaging, and you can also chat via instant messaging with built-in support for AIM, Yahoo! and MSN chat services.

The Z750a is one of Sony Ericsson’s first mobile phones based on Java Platform 8 (JP-8), which supports a range of new Java programming features including instant messaging/chat and presence based functionality, banking and payment transactions, user identification and authentication through secure encryption technology, mapping, and other location-aware applications.

Other features include:

• USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
• PIM functions including calendar, tasks, notes, alarm, calculator, stopwatch, and timer
• T9 text entry technology
• Vibrating alert
• Speakerphone
• Voice recorder
• SMS (text) and MMS (multimedia) messaging
• Hearing aid compatibility: M3, T3
• Bluetooth profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BIP (for sending images to another device), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), HID (support for mice or joysticks), OPP (object push for business cards or calendar items), PAN (personal area networking), PBA (transfer contacts)

Vital Statistics
The Z750a weighs 3.88 ounces and measures 3.83 x 1.93 x 0.79 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 400 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as the HSDPA/UMTS 850/1900/2100 network.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star We thought AT&T has raised the bars on the quality & service not just on the fees…..
We purchased from Amazon.com one Motorola RAZR2 V9 Phone and two Sony Ericsson Z750 Phones along with a mandatory 2-year contract AT&T FamilyTalk Nation 550 Rollover Minutes.

Pros: $0.03 for all three phones, Rollover minutes.

Cons: just to mention few…

- The worst talk and standby time on all three phones particularly the Sony Ericsson, despite the fact all three of us use our cell phones only for very necessary or in emergency situations.

- More dropped calls than the competition.

- The quality of voice (connection) is a lot to be desired.

- You cannot program the phone on speaker ahead of time. You can activate it only after dialing or receiving a call – A SAFETY ISSUE while driving.

- The buttons on all three phones are arranged in such a way so that one can easily get connected to internet inadvertently. Despite disconnecting it immediately, you get charged by AT&T. The AT&T advice was to either purchase a new plan (for additional high monthly fee) or have the option of internet connection totally disconnected (without reduction in monthly charge despite reduced service). We end up to having to choose the latter.

- The ring tone of RAZR2 V9 when on speaker phone is laryngitic.

- The choices for the ring tones are severely anemic, unless you purchase more tones from AT&T.

- The voice command, as I understand it, can be activated only with additional monthly fee. The competition gave that for free on the less equipped phones.

WHY DID WE NOT CANCEL THE AT&T PLAN during the first ONE month of grace period?

This one goes to Amazon.com and its new stifling way of business: If you cancel or reduce the plan within the first SIX months, you have to pay $250 for each phone!!!

Perhaps I was too generous to include “$0.03 for all three phones” as a Pro for this, seemingly, deal; or more seemingly, ordeal.

4 Stars Ericson z750a Phone battery life fix!
I had the same problem until I turned off the G network on the phone itself. I called ATT and they told me: “There’s no way to disable the G network” then I called Sony and they told me that the phone was built like that per ATT’s request. Since it was using ATT software on the phone’s operating system it was not able to disable the G network.

In summary this is the fix and i have tested on several phones and it worked:

Step 1: Replace your ATT Sim card with a different provider’s SIM card. This SIM card doesn’t even need to be activated. I used T-Mobile’s SIM.

Step 2: Once you use a differen SIM card your phone’s programming options will change. You will have a new option that will let you disable your G network as default. You can even turn it off. That’s what I have. Your phone will last at least 4 days or more.

Step 3: Reinsert your ATT SIM card and enjoy life. You won’t see the “G” on your screen anymore. You don’t need it.

4 Stars Great when de-branded takes 8G cards
This is my review which was on a different color version of this phone. Update: I picked up a 8G card for this, works fine in both branded and de-branded versions of the phone. Also, there are 900mAmp and 950mAmp versions of the battery, I have the 950.

I picked up this phone (2 actually) for $50 each after rebates. Call quality if excellent. Has Walkman-like media player for music and video and podcasts, audio books. Megabass for headsets, but no stereo speakers on unit (there are lots of external speakers available though). When on 3G you can surf and talk at the same time.

First, make sure you get a unlimited data plan. There is one for $15/mo. (at this time) since ATT doesn’t consider this a smart phone. You can tether with this phone on that plan. Download the PC software from SE’s website to sync the phone to your Outlook or other contact list. Can sync with bluetooth or data usb cable (proprietary but only about $5 at many websites).

Then decide if you really want TV or XM radio on the phone. The TV is clips few of which are updated daily unless you subscribe, a few music videos etc. XM is a $9.95 subscription. MLB Game Day is also an subscription. If you don’t want these things (and will never buy anything from the ATT Media Mall), then spend $16 or so, and debrand the phone and uncover a gem.

Here’s a partial list of what you can gain:

1. GPS – I get accuracy to 10 meters, works best in car with charger attached, can drain battery in 2 hours or less. Must use 2007 NavTec Google Map app in firmware, newer Google won’t work as well. Locator Services can be left active and minimized so that Google will immediately know where you are. But do it connected to a charger! Also AmAze navigator (the version for the C702, I think) will work on the phone giving you turn by turn navigation for free. (don’t look at the phone while driving it’s too small)

2. TrackId is now free rather than a subscription. I don’t know why anyone would actually pay for this monthly. While I am sometimes curious as to what I’m hearing, I’m not paying $5/mo to find out one or two songs. TrackId works fine on music from classical to country to rap/hiphop, the most abstract techno/disco strangeness you can come up with, and on generic firmware it’s free.

