Samsung SGH-T209 / X495 / X497 / X496
Average Ratings
Close BUT!!
Got this phone free. (Had a samsung e-105 and it was a tank. Lasted 2 years w/o problem). First day I missed 3 calls because the side button silenced my calls(I keep phone in my front pocket). I can't believe there's no way to lock side button! Speakerphone was a must in decision and I think the speakerphone sound is the best with a full deep tone, but why two clicks to activate it? I returned it and got a nokia 6102 (also free). The menu is more user friendly with more options but the speakerphone and regular ear speaker is very treble and tinny. If the samsung had a way to shut off the side silent button I definitely would have kept it.
A sweet, simple phone...
I got this phone for free when I signed up for T-mobile. Overall, it is a nice, solid phone. The reason I bought it in the beginning was because of its cute, simple design. However, I got very easily bored with this phone and so I am switching to a Motorola Slvr L6. The pros and cons are as follows:
PROS:
* Nice simple and sturdy structure.
* The white plastic does not scratch easily.
* Has all basic functions working properly.
* Vibrant color screen.
* Long-lasting battery. (Once I didn't charge it for three days and the battery was still full!)
* Good signals.
CONS:
* Does not have enough customization features (limited wallpaper, ringtones etc.)
* VERY low volume (one of the main reasons I am getting rid of this phone)
* Cannot vibrate and ring at the same time (very annoying...)
* Metal part looks fake and cheap.
In conclusion, if you are someone who wants a phone that is cheap and very simple, yet shows class, doesn't care about cameras or video captures....this is the phone for you.
If you are someone who loves extra features such as bluetooth, cameras, video capture, mp3 etc., don't get this phone! You will get bored of it VERY quickly (just like I did) :S
Eh....
I purchased this phone about 6 months ago from t-mobile. First off I noticed that I did not get very good reception at all, which is hard for me to believe because I live about a mile from Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. I had an old Nokia, and that got perfect reception. Tmobile has great service in the area, but the phone just doesnt pick up the reception. I get dropped calls all of the time, not because of t mobile, but because of the phone. My screen has been going blank every once in a while and I took it in to see the warranty info on the phone, and the dealer opened it and said it had been in water. There is a little sticker on the inside behind the battery that is white but turns pink if it gets wet. The phone did not ever get wet. Now samsung will charge me to replace it becuase of that little sticker. Also, i miss some calls because the ring is not loud enough. And you cannot get it to ring and vibrate at the same time. The phone is okay, but I should have spent a little extra money on something a little better.
Not Good Enough!
I have had Nokias for 6 years and loved them, I thought I'd try this flip phone and I am so disappointed.
CONS
-There are no profiles. The ring/vibrate is on, or you can mute it and it will be off. Nokia's profile options have ascending ring w/vibe (my basic profile), ring once w/vibe (my pager profile), no ring/no vibe (silent profile), LOUD ring w/vibe (outdoor profile) etc.
-Text message "templates" are not changeable. I text message to people's email addresses and had all their email addresses ready to drop in a text message.
-When texting "#" key is the space key. Sounds minor but I text a lot and it's not easy to hold phone in my right hand and text with the same hand.
-The games are really bad.
-I've found "Forwarding" in the menu but instead of saying "Forward when unable to take call" the forwarding options use a single word and I don't like to carry the book around to figure out how to forward (something I've done for 6 years with Nokias).
-In "Phone Book" you can adjust group settings and names but it doesn't have how I add people to the groups. The option is not there from the phone book, settings, group settings. Adding people to groups is NOT a topic in instruction book's contents page, index, or on phone "help topics" etc.
-Menu is not intuitive, instruction book is not helpful. "T-Zones" help menu is worse.
PROS
-It is a clamshell.
-It has a color screen.
-I can still take it back because after 12 days I still hate it.
I would rather use my 3 year old Nokia than this phone. Easy to use menu beats a color screen any day.
better than motorola
I just recieved this phone from cingular after having many reception problems with my motorola v180. I can make and recieve calls in places that the motorola wouldn't. If you think that it is your carrier try another brand of phone to see if it is really the carrier. The only problem that I can see is the vibrate then ring. I wish it would do both.
AWESOME phone!!
I have T-Mobile and I purchased this phone online off amazon.com and I am SO pleased with it. First off, I was really worried that it would not get very good service at my rural home in Kansas. Prior to this phone I had the Nokia 6010 that I got for free when I signed up for my contract and it ALWAYS got good service but I wanted a phone that was more modern and I love flip phones.
Anyway, the x495 gets GREAT service! I never drop calls and in my opinion, a phone that does what it is made to do is all you can ask for.
It is light, sleek, the buttons are easy to push and the menu is very simple yet well desinged. The only thing is the backlight. It is blue and it is kind of hard to look at without feeling cross-eye when text messaging.
Overall, I have been very pleased! I have had it for 1 month and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a simple and stylish phone with excellent service.
I like
I like my little cheap phone.
I once said I would only buy higher priced phones because cheaper ones usually are inconvenient to use and should have lower call quality and reception.
Then I found this phone. It does not have a camera ( which I don't need anyway) and I don't like a limitation of the address book (see Cons #1 below), but otherwise I love it. My Nokia 6200 started malfunctioning and I lost faith in more expensive phones and concluded that cell phones are in general pricey and fragile things, so I am going cheap. If it breaks outside of warranty, I get another one.
Pros:
1. Reception is good
2. Clear sound ( no frying noise )
3. External display with a whole lot of data
4. Seems to conserve on power well without being bothersome; like dimming and shutting off the LCD after certain idle times. Overall a "smart" phone.
5. MP3 rings. Comes with a nice acapella ring.
Cons: (considering it is an entry level phone)
1. Can't "Copy All" contacts from phone to SIM. Only from SIM to phone. So I kept my contacts on the SIM.
2. Manual did not want to simply tell me the default password was eight zeroes. I had to guess it.
Hits the sweet spot for some
Those looking for a solid phone for a great price will be hard pressed to find a better deal. Can't stand those cheap cameras; I have a treo 650 also, even on that $500 phone, the camera is still crap.
Pros:
+Decent sound quality and reception
+Beautiful color screen
+outside display for convenience
+nice button size and responsiveness
+no camera (can take in courts, etc)
+Speakerphone! (very important for me)
Cons:
-RF a tiny bit below treo 650
Pretty Decent
This seems to be a pretty good entry level flip with external caller id...just started using it today, carrier is cingular, Fort Smith Arkansas area, reception is good, features are good, even though I really prefer a camera phone...a nice upgrade though from the samsung x427..The only bad thing that I noticed was the headset option, the 2.5 universal is what fits, but after contacting carrier, found out that only the samsung branded headset will work correctly, when I tried to make a call using 3 different universal headsets, the call would immediately end...I am ordering a samsung branded headset, hopefully that will resolve the problem. Otherwise, I would highly recommend this model to anyone who does not mind not having a camera phone.
