Samsung a530 - opinions wanted - any other cell phone recommendation?

[zippy]

It's time to buy a new cell phone and I've been looking at the Samsung a530. It's an incredibly tiny flip phone - a kid I know has it - it looks really nice and feels good. Apparently battery life is incredible however there are two problems and I'm just wondering if these are as big of problems at cnet made them out to be in their review:

1 - the clarity of the call is not good - "Unfortunately, call quality wasn't as impressive. Callers could definitely tell that we were using a cell phone, and we experienced occasional hiccups in service. Sometimes we had to repeat the last word said." -Cnet

2 - No analog roaming - how big of an issue will this be? I'll probably be getting the America's Choice plan from Verizon...map. I'll be going to Cornell University in Ithaca and I think I'll get digital service there, otherwise the few other places I typically travel to (home, former home to visit friends, NJ to visit relatives) all have digital service. I think. There are 2 dots in NY that I'm worried might be near Ithaca.

Number one is the main issue. Do you have this phone/know someone that does? Is the call clarity that bad?

Any other recommendations on a cell phone to get?

 

[GregGreen]

i love my a530... i find it to have above average voice quality, build, and reception.. also, the user interface is great.
don't worry about the analog, those two dots are not anywhere near ithaca... ithaca is much more west than those two dots

also, i addressed it earlier in my message - the call clarity is fine... i find it to be equal to a landline and among the best sound quality i have heard....

and also... no one ever listen to that joni belcher - "the cell phone diva"
she has no idea what she is talking about... she gave the motorola cdma t720 for a better review than the lg vx4400 or the samsung a530 and both are leaps and bounds better than the t720

 

[zippy]

Thanks Greg.

Any others with this phone?

 

[BillGates]

I have one too, through Verizon. I love it, and there's free WAP Internet access!!! Battery life is incredible, like you said. This is my first cell phone, so I can't comment on call clarity other than that I have no problem understanding people and they have no problems understanding me. I have never been without service, so I'm not sure how much analog service would do for me anyway... I guess if it's not there, I can't miss it anyway. Defintely recommended!

 

[BillGates]

P.S. - I also own a530.com but haven't done anything with it. I'm thinking of eventually hosting wallpaper, ringtones, caller ID pictures, etc on it. Just a bit of trivia.

 

[zippy]

What is WAP? I know what it stands for (Wireless Application Protocol) but what exactly is it? Is that the GET IT NOW thing from Verizon or what?

Thanks.

Keep em coming.

 

[Ylen13]

i have a 530 and i love it. As some people mentioned its don't have analog but i have not found a place where i don't have a signal. Also if you from verizion they give 15 days of try out.u can try on a beep feature in this phone that it will beep everytime u lose and find signal. So u can drive around and see if there is alot of dead spoots or not

 

[Crazymofo]

I have one too! It is the best phone I have even owned... (Out of 7 or so) the only thing I don?t like is the front display, if I want to see the time I have to open the lid to get the backlight to come on...

I get service in areas that verzion says I absolutely should not get service, if that tells you anything

 

[Ylen13]

Originally posted by: Crazymofo
I have one too! It is the best phone I have even owned... (Out of 7 or so) the only thing I don?t like is the front display, if I want to see the time I have to open the lid to get the backlight to come on...

I get service in areas that verzion says I absolutely should not get service, if that tells you anything

huh? why don't u just look in the little window, if its to dark hit the little bar on the side and u will see the time

 

[bubbasmith99]

both my dad and i had the phone for a few weeks. i lost mine, his got a tiny crack in the window, heh. i got an insurance replacement which i sold on ebay and i sold his on ebay as well. we both decided to go for the lg vx6000 that just came out. we really liked the a530--you cant go wrong with it--but found the vx6000 to be better for several reasons

1. it's a camera phone
2. it's buttons are bigger and easier to press
3. it's menus, etc. are easier to use, more functional

the a530 is a good phone. you primary concern shouldnt be a concern at all but your secondary concern should be more of a concern. i was just in the mountains of western md and was on extended service (roaming) the entire time because of the lg vx6000's lack of analog reception (same thing as the a530)... since cornell is in kind of a rural area as well, there's a possibility that you might be out of luck with verizon's digital network and you may get stuck in non-digital analog spots which your phone wont have and for whcih you will be out of luck.

you should definiteyl check out www.howardforums.com. best cell phone resource on the web. they have pages devoted to verizon, to lg and to samsung, so take your pick of any of those three and run some searches on 'a530' to see what people have been saying about it. also, you can post the thread you posted here over there, might get some helpful responess.

phonescoop.com is also good. avoid cnet except when you want a general overview of a product. their reviews usually suck.

