Samsung SGH-T809 / SGH-D820
Phone Scoop Review
Feb 1, 2006 by Jesse Lewin
In-depth review of the razor-thin Samsung T809 slider for T-Mobile. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Prototype, not ready for public release
Cons:
Software is very buggy, it requires going to Samsung's web site to read work around just to get the USB communication to view your phone book on your PC's screen. The Sync option of Samsung's PC Studio software is grayed out. I can't edit and update my phone book. One week after owning the phone the phone's blue tooth quite working. T-mobile confirmed this and gave me a second phone and this second phone's blue tooth has stopped working as well. I've spoken w/ Samsung and they have confirmed they have received a lot of complaints about the phone not synching w/ outlook. Samsung has no solution to this synch problem. Talk time is low, 3 hours. Also the screen is not sealed. Dust gets under the screen...what a nuisance. With this many problems this phone should not have been released to the public.
Pros:
Small size, lots of options, good reception, stylish look.
Decent phone but Bluetooth and other Misc. issues
Cons:
1) Alarm goes off on days I deselected and don't want it to go off on.
2) Dust issue - don't have it (knock on wood) heard about it & if i did - I'd be very upset
3) Can't turn off that loud camera shutter noise
4) Bluetooth!!! Sure it works okay with headsets...but for those of us that have bluetooth built into our cars...it probably is an issue
- for me (i have an 06 330i) it is a major issue...
**It does not connect properly (makes a fuzzy robotic ringing sound when calling out)
**It does not pick up calls properly - people sound like robot/smurfs
**Loses / drops connection almost immediately
**tries to reconnect right away if you decide to use your handset
**it does pair, but phonebook is all under some ^A and then within that menu all letters are preceded by some strange character, so no scrolling through phone book via car system / no voice dialing
***Terrible**
--> had a v600 before and it worked just fine with my car...
-- Samsung rep said to wait for update to be released to T-mobile (anywhere from 3 - 6 months - they are not sure). Reason being because my car has bluetooth 1.2 and the T-809 seems to have an older bluetooth version...weird since my very old v600 works in same car. I asked why they would release an older bluetooth - they said they didnt know but they tested on acuras and some American car company (dont recall) and they said it worked.
- the bluetooth handsfree system in the BMW's are awesome...you can turn up the volume as loud as you want, both sides are heard very clearly...waaay better than a bluetooth headset which i went out and bought to hold me over until the firmware release
--very very disappointing--
Anyone else having bluetooth issues?
what a piece of crap!
this phone is absolutely garbage. I'm a manager for one of T-Mobile's Exclusive Agents. I talk all day long on my phone to my employees and drive about a 150 mile radius around my state (WA). I ordered the T809 because samsung finally produced bluetooth on an American phone, and was sadly disappointed with most of the phone's so called 'qualities'
- the phone drops calls like crazy. Driving the same radius with my old Motorola razr? I DIDNT DROP CALLS!!!
- the battery life is absolutely crap. 3 hours of talk time hardly seems to be true.
- you have to convert file types on your home PC, to be able to use mp3 files as ring tones. yeah samsung, let's be that proprietary so that no-one can do anything you don't want them to do on the phone...
- the phone spazzes out and starts to make the slider open / closed noise randomly, when the phone is sitting still.
- the upper left corner of the phone is absurd. it allows dust in, and for 2 years and more then 200$ this phone is DEFINITLY NOT WORTH THE WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY!
now, that I've thoroughly trashed the phone, it does have a few nice qualities.
- beautiful screen.
- slim phone
- expandable memory.
- mp3 player
- ease of use compared to other manufactures operating systems..
BUT NONE OF THIS EVER HELPS WHEN YOU CANT PLACE AND RECIEVE CALLS DUE TO EITHER DROPPED CALLS, OR NO BATTERY LIFE.
AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID
The best I've ever owned...so far.
This phone is pretty much the best I've ever owned so far. I've had just about every top-of-the-line phone there is to have from most carriers including the Moto Razr V3, Sony Ericsson s710a, Treo 650, LG VX9800, and many others. I'm a phone junkie. This phone is just too cool for words.
PROS:
-Beautiful crystal-clear display
-Sharp sounding & loud ringtones and sounds
-Great graphics on the games
-Smooth slide function
-Easy one-hand access to keypad & side buttons
-MP3 player is better than any other phone I've seen so far and sounds great
-Quick & easy menu navigation with little to no slowdown
-Great picture & video quality
-Waaaay too many other PROs to list
CONS:
-Really no CONS as of yet, but I do understand the gripe that some people have with the dust particles getting under the screen. I talked to someone at the T-Mobile store about this and they showed me one that had the dust under the screen. You can't see the particles if the phone is on, and you can see them if the phone is off only if you're really looking for them. Really a non-issue I think. If you live in an area where you would possibly be using the phone in the middle of a sandstorm, then it's probably best to stay away from the t809.Or if you have a problem with pocket lint...
Anyway, this phone is well worth the price I paid for it. I got the upgrade price of $250, but even if I had to pay the full retail of around $400 I would still say it's worth it.
Great features but has a lot of issues
I have had this phone for over a week now so I think I can make a complete review.
Pros:
Great screen-it's bright and huge, visually stunning
Loud speakers: stereo speakers at the bottom have the MP3's and the ringtones come in loud and clear
MicroSD slot: can purchase additional cards to hold your photos, videos or MP3's
Plays videos in 3gp format and mp4 format. Used with card, could carry videos and watch them on the go
Small size: this phone is VERY thin, barely noticeable in the pocket
Camera: takes pretty decent pictures, 1.3mp
Huge 70mb memory
Ability to use as USB memory key.