3. Blogging from camera as a ’send to blog’ (Blogspot.com) uses email account and data plan.

4. RSS Desktop – has as many features as an iPhone’s. Auto scroll, configurable updates. easy to add RSS, when browsing the RSS symbol will pop up and using the left soft key, you can add it to the listing. Updates anywhere from every hour to once a week.

5. Podcasts (video and audio) I believe that it may be configurable by the rss feeds rather than the PC Suite sync method, at least my phone seems to update them. PC Suite method will load podcasts daily, and sync with your phone. Media Suite needs data cable (about $6 from other Amazon sellers).

6. Exchange ActiveSync without any shortcomings (as have been reported elsewhere), specific Exchange sync.

7. SyncML for everything else. There are reports of it working with MyLife/iLife.

8. Email push client – works with ANY pop or imap server, and can filter out unwanted domains, etc from the ‘push’– you can select domains to accept from. No applications to view attachments, but you could bluetooth or use cable to transfer to a PC/laptop.

9. Network Sharing function, phone can be part of office network via USB or Bluetooth

10. Choice between ‘GSM & 3G’ vs ‘GSM’ only is now unblocked, fixing the battery life issues. Even in combined mode, if the phone isn’t updating it will drop down to GSM/Edge when not actually using the web. You can also search networks and simply not chose the 3G ATT network too. You’ll need SE’s webite and tools to reconfigure internet, picture and SMS services if you debrand. Recent updates may not show the z750a, use the z750i. You can also configure ANY ISP’s email from their site (including Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, any so called ‘residential’ carrier like Comcast or Cablevision, etc (but not MSN/Hotmail), and multiple ones on the phone.

11. You won’t accidentally open a Internet browser when pressing the central button, it’s a Message Center button now. Other buttons and shortcuts are also rearranged in a more logical fashion, camera button changes to MediaNet browser and all the softkeys are configurable including the ring around the central button.

There’s OperaMini for this phone, Yahoo Go!, AmAze, etc.

FM radio needs antennae phone jack to work, but if you want to use your standard stereo headsets you’ll need it too, to connect with since ATT didn’t include the part. FWIW, ALL SE phones use the came cables and chargers, so if you have a prior SE phone that came with cables use those. The are a ton of profiles built into the phone including the latest Stereo Bluetooth profiles, Bluetooth remote controls, etc. I bought a HBH-DS980 the Bluetooth Stereo wireless to use with this phone. You can’t use it with FM radio, however.

Voice command controls only for/with handsfree units, allows multiple commands per contact, multiple phone numbers per contacts, multiple addresses per contact. Just like Outlook or any other full blown contact manager. Contacts can have own ringtone and photo. Naturally if you are using your SIM card to store you can only have ONE phone number per contact. Download SE’s software to get the sync software to put all your Outlook contacts into the phone.

I don’t like that it’s hard to find appointments and you have to view each day to see a list, rather than a consolidated list of the appointments in order. Tasks as nice, multiple alarm timers.

Generally its a very nice phone, battery issues aside. Better, IMHO, unbranded. (Oh, and it’s SE Java8 platform, so no MS Mobile here.)

3 Stars Not a great phone
Overall, I really don’t like this phone much. Besides the short battery life mentioned in the other reviews, I have other problems with the phone. Flipping the phone is very stiff and I find myself sometimes sending calls to voice mail because I pushed one of the buttons on the side of the phone trying to get it open. The cursor control in the center of the phone is very inaccurate. I find myself constantly pushing the wrong part of the cursor control and misfiring, for example creating voice messages when I’m trying to create text messages. Also, the text messaging is not easy. There’s no easy way to type the same letter twice without waiting the second or two until the key resets. Other phones use the single space to trigger the end of the wait without a space but this phone doesn’t. The display on the outside of the phone is cute but mostly it’s a gimmick to make the advertising pictures look nicer. When the phone is sitting on my desk, nothing is displayed and it’s easier to look at my watch then it is to find the tiny button on the side of the phone to make the time display. (Yes, the tiny button that I seem to always press when I’m trying to open the phone to answer a call.) It’s true that the display shows the incoming call but usually by the time I look at it, the scrolling is only showing the end of the number so I miss who is calling anyway. It would be better if the phone let you put in a short version for your contacts (like “Jack” or “Mom”) and only displayed that.

The camera does take decent pictures and the voice quality is good but if I could get a new phone it wouldn’t be this one.

4 Stars Mid level phone user’s phone
The Sony Ericsson has all the bells and whistles that a super cell phone user may have but it may not be the most convenient for them. I for one don’t use internet hardly ever. I know it has it but too be honest I would just get frustrated being on it. It’s the normal flip phone and if you basically just text and use it as a phone then it’s probably the perfect one for you. I do like the fm radio feature but its required you get their earphones (sold separately) to use it and its not so convenient to carry them around also.

The one complaint everyone has is the battery life. Don’t believe the description it gives. The main thing about battery life is the capacity measured in mAh. The more of those = the more battery life. I think it has 950 mAh so it’s basically the same as any other phone. I usually charge it every night. I usually can go 2 nights without a charge but if you use the phone a lot you’d probably only get 1.5 days of life. Other than that its a decent mid-range phone. No problems and no big complaints.

