Samsung SPH-N400
Average Ratings
N400...Be afraid. Be very afraid...
I've had this phone for just over a year now and find the problems have gotten to be too much to take anymore...
I got this phone when it first came out because of the flat shape, so I could put it in my back pocket, and the speaker phone. I am constantly on conference calls and thought it was a great feature. This is where the fun ends...
Things I liked:
Color, internet, nice ringers, comfortable, small design.
Things I disliked:
Reception, speaker phone going from low to screaming without any input from me, reception, dropped calls constantly, always looking for service, not being able to call from inside my house, Battery life sucks, reception, 12 character limit to names, internet VERY spotty, reception.
I have had the software updated to the latest Ver. and it still sucks. This phone is buggy as hell and Sprint refuses to admit it.
My experiences
I have had a horrible time with my N400. I bought it in march and in may i had to take it back for the update because it kept freezing. After I updated it it kept freezing even more. I took it back again and they gave me a new phone same model well in July i had to take back the charger because it wasn't working and then I just recently had to take my phone back again because it wouldn't charge. I ask you what good is an extended life battery if it isn't charged properly because of the crappy manufacturing of the phone. My sister has this phone also because when i got it i recommended it to her because i loved my phone. She had problems with her first one because it was dropping calls and received a new N400 and now her new one which she's had a week has already frozen numerous times.
Yet another bad buy...
This phone looks great, doesnt it? The camera accessory is a great addon, even if you dont use it very often, as well as the flip design, right? Very, very wrong. I have had dozens upon dozens of customers who bought this phone bring the cameras back in to see why they wont load again and again and again. There was never a way to fix it, we just replaced them with the same phone, replaced the camera, and hoped to god that one worked. Thats how shoddy these phones are. They often break around the earpeice, due to the fact the materials to manufacture the phone are very very weak. Since this also used the universal samsung charger, it is also prone to the charging pin being either broken or bent, which can either cause the phone not to charge, or cause the phone to short due to insufficient amounts of power being supplied. The screen is what I see go to the most, though... "I just had it in my pocket and when I took it out, it was broken." I have heard that so many times, and the truth is, that is the truth. The display, since it is exposed, is severely capable of being damaged, and all it takes is a little pressure to crack the thing. If your going to get this phone, know this... The design is very bad, its a phone that is capable of breaking very easily, and has some major software issues, of which samsung has not to this day released a good enough remedy for. Sure, a prl upgrade is nice to hear, since it sounds like that is fixing your phone, but a prl is a preferred roaming list... A tower update, not a software update... If you hear that, you know what we had to do...tell you what would make you happy. Good luck.
Even with the upgrade this phone is not good
I have been through two new N400's and one reconditioned one with the software upgrade. Not only does this phone drop calls, get not signal in the middle of the service area and only connect to the internet 50% of the time, it almost NEVER rings. Also the voicemail alert ring also does not go off until you hit an alternate button. So far Sprint's only answer is to buy a new phone. Seeing as how I purchased this one in good faith and have gone through three of them. I will be getting rid of the phone and changing wireless companies to one that is more customer service orientated.
Just a heads up..
All of the problems i've seen in previous reviews have been solved with the new firmware update. Just take your phone to a Sprint PCS store and have them update your firmware. Any new N400 purchased should already have the update.
Don't Do It!!!
Samsung N400....a big plus is the speakerphone. That's the only plus.
I've had problems with it from day 1. Battery lasts....maybe a day, whether or not I use it.
Freezes up...all the time. Shuts off for no reason. Missed calls, ALWAYS. The thing doesn't always ring, which is really annoying if I'm waiting for a call. People now know me as the one who never answers her phone.
I live in the city. I'm always roaming. I could be standing right outside my house and still be roaming.
I go to the sprint store. There's not one, not two, but THREE people in line behind me and we're all holding the same phone in our hands with the same exact problems.
They tell me there's something wrong with the phone and will send me a new one. Sure, I get a new one....a new REFURBISHED one!! Oh well, I figure, I buy a new cell once a year anyways, so might as well keep it. SAME problems with this one.
Now sprint's sending me a Sanyo 8100. Wish me luck!!
Smoke and Mirros
This phone is great, if your handset doesn't die on you. the n400's seem to have issues with the lcd freezing and needing a hard-reset to fix. The signal quality is terrible unless you live in a major metro area (when compared to sanyo). However it is a great price point to get a vision phone at $50. I wrote this to warn consumers about the known issues, because there have been many a person spending a lot of time in the warranty line.
A Very Strong Contender
I work as the wireless specialist for a large electronics retailer and as such get to lay eyes and hands on a large number of phones. The N400 is, to date, (march 2003) our best-selling phone of the year. Having personally owned this phone I find that no surprise whatsoever. I found the menu and display to be so skillfully executed as to be second nature. I appreciated the quality of the display for the price. (the $30 difference between this and the Sanyo 4900 is evident in the display quality) The ergonomics of the phone were very good, however I favor the Samsung A460 and A500 as my favorite phones to use and carry. I did find it a bit on the heavy side, but that is one of the sacrefices that seems necessary when upgrading to 3G service.
I had very few problems with my own phone, the only one that sticks out in memory is that when the phone was charging and I received a call, it would sometimes answer automatically with the speakerphone and I would have to power down the phone in order to get the speakerphone to shut off.
I will agree with those that say the browser could do with some work, but for the price I think that it performs admirably. If there were no difference in browser performance between the N400 and the A500, I would be disappointed.
I have seen next to no customer issues with this phone and we have been through several dozen. Several of our employees carry this phone and it is very highly regarded even by a group of people that are very cynical about their electronics. I highly approve.
Long term Review
I've had this phone for the last 3 months.
I like the speaker-phone on it. It can get quite loud and remain clear. The display is clear and has very good resolution for its size. And I love the download-able ringers and screens.
What I don't like is the lack of a real web-browser, but that can be fixed with a download. And it has a terribly short amount of memory.
The speaker-phone does have a terrible noise-canceling circuit. And the original battery only last maybe 6 hours of casual usage.
