Samsung SYNC SGH-A707
Phone Scoop Review
Dec 28, 2006 by Eric Lin
Our in depth review of Cingular's slimmest 3G phone yet. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Mixed Feelings
This is a great phone if you want cool features. What sucks is you have to pay about $40 extra to use those cool features. What I mean is you have to buy the media package which includes the USB, headphones (which you don't really need because the music plays through the speakers) and the computer program. Other than that, the phone sucks. I'm on my second one since June. The only reason I haven't tried to get a 3rd replacement is because I haven't had time to deal with it yet. It drops calls like no other phone I have ever had. It drops a call almost every single time I talk on it. I hate it. And it seems that every time I run into someone with the same phone they say the exact same thing. I don't know if it is because Cingular has switched to AT&T, and maybe it's the service rather than the phone or what, but it's very annoying and I certainly will not be able to keep this phone much longer with it dropping calls like this. I had a Nokia 3160 for almost 2 years and I don't think it ever dropped even one call. Anyway, here are the PRO's and CON's of the Samsung SYNC.
PROS:
1. Has a music player and the music sounds great.
2. Takes good pictures.
3. Allows for a memory card.
4. Has a LOT of memory, without needing the memory card.
5. Speakerphone is pretty good.
6. Looks nice. Very sleek.
CONS:
1. Have to pay extra to be able to use music player features
2. Cannot use purchased ringtones as alarm tones or text message tones. (VERY annoying!)
3. I don't like the flat keypad.
4. Battery is not the greatest.
5. Place to insert the battery charger is a little awkward and annoying.
6. Is not easily opened one handed.
7. And last but CERTAINLY not least, it drops calls like CRAZY! And when it drops them, it loses all service for at least 3 minutes. It doesn't die, it just loses service.
I would seriously look into purchasing a different phone. There has got to be one out there with the same cool features, but you can actually talk on it.
overall ok
Overall I think that this phone is ok. It is not one of the best phones I've ever had though. My short list of Cons include a poor screen quality. It has a 2 mega-pixel camera but what good is that when the screen quality is so poor that your pictures still look all blurry. The predictive text is not the best I've had and I like the T9 on Motorola phones a lot better. Call volume is ok but it is sometimes hard to hear during a call. I've also had to get a replacement unit due to the screen going out on the phone.
SYNC a707
The new Samsung SYNC (a707) from AT&T could be the greatest phone that I have ever owned. I go through 1-2 phones per year and just love them. The SYNC has many great features and are very easy to use and understand. I have had this phone a while and have found everything great about it. My favorite thing about the SYNC is that it is very easy to hear which is also apparent in all Samsung phones which is great. I think the only bad thing about the SYNC is that it is very easy to launch an internet browser which is accidental ofcorse and can get very expensive with AT&T's prices if you do not have a MEdia package and if you do it often. I would not or will not be changing phones until the SYNC is discontinued or my contract runs out and there is a better phone to get. In simplest terms I would highly recommend getting a Samsung SYNC (a707) when you are in the market.
Samsung Sync A707
I had a nokia 6230, very reliable, clear, trouble free and good battery life, however the phone after many hazards, falls, and bangs finally ended up in the washer....
I needed a phone immediately and bought the sync a707. What caught my eye was the nice looks and beautiful screen along with the larger buttons and numbers on the screen when dialing...(starting to use reading glasses) I used it for 2 days, bought everything for it, just wonder why it didnt come with the music connectivity?
the PROS were:
nice design
very good camera
great screen
good key lay out
decent connectivity in fringed areas
the CONS
Battery life dismal half down in 1 day and less than 30 minutes of talk time!
could not get software to sink
ring tones limited and were no very good
could not open one handed easily
although clear was not loud enough for me
and a little large and bulky for one hand
after opening.
Over all was a decent phone but found both the sony ericssons w300i and w810i better phones better conectivity, more compact, and a huge amount of battery life and talk time in comparison. I traded in the a707 for the W810i, and received the W300i for warranty from my nokia. I'm very pleased with both.
READ BEFORE you buy it....
This phone has everything and more. For the price it is unbeatable with functions!
However (cons):
1)phone is butt ugly.... seems larger than it is!
2)It's hard to open with one hand. Major pet peeve I have just aquired. Can't flip it open with your thumb must use two fingures, really a pain.
3)Connections are Samsung and not the norm. That means you have to pay for the USB cable, come on. Pay for head phones, get real. Severe let down.
4) NO FLASH... come on samsung....
Those are the only major Cons, but believe me, they become more annoying everyday. As much as I like the functionality I can NOT live with these short comings. Did I mention the phone is ugly?
Pros:
1) Killer screen
2) good camera
3) good EXTRA features
4) speedy menus and Internet
I would of rated it higher a couple days ago, but I become more annoyed with it every day. Ugly, hard to open, can't use mini USB cables, no flash. These would have been easy fixes. Severe oversight on behalf of Samsung. The reception and signal strength are good. Not great but good.