Buy/More Info

Motorola RAZR V3xx Gray Phone ATandT

Featuring the perfect blend of broadband-like speed, dynamic multimedia capabilities, and cutting-edge design, the MOTO RAZR V3xx offers the same iconic all-metal construction. But the V3xx is boosted with enhanced media capabilities as well as access to AT&T’s dual-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, which makes it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music’s partners Napster and eMusic and watch video streamed from CNN and Comedy Central via AT&T’s Cellular Video. The phone also features a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity for both communication headsets and stereo headphones, a hot-swappable MicroSD memory card slot (up to 4 GB), and access to your favorite instant messaging networks.

Enjoy fast Internet browsing, AT&T Music downloads, and streaming Cellular Video thanks to AT&T’s 3G network.

AT&T Service
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 UMTS 850/1900 network (also known as UMTS/HSDPA), 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 get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the go, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, 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.

This phone is also enabled with mSpot’s Make-UR-Tones application (subscription required), which allows you to easily create a ringtone from your favorite part of a song directly on your phone. To use the application, use the application’s search engine to select a song and then cut the part of the song you want to customize as their ringtone–up to 30 seconds–by using the easy-to-use waveform editor. Make-UR-Tones subscribers can enjoy exclusive access to more than 250,000 titles from music labels EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, INgrooves and IRIS.

The phone is also 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 it 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.

Note that if you want to enjoy the full audio and video capabilities of your UMTS phone, be sure to select a MEdia Max service plan option during checkout. If you do not sign up for a MEdia Max service plan option, you will be paying per KB when you use the over-the-air UMTS audio and video features on your phone (upwards of $10 per minute).

Ultra-compact at just 0.58 inches thin.

Phone Features
At 0.58 inches thick, the RAZR V3xx is virtually the same thickness as the original RAZR. And like the original RAZR, the phone’s design takes the standard clamshell form factor to the next level with an impressive, fully-anodized aluminum construction, and 60 MB of internal memory. A large 240 x 320 color display with over 262,000 colors dominates the inside of the top cover, while the outside cover of the handset sports a supplementary 96 x 80 full-color display that can display caller ID pictures, time, call information, battery and signal strength, and more. The integrated VGA and 1.30-megapixel digital camera is housed above this display. Use the VGA camera for live two-way video calls at up to 15 frames per second. Up/down buttons are placed on the left side for volume control, as well as the camera button and mini-USB port.

Most of the phone’s features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset’s backlit control pad, which is precision cut from a single sheet of nickel-plated copper alloy. A mini-USB port is provided, which, while useful for fast data transfer, can also be used with compatible USB stereo headsets. Note that the phone does not have a standard 2.5mm headset jack. Lastly, a charging port is placed on the bottom of the phone, and an unobtrusive internal antenna is safely tucked away, keeping the phone’s design compact and portable.

The RAZR V3xx’s internal phone book can hold up to 1000 contacts while the phone’s picture ID system allows you to assign pictures to your most common callers. The phone also supports polyphonic ringtones as well as MP3 ringers, allowing you to use portions of your favorite songs to alert you to incoming calls. For times when you want to be discreet, there’s a vibrating alert. A built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear while voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names. Speaker-independent technology allows any speaker to dial numbers with the voice dialing system. And because the RAZR V3xx is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets for calling, and even wireless stereo headsets for music can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.

The RAZR V3xx is a messaging and wireless Internet powerhouse. With the 3G HSDPA technology, the RAZR V3xx delivers broadband-like speeds for downloading, Web browsing, and data exchange. Support is built in for sending and receiving pictures, text, graphics, sound and video via messages. When used in combination with the phone’s built-in still and video camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. iTap text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit–a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

There’s also a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. Getting on the Internet is easy with the V3xx. When used with a AT&T data plan and the phone’s Bluetooth or USB data capability, the phone can be used as a wireless modem for laptops and PDAs.

The RAZR V3xx’s integrated 1.3-megapixel camera includes an 8x digital zoom and offers a choice of capturing digital stills in four resolution settings. Other features include settings for six lighting conditions, seven color effects, self timer, and multiple shutter sounds (including silent option). You can also record video up to VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels). Clips for sending via MMS are capped at 16 seconds, while you can let the video record as long as you have space available on your optional MicroSD memory card for saving to your PC.

A number of handy software tools are bundled with the V3xx including a calculator with currency converter, a calendar and an alarm clock. The phone can also be used with Motorola’s Mobile Phone Tools PC application to manage and synchronize contacts, calendar and other data with your PC. The phone also sports an airplane mode feature, which allows the user to safely use the non-wireless functions of a phone (such as music, games, or organizer functions) on an airplane during flight.

Other features include:

• Memory expansion: MicroSD (up to 4 GB)
• Instant messaging via AIM, MSN Live Messenger, and Yahoo!
• Flight mode: allows you to safely use the non-wireless functions of a phone (such as music, games, or organizer functions) on an airplane during flight.
• Music formats: AAC, AAC+, AMR, MP3, WAV, WMA-DRM
• Ringtone formats: AAC, AAC+, AMR NB, WAV, MP3
• PIM tools: Calendar, calculator, currency converter, alarm clock
• Bluetooth profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BIP (for sending images to another device), BPP (basic printing profile for text, email), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures)

Vital Statistics
The Motorola RAZR V3xx weighs 3.83 ounces and measures 4.05 x 2.08 x 0.58 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 330 hours of digital standby time. It features UMTS with HSDPA capability, and runs on the 850/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 850/1900 UMTS/HSDPA frequencies.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Better than what these others are saying!!
I’m only writing this to disagree with the other reviewers. I have had my V3xx for about 7 months and happen to like it very much. Hi res internal display. LOUD ring and earpiece volume. It is a 3G phone so calls are good and data speeds are very fast. The battery life is NOT as good as my other Nokias and Samsungs BUT it is MUCH better than previous versions of the Razr phones.

