Samsung SCH-A610
Average Ratings
Eh...
I've had this phone for 7 months & just bought an LG VX 5200, we'll see how that goes, but anyway, I found the Samsung SCH A 610 to be pretty so so. It was rather & heavy & the design greatly resembles a hammerhead shark. The fact that you can rotate the top portion of the phone is nice, except for the fact that it's famously known for coming detached. What you are recommended to do is take the little plastic piece out of the top, tighten the screw & put in some lock tite, which is exactly what I did when it happened. It's been fine ever since as far as durability except for the fact that there's still a small piece of ribbon sticking out of the hinge from when it came apart (perhaps that is the source of the rest of my problems). I didn't have any other problems until recently. The screen has frozen several times & it lags when I try to go through the menu. Another thing I don't like is that you can't put the message (voice/text) on complete silence. That is not an option. Also, the signal quality (in Texas, Tennessee, & Indiana) was very good up until recently. I can't complain much though since it was given to me for free by a family member. Good luck to all.
Pros:
*camera pretty fair
*options for picture quality is a plus
*holds several pictures
*easy to take 'self portraits'
*sound quality is good
*loud vibrate
*battery life is nice
Cons:
*snapped in 2 due to rotating top
*lags
*can't turn on completely silent
*freezes up every now & then
*slightly heavier & larger than I'd like
*design is like a hammerhead shark
*signal is regressing day by day
*no reminder of missed call or messages often, once in a while you just get lucky
*not a large selection of ringtones
*no games
*cant save same contact number with a different name
Great solid phone
I have had this phone for about 2 years now, and it has been a rock. I have dropped it multiple times, and it keeps on working. Overall this is a great phone, with only one minor issue, the swivel. This phone allows you to rotate the ear piece 180*. At first I thought it was cool, but after nearly 2 years, it is the most unstable part of the phone. I have tightened the screw several times to prevent a severed phone. The only other issue I have is the camera. It looks fine on the phone, but man are they grainy when you email them... but alas, this is a phone and not a full featured digital camera!
Pros:
- Sound quality is good
- Screen size is nice
- UI is easy to use
- Takes a beating and still calls like a champ
Cons:
- Swivel piece
- Picture quality
Great phone when it was the lastest and greatest
After using this phone for a year and a half, the following is how i feel about the phone:
CONS:
1. Although, the phone is no heavier than most phones now a days, I would say that it can seem a little bulky/thick. Like most camera phones, the camera lens doesn't have a cover and it can be difficult to clean.
2. No speaker phone, what is that? It really sux having no speaker phone, it would have made my life so much easier.
3. Not much memory, now I'm sure this is common with phones of this 'era' but you are very limited on the number of pictures you can store.
4. I think they did a horrible job with displaying the clock. I don't wear a watch anymore, I use my cell phone as my clock, so since there is no lcd on the outer shell of the the phone displaying the time I need to open it up. When I open it to look at the time the display alternates the words "Verizon Wireless" with the time and date, sometimes you have to wait a few seconds to see the time.. VERY VERY annoying.
5. Doesn't allow multiple cell numbers or multiple office numbers for the same person. There are ways around this. For one person you can program one cell, house, office, and pager number for each. This can be confusing sometimes.
PROS:
1. When the phone was new the camera was one of the best you could get on a phone (0.3 Mega pixels), but now its just standard and even some phones (ie. Motorola e815) have 1.3 MP cameras.
2. Durability, this is a hefty enough phone to take a lot of punishment. I've dropped it several times and it survives, albeit the batter comes off, it still survives.
3. Phenomenal battery life. This thing will last you forever. I could easily go 2 days of heavy usage before I would need to recharge. There have been times where I didn't use it a ton and got 5 days out of it. charges quickly.
4. Nice LCD display for being an older model phone.
5. Great reception, retractable antenna.
6. Easy menus & good voice recognition.
dont get this phone
This phone really sux...its wayyy to heavy, and big. The camera is good but thats pretty much it. Ive gone thru like 4 of these in a three month period. It always gets un-done when you swivel it and the top part ends up falling off. This phone is a clever idea, but its too big, heavy, and not tightly put together.
This phone blows!
Pros - Large screen, reception, not much else
Cons
Battery life - neither of the two phones my family has have had a standby battery life of more than 3 days since these were new. We currently have to charge these phones every 2 days or they're dead and useless. 9 - 10 day standby my behind.
Swivel mount - My phone is nearing breaking in two and I have still have 10 months left under contract.
Silent Mode - Okay, so yeah it doesn't ring when you get a call but then it makes an annoying alert for voicemail. This is a con cause there is no way to easily put every alert in "silent"
I've owned about 6 phones during my cellular time and this one ranks dead last. I have talked to a couple Verizon people at their stores who said they stopped selling this phone because there were so many problems with it.
Lesson learned: Never sign another 2 year contract. Most phones will be lucky to last about a year before crapping out. Especially the battery.
One of the best cell phones ever...period
Samsung knew exactly what they were doing when they made this phone. This phone is a stroke of genius that will not be remembered and was well ahead of it's time.