 

[zippy]

Excellent. Thanks bubba.

Um...I'm still wondering what WAP is?

 

[bubbasmith99]

wap is 'wireless internet' for cell phones. i've tried to use it and found it utterly useless. maybe im just a noob but i dont know of any sites that it would be fun/useful to surf to on a tiny 2" x1" screen and try to get around using a numeric keypad. ive also run into lots of errors. do a search on howardforums for a more complete definition/understanding.

 

[zippy]

bubbasmith - oh okay. I thought so, but I wasn't sure. It seems useful for checking movie times, sports scores, but little else. Is it possible to connect the cell phone to a laptop and get internet access on the laptop for free like with WAP? I know using the phone for net access on a laptop is possible, but is it free like with WAP?

 

[bubbasmith99]

Originally posted by: zippy
bubbasmith - oh okay. I thought so, but I wasn't sure. It seems useful for checking movie times, sports scores, but little else. Is it possible to connect the cell phone to a laptop and get internet access on the laptop for free like with WAP? I know using the phone for net access on a laptop is possible, but is it free like with WAP?

im not really sure. try this link.

 

[gregshin]

my buddy just the sanyo 8100 from sprint....he has 4 bars all the time while my samsung has only 2 =(

 

[BillGates]

Originally posted by: bubbasmith99
wap is 'wireless internet' for cell phones. i've tried to use it and found it utterly useless. maybe im just a noob but i dont know of any sites that it would be fun/useful to surf to on a tiny 2" x1" screen and try to get around using a numeric keypad. ive also run into lots of errors. do a search on howardforums for a more complete definition/understanding.

I like the ability to check weather and email when I'm away from a puter. It's also fun to check out yahoo news or play some games when I'm on the can at work.

 

[bubbasmith99]

Originally posted by: BillGates

Originally posted by: bubbasmith99
wap is 'wireless internet' for cell phones. i've tried to use it and found it utterly useless. maybe im just a noob but i dont know of any sites that it would be fun/useful to surf to on a tiny 2" x1" screen and try to get around using a numeric keypad. ive also run into lots of errors. do a search on howardforums for a more complete definition/understanding.

I like the ability to check weather and email when I'm away from a puter. It's also fun to check out yahoo news or play some games when I'm on the can at work.

lol..... can you explain how i can do those things (except teh 'on the can' part.... that part i know )

 

[BillGates]

Originally posted by: bubbasmith99

Originally posted by: BillGates

Originally posted by: bubbasmith99
wap is 'wireless internet' for cell phones. i've tried to use it and found it utterly useless. maybe im just a noob but i dont know of any sites that it would be fun/useful to surf to on a tiny 2" x1" screen and try to get around using a numeric keypad. ive also run into lots of errors. do a search on howardforums for a more complete definition/understanding.

I like the ability to check weather and email when I'm away from a puter. It's also fun to check out yahoo news or play some games when I'm on the can at work.

lol..... can you explain how i can do those things (except teh 'on the can' part.... that part i know )

Here's where I learned about it: Link

Note that this is for the a530. It's great - only airtime is used, not any extra charges from Verizon!

 

[zippy]

Awesome info.

I'm loving this phone more and more every minute.

 

[thereds]

check out the SE T610 and the rave reviews its getting.

I have one. Absolutely kick ass.

Here's a review.

 

[Thegonagle]

I would definitely choose the LG-VX6000 over any Samsung. LG makes consistently good-working stuff that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Samsung has been more hit and miss with their phones, IMHO, ranging from wonderful (SCH-850/8500) to OK (A-310, SCH-3500) to absolute horsesh!t (A-430).

BTW, "Extended Network" is technically roaming, but it's not charged. It's included in the AC plan. The only time you pay roaming charges is when the phone says "ROAMING."

 

[CraigRT]

I have an SPH-A540

I like it.. but the only problem I have, is that sometimes I don't find the speaker volume loud enough. that's it.. otherwise its a good phone.. battery life could be a tad better too... my Nokia lasted at least a day longer on standby than this phone. which kinda sucks... but that's the only downfalls.