I rarely get dropped calls and no one has EVER complained about sound quality on the phone.

Quality is no problem. My 17 year old son has the same phone. He has dropped it a few times with no problems, and he text messages about 2000 times monthly. He has had no keyboard problems at all.

Don’t get me wrong, this phone is not the best out there, but it is a very good phone that I would get again.

5 Stars Good slim phone!
I must say, this phone has been pretty good to me. The phone is not as fragile as the supposedly breakable older versions of the razr. It does scratch up pretty bad, but for a slim phone, it does the job. I would not recommend surfing the internet or texting as this phone is NOT designed for it, but I don’t text and I don’t like to wait 30 seconds to load web pages. If you need a phone for talking and don’t plan on doing much else, this is the phone to get. It has bluetooth, so you can get a wireless headset to use with it. I like the phone, but now I am looking into an iphone.

Good starter phone at least! Battery life is fine as well, just charge twice per week if you have it on all the time and talk 30-60 minutes a day.

4 Stars Better than most are are saying!!
Unlike some reviewers, I feel the V3xx is a much improved phone from Motorola. Having owned several phones in the 20 years I’ve used cell phones. I’ve had most all the brands at some point including the original V3.I find vast improvements in all aspects of the V3xx, from enhanced intuitive & learning predictive text to better battery life to the bigger, clearer display to the improved more durable keypad to the micro SD slot[up to 2gb's for storage]. In my mind it’s a better phone than the V9 Razr2, being smaller but having the same size main display and feaures.[it would've been $100 more b/c I wasn't a new AT&T customer also]Even the streaming video is steady and clear like a BlackJackII or Blackberry, just a bit small for regular constant use.

Averaging over 2000 text msg’s, about 45 mins of web browsing, a few hundred phone minutes plus use the PDA like features regularly every month. But, seldom do I need to charge my battery more than once every other day. The big problem people have with shorter battery life is their failure to fully charge the batter before use, recharging it before it’s nearly discharged and using cheap chargers that overcharge and/or heat the battery causing poor performance and shorter life. Also, batteries will have gradually faster discharges over time and generally should be replaced after a year or so if used constantly. I’ve already bought a spare OEM battery through Amazon for under $6.00. As far as durability, I’m harder on stuff including phones than most folks, and have found that hard plastic or metal snap on covers work wonders at protecting a phone for less than $10.00 as well.

Don’t discount the V3xx when looking at phones. It may not be the best, but is at the top of the list of dependable full featured phones out there with easily obtained and reasonably priced accessories, regardless of the carrier you use.

4 Stars whos kiddin who?
I have had my V3xx for over a year and have had great service with it. I live in a rural area so occasionally the bars go down in my house so I just go somewhere else in the house. I have no problems talking on it for an hour at a time when it isn’t fully charged. No battery problems here, only charge it once or twice a week and it is always ON!! My only complaint is that the instruction manual doesn’t cover a lot of the features.

2 Stars Buyer beware…
Sadly, the phone does not live up to its expectations. Battery charge-life is VERY short, so be near a recharging source if you actually decide to talk to someone on this phone. However, you might find that talking on the phone is not all that great–the person you’re speaking to won’t hear you very well! I’ve had several people comment that I sound very far away when I talk to them. Half the time the phone doesn’t ring when someone is calling. I have had AT&T service for years (even for the period when they were Cingular) and did not have this problem with my other phone (Nokia). Pass this one up…

Buy/More Info

Samsung A737 Red Phone ATandT

Joining its clamshell A717 and candybar A727 cell phone brethren, Samsung and AT&T introduce the A737 in a compact slider format. Like its predecessors, the A737 can access AT&T’s dual-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, which makes it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music, stream tunes from Napster and eMusic, and watch video streamed from CNN and Comedy Central via AT&T’s Cellular Video. It also supports AT&T’s Video Share service, which offers a one-way video stream during a mobile-to-mobile phone call. Other features include a 1.3-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities, Bluetooth connectivity with stereo music streaming, compatibility with popular instant messaging services, and MicroSD memory card expansion.

Enjoy fast 3G multimedia streaming capabilities on the slim slider Samsung A737.

AT&T Service
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 UMTS 850/1900 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.

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 also 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.

Phone Features
The A737 has a bright color TFT display that offers a 176 x 220-pixel resolution (with 262K colors). It has a 50 MB internal flash memory, and is expandable via MicroSD memory cards. The 1.3-megapixel camera can capture images up to 1280 x 1024 pixels, and it also offers a 2.6x digital zoom, multi-shot capability, and self-timer. You can also capture video clips up to 1 hour in length at 15 fps (frames per second). The integrated digital audio player is compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC and AAC+ formats.

Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 1.2), which includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and object push (OPP) for sending images and virtual business cards to other Bluetooth-enabled devices. 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.

