Samsung SGH-D357
Average Ratings
a learning experience
I too had a problem with hearing when not using an ear-piece. That lasted until I discovered that I wasn't holding the sound output close enough to my ear input :-)
If you can't hear when not using an ear-piece, try moving the phone down, so that the top 1/2 inch of the phone is over your eardrum.
Pros:
-lightweight and slim
-No camera => definite plus for me
-Voice commands work well
-Bluetooth works well
-Contact phone# can be entered with password
-Battery life is good
-Shortcut keys can compensate for poor interface design
-Alarm works when phone is turned off
Cons:
In general, someone let the marketing geniuses get out of control. What better way to annoy your customers than to trick them into running up extra charges for services they don't want to use.
-Default setting for center button at top level is Internet connection and can't be altered. I had to find the connection and remove the phone number for it to disable this.
-Poor documentation for basics - Nothing on how to enter passwords with phone numbers for contact entries. User Guide writers and/or their bosses forgot that this is a PHONE first, not a web browser or an organizer. No instructions about wired ear-piece anywhere in book.
-Ear-piece connection is proprietary. Yes it's 2.5mm. But a generic 2.5mm ear-piece will not work with it.
Grat Phone
I have only had this phone for 2 days but so far it has been a great phone. My wife picked the LG PTT and I grabbed this one for the blue tooth. I was afraid to get this phone because of the reviews with the phone loudness. I think this works fine and I have no problems hearing even when I was at Chuckecheese with three birthdays going on around me.
Pros.
Blue-tooth
Easy to navigate menus
Voice reconnection software ( you don't even have to train it) It will open apps and make phones calls by saying name or the full phone number
decent selection of ring-tones to start (nothing great but not bad)
great size and weight
Push to talk works great and even works without it on speaker phone and on my blue-tooth headset
Cons.
Charger. Difficult to plug in the charger and hold the cover at the same time.
Demo version of games... always asking for you to but the full verison.
So far, so good
The phone and the PTT works as advertised. My first Samsung and I'm pleasantly surprised at the overall quality of the instrument. The walkie talkie works very well with only one bar of signal strength.
No cons to speak of.
its alright...
I got this phone last week. So far it has been pretty good. But honestly, if i wasnt getting the new razr v3i in a month or two, i defenitely WOULD NOT stay with this phone. One major problem is that the earpiece volume is so low, you cant hear the other person, even when the ringer level is on the highest. Its pretty annoying...but i just use my bluetooth headset for all my calls, and it solves everything. Heres a Pros and Cons list.
Pros:
1) Great Look
2) Great size and weight
3) I love the service light feature
4) Great menu style
5) Nice buttons
6) Bluetooth
7) Good battery life
Cons:
1) Cant hear anything the other person is saying because the earpiece volume is low
2) Downloaded ringtones dont sound too good on this phone
3) Screen is a little small
4) Charging port cover at the bottom of the phone makes it impossible to put the charger in without flipping it upside down and matching it perfectly (i cut mine off)
5) You cant customize the Text alert with a downloaded tone
6) Bluetooth is a little fuzzy (might be the headset, but not sure)
7) No camera
All-in-all, if i had to stay with the phone for more than two months, i wouldnt stay with this phone. i dont feel like going through the hassle, especially when im getting the v3i. I really wouldnt recommend this phone to anybody else. I work in the cell phone department of a big store, and i try to stop anyone else from buying this phone. Take it from someone who knows...save your time and go with another phone!
WHY? I thought I liked Samsung
I owned this phone for a total of 20 minutes. I saved a few numbers into the address book. My friend calls me and his name which was saved into the address book doesn't show up, only the phone number does, NO NAME!! The only way to get the name to show up was to save the contact in your address book with the area code first. But then if you dialed their number, you didn't know who your were calling unless you dialed the area code as well because their name wouldn't show up.
This was a neat phone until I tried to address book. It is very important to me to see who is calling before I answer the phone. And if this Samsung phone is going to give me trouble, I'd rather not mess with it. I sent the phone back after 20 minutes of messing with the phone book. The other negative was the headset volume. The only way I could hear someone was to go into a completely quiet and silent room, like a bathroom and then have the person on the other end yell what they wanted to say.
I would not recommend getting this phone if you are concerned about the address book or if you are hard of hearing. If you can hear like Superman, then go for it.
Great Phone
The Samsung D357 is a great affordable phone for an entry level phone user.
PROS:
-Small & Light Weight
-Bluetooth
-Very Easy To Use
-Loud Ringtones
-Speakerphone
-Alarm Will Work When Phone Is Off
CONS:
-No Camera
-Charger Port Is Hard To Open
-Scratches Easily
Great phone @ price point!!
The Samsung D357 is one of the best bargains available in the wireless world. It is a piece of functionality not a flashy jazzed up pos like some other offerings. A camera would complete this one nicely but the functions of this phone outweigh that. The biggest bit of joy for me is the fact that the reception is top notch. I went from a S710 to this phone and the difference is night and day. So in short form:
Pros:
Reception is A+
Bluetooth reception is A+
Mp3 Ringtones are quite loud
Screen is bright and easy to read
Menu system is simplistic
Keys are well placed and large(main pad)
All this under $50 w/activation!!
Cons:
The left side keys are easy to hit when the phone is open which then changes your ringer volume.
Battery life while using bluetooth is short.
So in closing if you want something flashy that will impress your friends this one is not for you. If you want a great talkers phone for a great price definitely give this one try.
I love to hate it
We got the PTT for our family business. Three of us picking up the Samsung and my wife got the LG 7200. About a month ago my speaker went out to were only if I have it on speaker phone do I get volume. Three weeks later my dad's phone did the same and finally today my mom's did the same thing. We are three for three w/ faulty phones.
Now I loved the phone, the bluetooth, the PTT, all worked great, but I am just a little in disbelief that we are the only three w/ this issue.
Because we all had the issue w/ the low volume as it seems many people have.
We are going to Cingular Monday and I am sure they will try to give us the same phone. No go.
Easy
I don't understand everyone's complaints with this phone. I have had this phone for about 2 months now and upgraded from the Motorola V551. Got this one for the PTT and bought one for my wife. This phone works great, I have rarely had any signal strength issues (in fact this gets way better signal than the V551). The charger isn't difficult to use, (the buttons on the plug don't have to be held in while plugging into the charging port), you just have to remember to hold the port grommet down while plugging in the cord. I don't have a problem with the volume (try a V400 sometime). Overall I love this phone. I didn't mind losing the camera on the V551 since I hardly ever used it. I might have missed if I had a megapixel camera prior. The standard camera on a phone is horrible and a gimmick at best. I love the PTT feature. It works way better than I expected. I also love the contact list for this phone. After having a Motorola for so long, (V60, V400, & V551), I never knew an address book could be so nice. The only con I have is that I cannot save contact list to both the phone memory and the SIM card at the same time without duplication. All I can say is that too many people complain about silly stuff. No wireless phone will be perfect for everyone, but this one is pretty good.
GREAT PHONE
I have had this phone since it has come out and I have never had any problems.
The only thing bad i can say about this phone is that it takes forever to get on-line, other then that its GREAT!! I love the voice command, I never had a phone where the voice dialing worked correctly on till i used this one. The setup took less then 5 mins and it works every time i use it. Samsung has really stepped it up.
