Samsung SCH-A530
Average Ratings
All you need in a Cell Phone!
I have absolutely no complaints about this awesome Samsung a530. I work for Verizon, and have had many phones, and this a530 is absolutley the best one that has been sold yet! The battery life on both extended and standard batteries (yes, it comes with 2 batteries!) is unreal! with the Motorola T720 and T730, i had to charge the battery every night, with the a530 2-3 days with the standard battery, and 4-6 days with the extended. I have owned this phone since May, and havent had any problems, software or physical. At work i see anywhere from 8-20 T720/730's come back to the technicians with ridiculous problems every day! Samsung knew what they were doing when they designed this phone. Im not a big fan of the gold color but we will be coming out with a silver version of it very soon! Just like all the other reviewers, i have never had a dropped call which is great. I love the outer color screen as well! The one thing i wish it had was a camera....hopefully they will come out with one soon!
The size and weight is great too, i couldnt stand having a huge startac or 730 in my pocket, i dont even notice the difference when i slip it into my pocket. It is also very easy to use and program, my mother who is completely cell phone illeterate has no problems with using this phone.
This IS the best phone out there, so what are you waiting for? go and get yours now!
Best Phone We've Had Yet!
I work for VZW, and have had our service for the past 6 years. Never had a problem with our service before, but I've had some problems with some of the phones. I've had the Audiovox CDM-9150X, Samsung SPH-N350, and the Motorola v120e. Until now, I never really expected much from my phone, hence, the low end models, but I decided to splurge and get a higher end model. I can't believe how sweet this phone is.
The dual color screens are nice, and they aren't too harsh on the battery life, the menu system is really easy to use (like always with Samsung), and the reception is as good as, or better than the LG VX4400 (for those who don't know, it's one of the best phones for reception). The built in voicemail/call screening feature is awesome too.
As for customizing the phone with your own wallpapers and ringtones without going through GIN, you need to know a little bit about phones, and how to use data cables to do so. if you can figure out GAGIN, and using the data cable, there is no reason why you shouldn't get this phone.
I was a little disappointed that the only model of this phone was gold for a while, but as soon as we released the silver version, I was all over it.
Take my advice, and the advice of all the other VZW employees that have posted reviews of this phone on here. GET IT, IT RULES!
So far the best for Verizon!!
First of all, I recommend this phone to anyone interested in the best. I am the manager of a wireless location that sells Verizon Wireless. I have used and abused every phone that verizon has offered in the last 3 years. None of which come close to offering what the A530 can and does.
In my eyes, there is only 1 feature missing from this phone and that is the Digital Camera which is used in the VX6000 by LG. Other than that, it is incredible.
Lets start by telling you how I use my 530. I talk an average of 5000+ minutes a month, and send/recieve around 3500-4000 text messages each month. Good thing for my demo line, or my bill would be far from pleasant. This model is everything one can need in a phone. I can store digital voice memos about promotions I learn about or write a quick note in the memo area. With a full screen calendar and awesome to-do list with notifications this is a winner. The ease of use going from 1 menu function to another is quick and easy. I can be on the phone and sending a message and not have to worry about hitting the wrong key and hanging up the call. If you use the phone for its intended purpose, you will fall in love with this little piece of heaven. The displays are great. Other people seem to think you need to be able to see the outside display at all times, but I'll tell you, even the new i700 has trouble in direct sunlight. I think Samsung designed the outside display perfectly. What other color screen phone has such a long talk and stand-by time. By having the display dark and not lit up, it is preserving the much valued battery life, and who really needs to look at the time more than a few times a day anyway.
All and all, I have used them all, and have now found the best! Samsung, I can't wait for a camera phone with the size and performance like the A530.
excellent so far!!!!
I purchase the samsung a530 last Friday after working for a verizon competitor for the last year and the difference is like night and day. With the a530 i can honestly say that I have yet to drop a single call. There are trouble areas in my house and in my neighborhood that I would normally not be able to get service at all. The quality of this samsung phone exceeds the the quality of comparable samsung handsets on other services. If you are looking for a compact phone with a color screen, great voice clarity, and excellent signal strength this might be the phone that you want to consider. Just a little to early for a full 5 out of 5 rating.
pros:
-signal strength
-compact design
-color external LCD
-comes with 2 batteries
-voice clarity
-pretty good battery life for a color screen
cons:
-gold color
-small buttons
-screen can be difficult to read in daylight(like all phones with color screens)
Great audio/call quality. No bling bling, but still good!