In addition to voice calls, text messaging, and MMS capability, the phone also ships with a built-in email client with support for POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 protocols (as well as the ability to view attachments such as PDFs and Word documents). You can also connect via instant messaging (IM) services such as Windows Live, Yahoo!, and AOL. T9 predictive 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. The A737 also comes stock with a built-in WAP 2.0 web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing via MEdia Net. Other features include:

• 50 MB internal flash memory, with MicroSD expansion
• Up to 1000 phonebook contacts, each with up to 5 numbers and 2 email addresses per contact
• USB 2.0 wired connectivity with mass storage capability
• 64-chord polyphonic ringtones and MP3 ringtones (with support for WMA and AAC)
• Voice memo recording up to 1 hour in length
• Hearing aid compatibility: T4/M4 rating
• TTY compatibility
• Java support for applications and games
• Personal organizer (calendar, calculator, alarm)

Vital Statistics
The Samsung A737 weighs 3.16 ounces and measures 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.6 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.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star This phone is horrible
Do not buy this phone. I have only had this phone for 4 months and the LCD screen is damaged. I carry my phone in a case so I believe the phone itself is defected. I can not see any numbers or text messages. I have used cell phones for years. This is the first time this has ever happened.

5 Stars Better than expected -
I had really good luck with my Razr so was a little skeptical about making a change; however, I’m really glad I did. We live out of town and I’ve not had any problem with reception or losing calls. I love the feel of this phone – I like a substantial feeling phone and this one works great for me without being bulky. The battery has been fine, although, I’m not a big texter nor do I use it for email or the internet, so I can’t comment on how long it would last if those areas were utilized. I may have to charge it every 3-4 days and that’s only if I keep it turned on. I also haven’t had any problem with fingerprints. All in all, I’m loving this phone.

2 Stars Lost Mind
Poor phone. Why I bought this phone, I do not know. I must have been out of my mind. Was dis-satified from the word go. I gave it to my son-in-law; he kept it for about three weeks and gave it back. It was so bad it’s now lying in the box. Buyer beware.

5 Stars Best “non-smartphone” out there..
I have had this phone for over a year. So believe me when I say this is the best “non-smartphone” out there. If you’re looking for a phone that is easy to use and looks good, then this is the phone you need. The slider is also a plus. I have dropped this phone countless times, and would have expected it to tear up by now. (My phones usually don’t last more than one year). But this one has stood the test of time! My husband also has this same phone in orange, and he is rougher with his phones than me. His also has never given him any trouble and is still working great. Love this phone!

2 Stars Satisfactory phone, poor mp3 player
I chose this phone hoping to carry one less device, by installing a 4GB Micro SD chip and using it as an mp3 player.

OVERALL RATING 2 stars (average of my phone and mp3 ratings)

A737 AS A PHONE: 3 stars.

As phones go, it is good enough. Other reviews complain about durability and battery life. So far mine is not broken, and I agree that the battery life is short. That will put me in the habit of leaving it connected to the computer overnight to recharge (using a USB cable). It’s nice to be able to charge it from USB rather than carry an AC charger when traveling. Indoor use is better than my previous phone (Sony Ericsson T610), which did not work well in my home.

A useful feature that is not listed in the manual is “AIRPLANE” mode: it disables connection to the network, so that you can use the device on an airplane, for example to play mp3s or backup the phone’s address book to your laptop.

I don’t have the data plan. If you’re going to pay the exhorbitant monthly fee for data, you should get a smart phone that makes better use of it.

Many features that require a data plan clog up the interface even when you don’t have a data plan. For example, if you press the AT&T logo (select button), it pauses, says the connection failed. You then have to press OK, then Back, then confirm that you want to exit from the browser, 3 different button presses just to cancel the unavailable feature. This button is prominent on the phone and I had to learn NOT to press it from the main screen. I wish that the phone knew or learned it had no data plan, and kept data-dependent features from getting in the way.

On the other hand, there is a convenient configurable menu on another button from which you can select the features you actually use. That does soften my complaints in the previous paragraph – except for the AT&T logo button starting the browser.

A737 AS AN MP3 PLAYER: 1 star

As mp3 players go, it’s nearly unusable.

I have a nice pair of standard earbuds (Koss “Plug”) plugged in through an adapter, and they sound decent when the music is playing, but not as good as on my inexpensive but old Creative Zen Nano Plus mp3 player.

There is a LOUD *POP* at the beginning and end of each songs – that means two loud pops between tracks. It usually cuts off the first half-second of the song. Every time I push buttons to navigate the menus on the phone, there is the same LOUD *POP*. Between songs, there is a pause – sometimes short, sometimes long, and sometimes it is stuck until I push some buttons.

The volume control has only 5 steps over a wide range from too quiet to too loud. I have to use step 4 even though it is louder than I prefer, because step 3 is much too quiet.

I would like to play songs in a Music folder in the order they appear when sorted (my songs include a track number), as I can do with my Zen, so I can play an album in its intended order, or arbitrary mp3s in an order I have chosen. The only way to do that is to create a playlist for each folder. Without a playlist, you can play by Album and by Artist only.

I was hopeful when I saw that I could rate each song as it was playing, but this feature is useless. I played two hours worth of songs and rated each of them. The ratings are available on the phone, but I can’t transfer the ratings back to my mp3 library with any of the three mp3 transfer mechanisms – Windows Media Player, the included Multimedia Manager (which has a column for displaying the rating but apparently no way to set it), or the mass storage USB setting using File Manager copy.

The battery life for playing music is poor: perhaps 3 hours, about the same as talking on the phone. If you play a lot of music on a flight, you won’t be able to use the phone when you land.

