Samsung SCH-A870 / Siren
Average Ratings
HATE IT
i HATE this phone!! poor camera no ringtones cant set sound as ringtone bluetooth works horrible sometime hard to text...overall poor phone TWO THUMBS DOOOWWWNN
Rugged phone
I know I am late to the game with a review for this phone. But as they say better late then never.
I have the MetroPCS version of this phone. And while the service sucks in some areas, like signal at times (which I blame on the carrier and not the phone). I have to say this phone is quite rugged. Rugged on the levels of what you would expect from a ruggedized Nextel (like he i530 or i325). After I got this phone my 6 year old Daughter (at the time) had a temper tantrum and slammed the phone on the ground separating the flip from the phone and blowing the key pad from the rest of the case. Most phones would be dead and gone. I put it back together (after grounding her for the rest of the day and taking her favorite toy away) and turned in on. Viola! it turned on, everything worked and no feature didn't work. Then last week my phone took a dump into the toilet, I fished it out quickly and removed the battery (very important to minimize battery damage) opened it up. let it dry out in a bowl of rice (the rice absorbs any water) for 24 hours (got a few weird looks from my wife and kids) and put the battery in and it turned on. While I am NO fan of MetroPCS, This has phone has most certainly strengthen my belief that Samsung makes very good, sturdy, durable phones. With those 2 things happening I am going to be looking at Samsung more and more for phone options.
Great Beginner Phone
I have had this phone for almost 2 years now and it has held up amazingly! There are plenty of extra features to keep you occupied. This phone would be great for a first time user who doesn't need to use more complicated feature like internet or video (doesn't have video).
Pros:
Loud ring tones that also vibrate
Can put wallpaper on the front and main screens (including photos)
Camera quality is good (I usually don't use the flash)
Reception is great, calls are always crystal clear
Texts can be set to scroll on the front screen so you don't need to open the phone to see what somebody said.
Very durable, has been dropped many times and still works great.
Good battery life, this phone has never died on me (probably would if used consistently for 4-5 days without charge)
Slim and Light perfect fit in a pocket
Cons:
The camera noise cannot be turned off, so it is hard to take pictures in quiet places
Side buttons can sometimes get pressed in my pocket, the only thing that it will do is take pictures in my pocket (however it makes the loud shutter noise)
Keys are not raised which takes a little getting used to but once you do it really isn't a problem.
Great phone, would definitely recommend
samsung siren
I bought this phone through crickett and only kept it for 3 days.The signal was very week and the ones I talked to all said they could only hear about every third word.When they would talk to me I could only hear about every 4th or 5th words.I contacted crickett about it and the techs said they have a big problem with this phone.I canceled my service after 3 days and still have the phone.Paid about $139.00 for it and is the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned.I would like to go back to crickett but not until they get better phones.The Pros are looks good...and that's allCons everything
Great little phone for Verizon Wireless
Pros:
- Sleek design
- Crisp, clear screens
- Decent camera (for a cell phone)
- Great speaker phone
- Nice loud ringer
- Good reception
- Long battery life
- Simple and easy to use
Cons:
- No video capabilities
- No external memory
(I already knew what I was getting when I purchased the phone so I can't really complain, they are just a couple of extras that would be nice to have)
All in all a great phone that does what a phone is suppose to do. Would definitely recommend :)
Great Phone
I bought this phone as an update to my old LG3200 for Metro PCS. Old reliable had to go. Upon receiving it, I thought it had a pleasant appearance and sturdy construction. Setup was fairly easy and the manual was easy to follow. Setting up the Blue-Tooth was even a breeze for this phone. Only problem I had was with the outer display adjustment, but when I asked another user, that too was easy. Camera was good too. Others complain about blurry, but if you hold the thing still, it takes a great picture. Great games available.
Pros: Blue-tooth, Real-Tones, Camera, Comprehensive Voice Command system (works well with headset), Loud Speaker-phone, awesome text/picture messaging system, and great reception, even in a bad area.
Cons: Not any major things: Setting up the outer display and glossy finish is prone to, and shows scratches easily.
In short, get a case, and treat it well! Great Phone!
One word...reliable
After my previous phone, the siren is a breath of fresh air. It asks me to list cons, but the so called cons this phone have are few and small. I didn't buy this phone to snap pictures, I bought it to make crisp clear phone calls and in that regard it does deliver very well. Everything else it offers is icing on the cake.
whatever
I've had this phone for about 3 or 4 months now and its ok...like there is nothing wrong with it but its kinda boring.
I am waiting to buy a MOTO Q, so I'm stuck with this phone for another 2 or 3 days but then in GONE!
the phone itself has a good look to it, meaning i like the design, but lacks alot of anything! The camera is very bad..its not horrible but it takes blurry pictures, and the screen in very small, but it good in color..I wish the phone had an MP3 player, but it does have MP3 ringtones which sound very well and the speakers aren't half bad.
I would recommend this phone to someone if it was there first phone(someone who is a teenager)..i definitely would NOT recommend it to a business person..but i think that thats obvious haha
Very Satisfied
I got this phone after returning a Motorola KRZR to my local Verizon store. I went through two of the KRZR handsets before finally deciding that I should get something that just makes calls. What I got was the Samsung A870. I have owned it for a month and I am very pleased.
The A870 was a huge improvement over the KRZR. The most obvious improvement is the Verizon UI. Although it is still the standard-issue UI that is used on almost all of their phones, it has zero lag time (unlike the slow KRZR).
Camera quality is a downgrade, but it has a convenient auto-flash feature and it doesn't use much battery life. Taking and sending pictures works quickly, and the quality is decent. One negative about the multimedia features: this phone does not support video. This isn't a huge loss, but it might come as a surprise the first time someone tries to send you a video message.
Call quality is excellent and I haven't dropped a single call yet. This phone supports AMPS -- one of few handsets which still support analog service -- so I always have service (I live between two urban and rural communities in east Alabama). Calls sound clear in all conditions, and call volume can go very loud. Speakerphone works well, although I haven't used it much.
Battery life is superb -- compared to the two KRZR handsets I used. With the KRZR, I had to charge the phone *at least* once a day. With the A870, I can typically go 3-4 days on a single charge.
Pros:
-Outstanding battery life
-Verizon UI has no lag time
-Excellent call quality
-Supports analog service
-Supports ring+vibrate together
Cons:
-Does not support video or video messaging
-Ringtones are silly and probably embarrassing if you're a businessman/woman
Bad Decision
I've always had LGs, and I was debating over this phone, another LG, or the Razr. I was talked out of the Razr by everyone with Verizon. It seems anyone who has a Razr with Cingular is far more happy. Anyway, this phone is a bust. I thought I didn't need a great camera phone until I started taking pictures. Some are too blurry. Some are too blue. Some are too red---and I didn't touch the settings. I don't need amazing pictures, but I'd like to be able to see the image!
Pros:
-Size is great
-Buttons are nicely positioned
Cons:
-Camera is AWFUL
-Speaker isn't that great
-As with all Samsungs, you have to hold down one of the buttons on the outside to see the front display = annoying and time consuming
-When I call my voice-mail, it starts with my saved messages. I realized it's because the phone is delayed. When I call people, they tell me they said "Hello" a few times before I heard them.
-The black face gets dirty really easily
Back to LG's for me, or maybe I'll be tempted to go for the Razr. No matter what, this phone is getting shipped back tomorrow!
