Good but not perfect (Samsung SGH-E700)

Member Name: jonesri

Product:	Samsung SGH-E700
Date:	21/11/04 (1171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: small and slick, multi-photos, functional

Disadvantages: Scratch outer display, some text problems

I, as many others, have always favoured Nokia phones and through years of use become accustomed to the features they provided. It is not until you leave the Nokia fold and try something else that you really notice the small things about a phone that can make all the difference. On the surface of it a phone by a different manufacturer may seem to offer the same functionality as a Nokia phone, but it is the small differences that can make the difference between it being better or worse than what you had before. As far as I am concerned Nokia make are the best phones (functionally) and what all other manufacturers are competing with.

Sadly for Nokia, when I upgrade my phone I tend to be more interested in the appearance of the phone rather than anything else. When I came to upgrade my phone last time I wasn't overly impressed with the design of the latest Nokia phones so I decided to look at others.

I settled on the Samsung E700 based on the look and feel of the phone and a couple of features demonstrated to me in the shop that I will come onto later. I should say at this point that, despite my love of Nokia phones, I am very pleased with this phone and have no regrets about upgrading to it. I have had it for approaching a year and have had very few issues with it. The issues I have had have been relatively small and easily fixable.

I was first drawn to this phone by the appearance of it. Like all good phones it has a tasteful and classy appearance. There is no gimmick to the appearance of the phone; it has a functional and stylish design. It is a clam-style phone with no external aerial. The outside of the phone is deep blue and silver in colour and has a small LCD screen on the top. The lens for the camera is just above this screen too.

There is a button to access the camera on the right side of the phone and a volume control on the left. These are the only two buttons accessible without opening the phone. There is an infrared port and headphone socket on the left side of the phone too, with the port for the charger and data-cable being on the bottom. The case is quite robust and does not easily damage. Having dropped my phone a couple of times I am surprised how little noticeable damage it has sustained.

Moving inside the phone, the top half of the clam is taken up with the main screen, which is a good size and colour. The key layout is fairly standard with a small set of cursor keys above the numbers, which also act as quick links to some of the more common features of the phone, such as calendar, photo, write new text message and setting the ring tone. Either side of the cursor keys there are two action keys the function of which vary depending on which function is currently being performed. When the phone is first opened these buttons offer access to the phonebook and the menu system.

The phonebook offers several functions. Firstly and perhaps most obviously it allows you to create and search through phone numbers. Or perhaps more accurately phone records. There are two places a phone number can be saved using this phone. The first is on the SIM card, allowing it to be moved between phones as needed. The second is in the memory on the phone itself. If the number is saved on the phone itself then it is saved against a person. A person can have multiple numbers stored against them, as well as email addresses and images. A complete contact record can be stored in the phonebook for each person. This removes the need to have 3 records for each person in your address book: Bob mobile, Bob home, Bob work etc. Any images stored against the person are displayed on the outer LCD when they phone. The other functions the phonebook performs is to manage the speed dial settings, and offer some functions to manage the contents of the address book (such as delete all, send via infrared and copy all to phone).

The menu system is well designed and allows easy navigation between the main functions of the phone. There are multiple levels to the menu system in the phone: A main menu, which has around 8 items in it, and then smaller menus beneath this to distinguish the options. The menu options available are dependent on the network the phone is on. The menu described below is taken from the O2 network; some additional menu items may be available on other networks.

1. Messages: options for text and multimedia messages. Additionally there are options for voicemail and memory management. The text and multimedia messages each have a set of predefined folders including inbox, outbox and draft folders. It is not possible to define additional folders.

2. Call Records: a record of all your missed calls, received calls, dialled calls and your call time. The latter is not an option I like to check too often.

3. Sound Settings: this is where all the tone settings are. What will you choose for your incoming call tone, message tone or key tone? You select it all in here. Ring tones can be downloaded to the phone but there is no composer to make your own.

4. Phone Settings: all the other phone settings (not tone related are in here). You can set your greeting message, choose your wallpaper for the front screen, set the language, security options etc.

5. Organiser: all the calendar style functions are in here. Create memo’s, a to-do list, the time and date etc. This is also the option where the alarm clock settings are for anyone who has reason to use their phone to wake them up.

6. Network Services: all sorts of network and calling options. Decide if you want call waiting active, call divert and call barring.

7. Fun Box: all sorts of games and WAP options. Go “online” or play games in here. You can also download games to play on your phone.

8. Camera: all the photo options are in this menu. Taking photos, deleting photos and moving photos between folders can all be performed in here.

The camera is good with various modes available to get the best picture. Obviously it is not going to compete with the quality of a real camera, but what do you want from a phone? There are various features in the camera that make this phone good fun including the ability to take 9 or 15 multi shots (one after another in rapid succession) to capture a small picture board. You can also use the display on the outside of the phone to take photos if you are into taking pictures of yourself.

Sounds too good to be true? Well it probably is. There are a few things that I have noticed since having the phone that you should be aware of. Firstly with text messaging. The predictive text is pretty good but not as good as on recent Nokia’s (you can't go back to a previous suggestion if you miss it) and if you are writing a text and press the 'end call' button you lose everything you have written. Given the position of this button this happens more often that you would think.

Secondly because it is possible to access the camera using the button on the outside of the phone it is fairly easy to end up with a photo album full of pictures of the inside of your bag/pocket. This is a case of a price to pay for additional functionality. Having the ability to take photos without having to open the phone means that there is always the possibility that it could happen by accident. Staying with the photos it is also annoying that it is not possible to send them via infrared. To get the photo’s off the phone you have to either send them in a message or buy a data-cable and connect it to a PC.

I found the lack of Bluetooth a little disappointing too. It seems to be a standard means of connecting phones to peripheral devices and for it to be omitted from this phone seems like a waste, especially considering its poor use of infrared.

Like I said previously I have been pleased with the physical durability of this phone although I have heard of other people having trouble with the joint becoming a little loose. The only issue I have had with the physical build of the phone has been the battery, which has become unclipped on a couple of occasions.

Generally I am very pleased with this phone. When I started looking for an upgrade I wanted a slick looking phone with a built in camera and no external aerial. This phone has delivered on my requirements and more. Even considering the small faults mentioned above this is an excellent phone and depending what you are looking for certainly worth a look. Recommended.

Thanks for reading.

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