MISC COMMENTS

The phone came with a charger and nothing else. I had to buy adapters to connect to USB (to charge, and to transfer data), and to use standard 2.5mm (1/8″) stereo headphones. You will probably want to buy a lot of accessories to make the phone practical. They would be cheap except there is high postage, and no one seller has them all.

Contrary to some reviews on Amazon, I CAN use 4GB Micro SD chip in this phone; the Kingston chip works fine.

The 1 megapixel camera will sometimes come in handy when I don’t have my real camera with me. The quality is on par for mobile phones, but not comparable to using a dedicated camera.

The AT&T plan I have includes SMS text messages. People can message me by emailing 10-digit-phone-number@txt.att.net, which is convenient, but I cannot reply to them without a data plan, except using SMS to their phone.

The alarm clock and address book applications are fine. The included PC software works, albeit with a non-intuitive interface and text and help file written by someone who does not know English very well. The Multimedia Manager takes much too long (average 2 minutes each) to transfer mp3 files to or from the phone.

The three included USB modes support the Samsung PC software, Windows Media Player protocol, and accessing the MicroSD (if present) like a USB memory stick. There is a choice to “ask me when connecting” – but it greys out all but the Samsung PC software, so this setting is useless.

SUMMARY

The phone is ok for basic phone features. With the exhorbitant price of data plans, if you’re going to pay that much monthly, you should invest in a phone that can make better use of the data features. The crippling problems in the MP3 player render it nearly unusable for that purpose.

Buy/More Info

Samsung BlackJack II Phone Black ATandT

The successor to the original, highly popular Blackjack smartphone, the Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-I617) retains the thin, lightweight design, QWERTY keyboard, and large screen from its predecessor while adding the power of the Windows Mobile 6 operating system, integrated GPS, and upping image capture quality to 2.0 megapixels. It can access AT&T’s tri-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, which makes it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music, stream tunes from Napster and eMusic, and watch video streamed from CNN and Comedy Central via AT&T’s Cellular Video. It also supports AT&T’s Video Share service, which offers a one-way video stream during a mobile-to-mobile phone call.

The Windows Mobile 6 Professional operating system offers a familiar office experience and the ability to read and edit in applications such as Word or Excel as well as review Powerpoint presentations. You can also receive Outlook email and update your contacts and calendar on the go. Other features include quad-band global connectivity. And you’ll be able to get to where you’re going fast with the integrated GPS receiver and support for TeleNav GPS Navigator software. Other features include Bluetooth connectivity for headsets and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion, speakerphone, instant messaging, and simultaneous voice and data capabilities.

The easily pocketable, ultra-thin Samsung Blackjack II measures just 0.4 inches and weighs 3.52 ounces.

AT&T Service
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 tri-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100 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.

With the power of Windows Mobile 6, you can easily stay in contact via email as well as edit Word and Excel documents.

Phone Features
Glossier than its predecessor, the Samsung BlackJack II impresses immediately with its striking looks, thin frame, and larger 2.4-inch LCD screen (320 x 240 pixels, 65K colors). The Samsung BlackJack II makes every aspect of your life look easy. The full QWERTY keypad gives you every letter at a touch. And the Jog Wheel lets you quickly access, scroll through and select whatever you’re searching for.

With Windows Mobile 6, the BlackJack II brings a powerful personal computer experience to the small screen. The BlackJack II helps you keep track of schedules and contacts through Outlook Mobile, browse the Internet by using Internet Explorer Mobile, as well as manage Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents using Office Mobile. Windows Mobile 6 also supports HTML e-mail so that you can view and compose e-mail messages in their native format with live links to Web sites, support for images, tables and bullets.

BlackJack II will be among the first Windows Mobile 6 devices from AT&T to support Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, which offers companies an end-to-end solution for managing and securing Windows Mobile devices. Employees will also have access to company information and a line of business applications from a single, secure place behind the firewall by using a cutting-edge Mobile Virtual Private Network (VPN).

In addition to a robust feature set, BlackJack II provides access to multiple e-mail accounts, both personal and business, through Microsoft Direct Push technology with Outlook Mobile and AT&T Xpress Mail, which includes most major POP3/IMAP providers. The BlackJack II also offers over-the-air synchronization of contacts, calendar and task lists with Microsoft Exchange Server or AT&T Xpress Mail.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for mono and stereo headset, handsfree, dial-up networking, object push, file transfer, and basic print. 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. It also offers USB 2.0 wired connectivity and USB mass storage capability.

Other features include:

• Memory expansion via MicroSD cards up to 4 GB
• PIM tools: Calendar, clock, world time, alarm, currency converter, unit converter, calculator, stopwatch
• Instant messaging via AOL, Windows Live, Yahoo!
• Hands-free loudspeaker and microphone
• Fast loading HTML browser; RSS reader
• 2.0-megapixel camera with 4x zoom and multi-shot capability
• 256 MB ROM / 128 MB RAM

Vital Statistics
The Samsung Blackjack II weighs 3.52 ounces and measures 4.4 x 2.3 x. 0.4 inches. Its 1700 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 7 hours of talk time, and up to 14 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as 850/1900/2100 WCDMA (3G) frequencies.

Powered by Windows Mobile 6

Windows Mobile 6 adds power to your mobile office with up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars.

Edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets on your phone, just as you would on your desktop/laptop PC.

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file. This device runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional, which is designed for smartphones with touchscreens

With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC’s Microsoft Office suite. You’ll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting–without affecting tables, images or text–as well as view PowerPoint presentations.

• Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
• With Excel Mobile, you’re not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
• PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
• After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Too many bugs
The Samsung Blackjack is a great example of how, the more complicated the phone, the more prone it is to bugs. I am on my second warranty replacement phone and am still having problems. Basically, the phone feature itself is prone to “crashing” (for lack of a better term). What I mean by that is that the phone stops working and you can’t send and receive calls. The only way you know that this is happening is when you try to make calls and the phone just says “Dailing…”. This is not a service issue since the phone doesn’t start working once in a coverage area. Basically, the phone feature just goes dead. From what I’ve seen, this can be remedied by turning the phone off and restarting so this strikes me as a software issue (BTW – I’ve had the SIMcard replaced as well but still have the same issues). The other issue that I’ve had with teh Blackjack is that sometimes, after I receive a voicemail and check it, the voicemail notification does NOT go off. Even when I restart the phone, it does not go off. It only goes off when I get another VM and check it again.

In short, the Blackjack, while good on paper, is a disaster in actuality. If you’re looking for a reliable phone, I’d say stay away.

1 Star regretable purchase
I have had this phone since last October with ATT service.

The telephone is a piece of junk. It has weird things happen, such as tonight when it erased all of my calendar (one of the major reasons I bought it). A couple of weeks ago I had some alarms set and the only way that I could stop an alarm was by taking the battery out of the thing! Apparently I had overloaded it by using the features that are on the phone and I don’t even have it connected to the Internet.

And this is in addition to the menus, etc., being awkward at best, confusing at times, and often simply impossible to decipher and use.

I have called Samsung to try to report this, but the automated answering service just hangs up.

If you are foolish enough to buy this phone, watch out for the service plan, since the only way that I can get this piece of useless electronics replaced now is to buy a new one at retail.

At this point my plan is to buy a new one, let my plan with ATT expire and make sure that I never have anything to do with either company again.

1 Star Any other phone would be better
I’ve had this phone for less than a year and I can say that, without a doubt, this is the least user-friendly and least durable phone I have ever owned. The Windows OS is impossible to manage effectively and the build of the phone itself cannot withstand even minor drops from the pocket.

I would never recommend this phone to anyone.

3 Stars Weak battery is offset with other features
I switched to the Blackjack 2 last summer after owning a very simple LG phone for 3 years. I wanted to remotely surf the web easier and found that the text interface was simpler to use than the Iphone, for me at least. The character limit per message is somewhat annoying especially for the heavy texters who have to shorten every other word just for a sentence to have clear meaning. The battery is the number one problem with this phone. If you leave the web broswer open for an extended period of time or surf graphically intense sites it can drain extremely fast if you don’t turn off the 3G speed. Also the RSS Reader is great for regular updates from news sites. But after a few months the RSS feeds for several sites no longer would update as often as they should or we’re just dead links. Video playblack also will naturally drain the battery and the sound picture quality is rather poor but this is to expected from a cellphone since isn’t designed to be a multimedia powerhouse. Flash enabled sites are also difficult to load and I even tried loading several Adobe Flash apps that claim to work with these sites, however they were never successful. Another thing that I noticed is the inability to load some sites that used outdated HTML frames script. I could browse these sites easily on my previous phone but after making the upgrade, I can no longer access them. Samsung also has disabled Internet tethering on this model, meaning that it can no longer be used as a modem to connect your laptop to surf the web.

Playing cellphone games on the Blackjack 2 is also problematic as part of the control scheme uses the scroll wheel and not a traditional controller setup that can be emulated with a regular cell phone key configuration.

Its a nice phone for browsing low graphic news sites, and even allows me to post on some web forums something my previous phone could not achieve. The Opera browser works a fair amount of time but high graphic intensive sites hunkers down the phone and makes it very slow. Turning off images using a toggle or hot key would have been nice rather than having to press the right button every time. It also slows down the phone and makes it extremely tiresome to use. Reading on the small screen with extremely small font sized is also a burden to deal with. Even sent to the largest sized text, some sites still show tiny letters. Typing in text boxes is hit or miss depending on how fast the site loads. Try and type in the middle of loading and chances are you will make a mistake in you’re entry. Turning off 3G speed helps the battery but single 3G is equivalent to dialup speeds. You become so used to fast DSL connections making the transition is a lot harder than it seems. The luxury to occasionally view Youtube videos is nice but the weak battery drains fast also when using the camera to record video. Leave the camera on by accident and again pay the price with a much faster reduction in battery power. I found the Windows software to connect to your laptop to be easy to use. But when playing back video in Vista it came out choppy videos and copying the pictures taken with the camera to my local hard drive was rather useless as the software caused my laptop to blue screen and crash several times.

Streaming radio is enabled for for various sites but again the weak battery will drain unless you are listening connected to an external AC dapter which defeats the purpose of listening on the go. While sound quality for streaming radio is clear, MP3’s saved on the phone is scratchy and almost unlistenable. The inferior sound quality also applies to Youtube videos and the various “streaming TV” services that are offered on a pay-per-view basis. The phone also has a tendency to get extremely warm when its expending too much memory doing memory intensive tasks for Internet Explorer, video, and streaming radio.

The Blackjack extended battery is replaced about every 5 months but when it goes out it usually does without warning. On my second battery replacement I tried charging the phone as usual and got a yellow warning light which indicates abnormal charging or battery replacement. The battery can’t be easily obtained in store at any brick and mortar AT&T Wireless location and has to be ordered online. This is problematic because you have to deal with the delays in shipping. Imagine waiting on a battery to arrive in a week and not having to access work or personal contacts. You are dead in the water.

