Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)While I have only had this telephone for one week I have already used it in a variety of environments, wet and dry, and it does deliver as promised. This phone is solid, well constructed and can stand up to the elements. As for features, I don't want to get into too much detail as there are plenty of other resources online that you can use to find out the technical specs of this device. As for usability, in terms of signal quality, clarity and basic interaction with the phones operating system, I fell like this phone should last out my newly renewed 2 year contract and do what it is designed to do, function well in all environments. I was just coming off a contract with a Blackberry 8900, which I loved, but just didn't like paying for the extra data plan on when I decided to go smart phone cold turkey.
One of the things I did like about this model was how the interface was very similar to some of the Nokia's that I had previously owned. This is the type of OS that only takes a click or two to access exactly what you need and with enough practice, can get where you want to by memory without even looking at the screen.
While we are at it, let's talk about the screen real quick. There are a ton of adjustments that you can make to the background, fonts, layouts, size etc. and I find the screen easy to read and very sharp...indoors. Outside, the screen can be a bit darker than I prefer but I wouldn't say it is totally unreadable, but is a bit dark, even with the brightness turned to max. I have heard some people say that this is a deal-breaker with this phone and if you live in a bright and sunny climate, you may want to reconsider, especially if you are outdoors a lot. I didn't feel like docking this phone a star because of this flaw because to me, as long as the screen is usable, I am happy. Like I said, indoors, the screen is sharp, colorful and can be configured in a variety of ways.
What I can't report on, however, is the efficiency of the web browser as I don't have any type of data plan that I can use without being charged. Like I said, I went smart phone cold turkey but I would imagine on a 3G network this browser would handle most basic cell phone apps just fine. It does have some options to set up e-mail accounts on it but I just use it for its basic organizer tools and phone calls.
I do recommend that you check out the youtube videos on this phone. For me, the proven durability was a major selling point as I was always extremely cautious with my Blackberry and want something not that I can abuse, but can drop and not panic over.
Oh yeah, this phone does have a built in flashlight and compass which work very well and while it doesn't look like it, I find the sealed keypad easy to use. The company that I go through for this phone is a regional GSM network that roams on AT&T but, any cell phone company that will let you bring in an unlocked GSM phone should let you bring this one in. As for the price, well I have always felt that cell phones have an unnecessarily high retail price and mine sells for $79.99 with a two year contract. I feel that Amazon's asking price is fair as you are buying a fairly rugged phone that should give you years of service.
Reception-wise, in the steel and concrete high school that I teach in, I always have at least one bar and overall have better reception than my 8900 previously did. Also, the battery barely goes down. I might go down one bar in three days with an hour or use per day. Of course, the battery is only one week old but the battery is rated with a decent amount of talk and/or standby time.
Hopefully, I have covered enough basics on this phone and may add to it if I think if anything else. Let's see, yes it can play mp3's and it does have a built in FM radio that comes with headphones that double as a mic for phone calls. I believe it can accept up to a 16GB micro sd card but again, you will want to look up the tech specs on your own.
Go to [...]gsmarena.com for more details on this phone and don't forget to check out the youtube reviews. All in all, it has been rough kicking the smartphone habit bit this phone is making that transition a little bit easier.
UPDATE: If you want to see just how durable this phone is, look it up on gadgetstress.com and you will be blown away by the durability of this device. It rates 94 on a 100 point scale. Basically after the apocalypse three things will be remaining...cockroaches, Twinkies, and the Samsung b2710!
UPDATE #2: I just added a 4GB Micro SDHC card to this unit and...my PC refuses to recognize it without any software. So, I popped the card in the larger adapter and then into a Sandisk reader and I was able to drag and drop albums from my music folder (WMA format) and the phone had absolutely no problems reading them. I have several options such as artist, album and genre view while using the phone to play mp3's.
Unfortunately, the headset is proprietary mini USB and I honestly haven't checked to see if there are any aftermarket ones out there, but the supplied headset (which is also used for hands-free talking) puts out pretty good sound. A decent amount of bass and they were loud enough for my taste. The phone also supports album art and I may actually use this phone as a substitute MP3 player instead of my old 30GB Zune that has faithfully served me for the last 3 years. The loudspeaker puts out pretty good volume for listening without the headset, although if you want to use the FM radio, you need to have the headset connected as I would guess it functions as an antenna. With the headset attached you can also play music through the built in speaker.
Really, this phone is almost like the Swiss Army Knife of cell phones. Yeah, I am sure that there are smartphones out there they have many, many more features and as a former recovering Blackberry abuser, oops, I mean user, it is nice to have a slightly more limited set of features that you can use really well instead of being inundated with a ton of Apps they you probably wont use anyway. Oh, hey, could your smartphone survive a dip in the pool, lake or ocean for 30 minutes or more? Didn't think so.
I still get stellar battery life with maybe one bar out of five disappearing after 3 days of average use (around 45 minutes of talk time per day).
Finally...
Pro's
Rugged quality build
Good battery life
Colorful screen
Lots of features
Flashlight and compass
Good 2MP camera
Large easy to read keys
Shockproof
Waterproof
Dust-proof
Simple OS
The Hummer of cell phones
Con's
Dim outdoor screen
A tad heavy
Speakerphone doesn't get as loud as I would like in a noisy environment but is usable.
I don't know what I will do when this model disappears because if you are someone who wants a fun, simple to use, regular cellphone, that can survive a tumble off the table, or down the stairs or the occasional roll down the side of a cliff, you really don't have a lot of options.
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Samsung Xcover 271 B2710 Dust and Water Resistant Unlocked Phone with FM Radio and Pedometer - International Warranty - Black
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