Bright Clear Display
I was considering W810i, CU500, and SYNC. After looking at the display, I could not ignore SYNC.
Pros:
Internal (main) Display.
MP3 Player.
Button Layout.
Awesome camera.
Cons:
Can't assign different ring-tones to different callers.
Software lag.
External display is kinda small.
No data cable included
Easly falls apart
This phone is a lemon. I have upgraded my phone to the Samsung Sync and only had this phone for one week and the front face plate came apart. I can not see what the time is, I can not read my caller ID, and I can not cycle through my songs to listen to them since the front face plate fail apart on this phone.
Cingular will not replace it either. They said that my phone has no warranty for replacement and I only had this phone for a week and it fail apart.
I am stuck with a phone that only lasted a week and stuck in a 2 year contract.
This phone is a flat out lemon.
Since I had this phone I notice this phone is very light and is nothing but a piece of plastic. If you are an accident prone person I assure you one drop of this phone and this phone is gone, I wouldn't even trust to carry in a coat pocket for if you ever lean against it by accident, or just happen to throw it in your purse it will probably not have a long life.
All in all the colors on the sync is beautiful. The phone will dazzle you when you first see it but do not be fooled. This phone will not carry a long life. You will have to walk on egg shells with it.
Don't buy if you want to load your own apps
Purchased this phone a couple of weeks ago.
The Samsung A707 Sync is a good all-around phone. I work in a building where it's difficult to receive Cingular calls unless you're standing next to a window. The A707 offers clear reception no better or worse than the Sony Ericsson Z500a I've just retired.
It provides easy-to-read displays with Huge dialing numbers for my far-sighted eyes. Now how about offering the same for the address book.
It supports MicroSD, Bluetooth, USB connection, and the playing of MP3s.
Unfortunately - and the reason I won't be keeping the phone - Samsung has locked down java apps to the point where you're stuck with what you get. Thank you big brother, but I'm an adventurer. I don't want those demo games provided and I'd like to load my own.
No problem you say, there are web sites with free Java apps and games for the A707. True, but you'll pay to load these free apps. The USB and Bluetooth don't permit loading your own apps. Therefore you're forced to load the apps wirelessly over the carrier's signal and pay the accompanying download fee. There's an entire society dedicated to hacking into the phone's operating system (www.digg.com and search for A707) solely to bypass this restriction. Sure, I'm a maverick, but now that I'm getting older, I'd like to pick my own battles.
My wife loves this otherwise full-featured phone. Since I haven't yet exercised her upgrade, this will likely become hers with my full blessing. Then I'll have to choose among what I feel are lesser offerings so that I can have the freedom to choose my own Java apps without paying Big Brother carrier for the privilege.
Sold before ready?
Pro:
Great call quality
Great screen
Great sound from music player
Low price
Speed
Cons:
Very quirky music player
No blinking status indicator for voicemail
No included headphones or cable
I got this phone to replace a W810i which has all the rave reviews. Unfortunately, earpiece volume is so low its unuseable in noisy conditions. This phone's volume is much better!
Call quality is excellent. Reception is very good, on par with everything else. Music playback is very good. There are none of the snap crackle pops that the W810i has in between tracks.
Here is my one BIG complaint. The music player is very very quirky. By default, it lists all tracks. You then have to change to display by artist or album. A small inconvenience but the bad part is that first it doesn't include all tracks. I had one song on one album it refused to acknowledge. I re-ripped the CD several times with different settings until it finally "took".
Second thing is that I have all my music stored in a separate folder by album. The a707 refuses to include the last folder alphabetically. I had to create a dummy folder with a dummy mp3 in order for the phone to recognize the last real folder.
I have one of the new units with the pink dot but I am hoping there will be a quick firmware fix. Otherwise, this phone gets two thumbs up.
$49.99 after rebate...here's why!
I currently own the LG CU500 and was happy to see a 2.0 megapixel 240x320 screen flip phone come to Cingular. I purchased the Samaung a707 via upgrade and kept it only one day!
I gave it the full review and used the CU500 as acomparison tool although it's not the best phone I've owned. So here we go...
PROs:
Beautiful big screen, No pixelation
Slim build very comfortable
Transflash memory...external
CONs
Build quality is very cheap
Samsung's usual RF
External screen is horrible
No custom themes
Speaker is horrible, no equalizer for mp3's
Will not recognize pictures downloaded to memcard from alternate source. Only its own taken photos.
Minimal customization settings
Camera only SLIGHTLY better than CU500 1.3MP
If you want a cheap phone with a nice screen, then this phone is for you. But, my old S710a had a better camera even at 1.3MP.
The LG speaker phone is tons better. This phone saves image files in Bitmap format!!
What is that all about? The music playback was terrible, and oh yeah...if you want headphones or data cable that's another $40 bucks. So total up your necessities then compare. I wasn't willing to give up my upgrade eligibility for this one.