I've tried almost every phone on VZW's current line up (except the Smartphones) and I'd have to say that the Samsung a530s has been quite the performer. The new color is more attractive but I could see why this phone was released last year with an extended life battery. The battery power is mediocre to say the least. I almost have to make sure this thing is charging in my car or at my office. The call quality is exceptional and the mic picks up my voice clearly on the receiver's end. Not worth the retail price, but definitely a performer when you need a phone to perform it's primary purpose as a phone first and everything else second in excellent fashion.
Worth waiting for....
I am so glad I waited for the new Silver/Pewter version of this phone. It did not come with the extra battery, but my carrier did not want to lose me as a customer and gave me the phone for almost free and gave the extra battery too.
Was leery of all digital, but when I travel my wife is always along and she still has a tri-mode so we have the best of the two worlds. This phone does everything one could ask for. Does not have speakerphone, but who really needs that feature in a cell phone? Not me. 999 phone numbers,wow! Great looks, great size, great reception, all adds up to a "10" but phonescoop will only let me give it a "5". Bummer! Not the phones fault, but Get It Now is really a joke. Poor games, and way overpriced for what you get. Verizon should give that service for free. Verizon has me for 2 more years and by then, I hope they have merged with some GSM company for really the best of the best. GSM is the system of the future. What is going on now is like VHS and Beta in the tape wars. Funny how the inferior product (VHS) won out. The public sure is strange.
Buy the phone, it is truly the best offered with Verizon at the moment. Samsung is the company of the future in all products from phones to television.
A530, only one issue
Other reviewers were dead on about the outer display so no sense grumbling about it again.
That issue aside, I really like this phone.
Have not experienced any disappointment at all over the battery life, the belt clip, main color display, GetItNow, sound on their end and mine, keyclick or RF performance.
GetItNow is very easy to use.
After 2 days of heavy use, never had a dropped or blocked call, not a single one.
I think I've already spent $20 on GetItNow. Zagat's MovieGoer will download a map of the theater location to your display and gives you access to movie times *and* reviews. How cool is that? I thought the color display would quickly drain the regular battery while playing Jamdat Solitaire. It doesn't, as far as I can tell.
Very cool.
Great little phone
I've had my a530s for about a week and I love it. I'm glad I got the silver, it's so much nicer looking than the gold IMO. The reception and battery life is exellent which is important to me and I like the compact size. The buttons could be a little bigger but other than that it's perfert. I was also looking at the LG VX4400B, it was nice but the a530S just felt better in my hand, it's just a great little phone.
Pros:
Compact size
Great reception
Voice clairty
Good battery life
Nice internal & external LCD screens
User friendly
Cons:
Small buttons
the best cell phone ive had yet
i currently work for and have a phone with verizon wireless. i was with verizon long before i worked for them and i have to say that we definitely have the best network. we also have the best phone. currently i have the samsung a530 and it is the best phone i ever owned. whats great about it is the signal strength. i get the best signal strength in my house where i spend the majority of my time if I'm not working. the sound quality is clear and i have not had 1 dropped call in the 3 months that i have had it. i previously had a lg vx 510 and 10 both of which were garbage. i would never recommend lg to anyone ever. but i would definitely recommend the a530. there have been two slight problems though. within the first week that i had the phone my phone would freeze while i was playing a game. i had to remove the battery and then start the game over, which was a little irritating. i haven't had the problem since. also the battery life could be better. i can charge the phone all night and then by 24-48 hours later it needs to be charged again. if i didn't have a car charger i would be screwed. overall, its a great phone
Samsung SCH a530
I'm very impressed with my new phone and have spent quite some time working with it... I also had the issue with my custom faces and rings not showing up for my phone book entries- after contacting Samsung support I was informed I needed to enter the area code even for local calls for the ID to work correctly, and it did the trick.
The main reason I gave the phone only 4.5 stars is the user guide- it simply isn't complete enough on several areas and way too much detail on simple things....
The phone itself is one of the easiest and most intuitive phones I have worked with, and I have experienced a lot of phones between myself and other family members that I have "programmed" to know simplicity when I experience it.
The colors are stunning and if I can finally figure out how to get my own custom digital photos into the phone, I'll be done with my experimenting (again, the user guide has ZERO information on this topic)
The package through Verizon was a deal and included the extended battery as a bonus...
Try it, you'll like it!
