Saturday, March 21, 2009

new phone

This is my new phone (except the real color is closer to yellow than green, so I've dubbed it the Bananaphone):


It's a Samsung A737. So far, it's been okay. I'm not really a hardXcore phone user, and after all, the phone did come free with our new contract, so my expectations are not super high.

The good:
  • Plenty of storage space for pics, ringtones, etc. At least compared with my old phone, which was a Nokia 6133.
  • Clear call and music quality - so far. (I'm wary of the phone honeymoon period, because it's all downhill from there.)
  • Slider design is simple - no need to lock/unlock phone, just need to open/close it.
  • 3G web browser isn't *fast* per se, but substantially better than my old phone again.
  • A lot of cool display options for dialing numbers. Too bad I rarely dial numbers, because I save them all on my phone.
  • Although I had to download this, at least the phone supports Gmail's app. Makes checking my e-mail way easier.
What annoys the hell out of me:
  • The keys are hard to press if you haven't cut your nails in a while. Which reminds me, I need to do that.
  • You can't re-order the options menu, you can only delete and replace the options, so if I wanted to move one option to the bottom, I'd have to redo my entire list.
  • It took me forever to figure out how to use T9 typing in the web browser, because the manual was wrong. You don't press the globe key. Press and hold *.
  • There's no voice activated dialing.
  • The battery gets really hot whenever I use the internet. Doesn't matter if I'm on for just 30 seconds - once I hit the globe key, my hand instantly catches on fire.
  • Battery life isn't that great. It will stay charged forever if you don't use the phone, but who the hell gets a phone to just sit around and not use? It can withstand maybe 3 hours of web browsing before it goes to low battery.
  • The "Tasks" tool is completely separate from the "Calendar" tool, and afaik there's no way to import between the two.
Oh well, all I wanted was a phone that 1. works and 2. (optional) connects to the internet, and that's what I have, so I can't complain too much. Next step: getting a bluetooth dongle (that's such a funny word) for my laptop, so it can "talk" with my phone. Btw, my dad got an iPhone, and my mom and sister got Samsung Propels.

1 comment:

  1. Looks like a pretty functional phone, overall. My phone has similar battery issues whenever I try to do anything regarding the Internet on it. :'c!!

    I use this phone:
    Palm Centro
    http://digital-lifestyles.info/copy_images/palm-centro-europe-lg.jpg

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