The Pros. It's a Samsung cell phone, a company known for reliable computer products and home electronics as well. Its a solid phone, assembled very well, and does not have "cheap" plastic housing. The external silver paintjob is nice. The LCD screen is bright and clear. The camera is mounted on the left and is tight so that when turned it holds the position you choose well. The resolution of the camera images are amazing when stacked up against a LG VX7000, which is supposed to be the top of the line phone today (I sold mine to get this instead). The swivel screen will not be understood for years because it was never explored by other companies. The reason for the swivel design was to eliminate the need for an external LCD screen (thus saving on power, just flip the screen over, close the phone, and there is your external caller ID, which can also be answered with the LCD still facing out: open, and utilize the ringer speaker as an earpiece) and two, this is also a digital camera. With the phone closed and the LCD facing so you can read it, you can hold the camera button down on the right side of the phone, the camera activates, and without having to open the phone once, you can rotate the camera eye without the top of the phone getting in the way, take a shot pressing the same button one time, and it automatically saves it for you. Brilliant. Battery life is 4 hours, better than most high end phones today. It also uses a cradle charger which reduces wear on the bottom phone plug. It touches contacts on the back of the battery, another innovative idea that has been proven even with your house hold cordless phone. Dropped calls are service and area dependent, but I experienced zero.
The Cons. None. This is a cell phone/digital camera. If that's what you want, it's the best! Buy it!
big but great however not long lasting
i had this phone for about 8 months.
pros:
1.nice camera
2.big screen
3.fikipping screen is awesome and provided a topic up for discussion when my friends saw my phone
4. able to have a faceplate
5.flashes red when called recieved or when call has been connected
6. i've dropped this in a pool and i've had it broken in half many times but still works
cons:
1.flipping screen stopped working once faceplate was on
2. no longer flashed green once faceplate was stuck on
3. big and heavy
4. slow to answer once answer key was pushed
5. after 8 months of flipping screen and using top part broke
NOT TOO DISAPPOINTING FOR $49.99 LOL!!!
I admit when I first saw others with this phone I was a bit jealous, but now that Iâve had a chance to own the phone myself I just want to slap myself for being so envious. I bought the phone during verizonâs summer splash special where the phone was only worth $49.99. This is the only major good thing about the phone because I didnât have to pay out of the tooter shooter for however much the phone cost when it first came out. LOL!!!
PROS:
1.Neat and fun design.
2.I love the flash.
3.Gets great reception.
4.Great voice functions.
5.Has more room for voice memos than the lg 6000.
CONS:
1.Although the swivel design is cool, over time the lid gets a bit loose and it starts to wobble. Thank God I found out how to fix this. If you need help email I and Iâll reply on how.
2.The phone is slow on response when moving from the main screen to a certain feature or worse to use the camera. There may be a moment that I want to catch but only happens once in a life time and by the time the camera is ready I would have missed it 1,000 times.
3.It takes too long to find out what the time is because every few seconds the screen switches from the name of the carrier to the time and date. And if you donât catch it right youâre stuck waiting for a while.
4.The phone all together isnât all that customizable.
5.When it comes to brightness of the screen you better get used to it because thereâs no way to make it brighter or dimmer.
6.When closed donât keep the main (and only) screen turned up. If you drop it you may be out of luck.
7.you canât share your downloaded backgrounds with other users
THIS PHONE WOULD BE PERFECT IF:
1.it had a speakerphone.
2.had an outside lcd for time and date.
3.was more customizable with themes
Remember people cell phones are for talking. If you want games and great pciture quality, then i suggest you visit your local best buy or radioshack and purchase a XBOX or PS2 and pick up a REAL DIGITAL CAMERA!
Good phone, but could have been better
I got the a-610 as a gift, allowing me to get rid of my LG VX6000. The a-610 was a pretty nice upgrade from the LG but it had it's moments that I contemplated dropping it off a building.
PROS:
-Decent battery life
-Swivel screen IS pretty cool
-Picture quality not bad
-Rotating camera lens
-Came with cradle charger
-Buttons were just the right size for my fingers
-Easy to put on silent mode.
CONS:
-Using the swivel screen loosens the screw that connects the screen to the rest of the phone, making it limp and extremely irritating. I was constantly having to go to verizon to have them tighten it (the screw's too small for a regular screwdriver or i'd fix it myself)
-Ringtone pauses when you open the phone
-This phone is SLOOOOOOW
-No external caller id
-Phone was constantly changing my picture IDs so another person's pic would come up when someone would call.
-Antenna would pop out on it's own & got bent.
-Can't silence phone when it rings when it's closed
In the end, i've had worse phones than this one. But i've had much better ones too.
OK Camera phone.....
Pros:
-Solid battery life
-Good call quality
-Nice picture quality
-Flash
-Zoom
Cons:
-Weak design - I had mine for 8 months, and if I held it a certain way in a call, it would power off
-Text Messages would cause the phone to drop the call
Seriously, this is a reasonable phone. Good reception and battery life are the key. The rest is icing - nice camera with flash; the swivel screen is nice, but means the phone won't hold up to torture too well.