Finally, the most important and basic feature was dialing using the keypad. Having to press and hold the Fn key every time to input a number can be somewhat inconvenient. Especially when other phones just require a simple touch of a button and not multiple functions to accomplish such a simple task. As a result, I found it difficult dialing a number quickly without saving it first. This can be a minor inconvenience but once you get the hang of the keypad it is easily overlooked.

1 Star Customer satisfaction…?
I bought the blackjack 2 earlier this year, around January. The first one I received was a dud, and luckily I figured it out within the first 30 days. I believe that the problem it was having was the inability to pick up a signal, and it kept freezing over and over on me. So, I returned it to the at&t authorized dealer that i bought it from, and they sent a new one out. That is the one I still have.

Several months later, the phone starts to act up. losing signal strength, yet the phone still working fine. And then sometimes I’d have full strength, yet it just wouldn’t make an outgoing call. Then it would be fine for a couple of days. Then it started dropping my calls. There were 3 prominent days I remember where I couldnt receive or make a call that lasted over 25 seconds. I even was able to look at the call duration and tell the other person on the line that in 5 seconds, the call was going to be dropped…and it did. After this happening 3 different sporadic days, for the entire day, i decided to call samsung.

Samsung told me to send in the phone and they would fix it. I told them good luck, that the phone wasn’t having a constant problem. So chances were that I was going to send it in, and they would test it out, it would be fine, and they would send it right back saying that there was nothing wrong with it. I figured that they would just send me a new phone, like most all of other companies do. But they told me that they dont give out new phones as warranty replacements. So, I sent it in. And guess what happened…

they didnt do anything, and sent it back, problems and all.

So I waited, and the problems started getting worse, reoccurring more often, and the battery life started diminishing before my eyes. I got so bad, that my girlfriend thought that I was ignoring her for several days bc not only would my calls not ring on her phone, but the texts I sent wouldnt show up either. And same with her. She said that she would call, it would ring and ring, and then go to my voice mail. but my phone never made a sound.

Now, to prove that this wasnt a carrier problem, I had taken my sim card out, and put in in an older phone that I still had, by nokia actually. I did this everytime that the problems started getting too annoying to deal with, and to prove to myself that it was the blackjack, not at&t. I had been doing this since the beginning, since the first blackjack that I received. And everytime i switched to the nokia, I had perfect reception, every message came through and went through within seconds. Obviously, a problem with the blackjack.

So, recently I called samsung again, told them the entire story, and they gave me the same lame deal. “Send the phone in”, so I did. but this time, I sent it in with a letter, hoping that somewhere in corporate, they would make an exception to their “no new phone replacement” policy being that this phone really was a lemon. In the letter, I said that I was aware of a law called the “lemon law”. If u have to service anything more than so many dollars worth of labor and parts within the first year of owning it, then by law the company must give you a new product. My brother invoked this to Scion with his TC, and to avoid it, they installed a whole new transmission, and motor in his car.

Samsung took their time fixing my phone. And when I got it back, they had included details of what they “claimed was the problem”. It had water damage and physical abuse. And no longer was in warranty. If ever I’ve seen covering your own bottom, THIS was IT. If it had water damage and the such, why hadnt they been able to see it when I first sent in the phone? Hmmmmmm? odd isnt it?

So my final question to you…Is customer satisfaction high on your priorities? Because it isnt on samsung’s.

Buy/More Info

Samsung Access Mobile TV Phone ATandT

The sophisticated and sleek Samsung Access for AT&T features a brilliantly colorful 2.3-inch screen that provides excellent viewing of AT&T’s new Mobile TV offering, which allows you to watch TV-quality programming from Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox, NBC, and more. This quad-band GSM phone also runs on AT&T’s dual-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, making it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music’s partners Napster and eMusic. It also features a 1.3-megapixel camera that can be used with AT&T’s Video Share service, Bluetooth connectivity for communication headsets and stereo music streaming, microSD memory expansion (up to 4 GB), access to email and instant messaging, and up to 4 hours of talk time.

The large, crisp 2.3-inch landscape display is ideal for viewing multimedia content and the Access provides exceptional AT&T Mobile TV reception.

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.)

You get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the go, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, 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.

Note that if you want to enjoy the full audio and video capabilities of your UMTS phone, be sure to select a MEdia Max service plan option during checkout. If you do not sign up for a MEdia Max service plan option, you will be paying per KB when you use the over-the-air UMTS audio and video features on your phone (upwards of $10 per minute).

AT&T Mobile TV
AT&T Mobile TV with FLO is a revolutionary video service that delivers full-length television content and sporting events from top networks to your phone while you’re on the go. Joining with MediaFLO USA’s award-winning FLO TV service, AT&T Mobile TV with FLO provides an intuitive program guide that makes it easy to flip from one channel to the next. The service includes more than 150 simulcast and/or time-shifted programs, as well as live sports events, from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon. Additionally, the Mobile TV service includes two channels exclusive to AT&T users:

• PIX, from Sony Pictures Television, offers a variety of contemporary films, including comedies, cult classics, action films and family favorites from the studio’s vast library.
• CNN Mobile Live provides users with access to 24 hours of breaking news with live streaming anchored coverage from CNN.com Live as well as CNN’s most popular programs, including American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN Election Center, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360?/em>, and CNN International.