Cons:
Build quality: after 3 days of putting it in my pocket, there's been noticeable dust under the plastic screen on the LCD. This is very annoying and can easily be seen. There's no way to clean it.
Also I noticed that when the the phone is slid open, it creaks and squeaks. This means that the upper slide is not securely mounted to the rest of the phone so when you push on it, it creaks a little. This becomes a problem when you try to talk on the phone and end up pressing on it to your ear.
Ascending ringtones: The ringtones (all of them) start off soft and then get louder and louder. No way to turn this off and it's set automatically.
Flaps covering the charger/USB slot and expansion card slot are flimsy. They are attached to the phone but they don't feel as if they will last 1 year or even a couple of months.
Proprietary headset and charger: You can only use the headset that came with the phone to listen to mp3's which is not the greatest. Other Samsung chargers don't work.
Randomly resets while talking on the phone. Has happened 3 times.
Conclusion:
This is a good phone but build quality holds it back. A $300 phone with contract should have dust leaking inside to the screen. I am returning the phone but would pick it up if they fixed the build quality. The RF is pretty good (T mobile in Chicago, IL) but not as good as my old Samsung flip.
Dusty upper left corner
Love the phone in every way except the dust in the upper left corner. What is that. I wanna take it back but i feel its not needed. any help?
I dont think so......
I just bought this phone, but I am turning it back tomorrow. The whole "slider" idea scares me, and there is no real place to slide the phone up without getting fingerprints all over the screen. The Mp3 player caused me a major headache, first when I tried to load the software it said that it was not compatible with Windows XP, so I called T-Mobile and of course they put me on hold numerous times, then FINALLY after dealing with rude workers, I was transferred to the Samsung customer care, and they were closed! The T-Mobile representative who sent me there knew they were closed, yet she sent me there anyway. I figured out on my own that you have to download the XP software off of the Samsung website, but the whole "mp3 ringtone" was getting wayyyyyy to complicated. I only bought this phone becuase it included the memory card and the USB cable unlike the t609 which I had last week, but Im going to give up on the mp3 phones and purchase the Samsung t309. T-Mobile is realllllly starting to get on my nerves, but Im locked into the contract so I guess I have to deal.
-----Pros------
Bright Screen
Nice Camera
Slim
-----Cons------
Slider
Buttons too small (and I have small hands)
Creeks when opened after only a day
Have to Unlock it to do anything
Feels Fragile including the camera
I didnt get a chance to experience the dust problem like everybody else, but I can see where it could leak into the screen.....
Total waste of money
My previous phone was the Razr, which I really liked but got bored with it after 9 mos. I really wanted the Nokia 8801, but couldn't justify $800. One of my customers bought this garbage phone and is actually enjoying it. Me? I HATE it!!
Pros: Design and sound quality.
Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE!! The menu operations are stupid, requiring 3-4 steps before you can "accept". The owner's manual is vague. The little flaps covering the charge and memory card ports are flimsy. The Bluetooth is horrible when outside (and by the way, I bought the Bluetooth from Samsung directly), and will drop calls and disconnect itself!
I gave my Razr to my nephew, so there is no getting that back. I will keep this junk for a little while, then I'll bite the bullet for the Nokia. This is my first and last Samsung.
good fone but could be lil betta
So far ive had the fone for about 2 weeks and i love it. The features for the fone are 1.3 mega cam, blue tooth, 1000 fone book capacity, mp3 player, expandable memory and video play bak. So far the fone seems fine. No real problems so far. My only disappointment is that the battery life is a lil low. Its about 4 hours of talk time and thats if you dont mess around with the mp3 (seems like mp3 drains the batt real quick).
The pros and cons:
PROS
Nice [...] screen (beautiful)
cool features for the camera like mosiac and effects. (never seen some features till this fone)
bluetooth
phone book
speaker (really loud and clear)
CONS
battery life not as good as i wanted (if you use it for more than a fone u will need to charge it every night)
the fone feels fragile (wat do u expect of a ultra thin slider)
earpiece not centered so its hard to use it on your right side.
I have also read that mp3 songs are hard to
set as your ringtone. I have not had ne problems with this, just go to the forums here and they will have a short tutorial about how to use mp3's as ringtons (its damn easy to do).
Other than wat i mentioned this is a great fone that has allot of features and out does alot of fones. It does have it problems but what fone doesnt. So far i am happy with it but i do worry about the dust problem that so many ppl seem to be having wif the t809. This fone has made me into a slider fan, totally converted XD
Ed. note: edited for language
Nice, but disapointing for the money.
After less than a week of use, I had to return the phone. I loved it, but couldn't live with it's shortcomings. A phone in this class without voice dialing is DISAPOINTING. The cumbersome interaction between phone functions of answering/placing a call when using a bluetooth headset is also disapointing.
PROS:
Stunning Design and very good to look at. I loved it!
Stunning Display
Great PC software, although no sync
Great call quality.
Excellent phonebook functions allowing multiple numbers to be stored per contact.
CONS
Poor OEM choice of ringers! I hate music as ringtones!
Poor Bluetooth Interaction
No Voice Dialing
DIFFICULT if not impossible to download mp3 and assign ringtones from the PC. It is using DRM (digital rights management). Renaming files sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't.
Clear key is misplaced on 4 way toggle.
Cumbersome and annoying always having to toggle between USB and Modem in setup when transferring files with data cable.
Mistated battery life. Poor.
Hard to open plastic covers on usb and memory ports. Likely to break in a very short time.
