Samsung SGH A300

...as well as stunning designs. Samsung are the now ranked 4th in the world in Mobile phone Sales, just beating Siemens. Samsung saw a 174% increase in Sales this year compared to last, so the introduction of their GSM phones in the European Sector in 1998 plus the wacky sleek designs must be a bonus! Before I begin, I wish to state that this is a new and very small phone. This opinion will explain my thoughts and experiences of this handset and at ...
...curved contours at end, the Samsung A300 is rectangular, though the edges are not sharp and are curved off. There is also a small antenna, which doesn’t protrude and is finished in light grey to complement the colour and styling of the phone.

What do you get~

When you purchase this phone (which is currently available on monthly contracts in UK), you get the following; 2 batteries (standard battery and slim battery), ... more

Meet my new small friend; Sam; he plays sweet melodies in my ear and if I don’t want to be disturbed he’ll whisper a message or vibrate gently in the palm of my hand… When I saw Sam, it was love at first sight; he was young, slim, and sexy! I immediately got rid of my ex, who was too bulky. So, who is Sam? My mystery man? My new Ciao lover? No. Sam is code-named A-300; it is the latest new phone from Samsung.

I decided to upgrade my old mobile phone of the last 3 years, which was getting a bit too heavy to travel with and invested in a new smaller phone. My previous phone being a Motorola (MR602); I was not one that is tied to one brand such as Nokia when it comes to Mobile phones. So, branching out away from the Nokia’s and Motorola’s of this world, I looked into other Electronics’ giants; such as Korean manufacturer Samsung; that brought a curious attraction of its own and determination to investigate features as well as stunning designs. Samsung are the now ranked 4th in the world in Mobile phone Sales, just beating Siemens. Samsung saw a 174% increase in Sales this year compared to last, so the introduction of their GSM phones in the European Sector in 1998 plus the wacky sleek designs must be a bonus! Before I begin, I wish to state that this is a new and very small phone. This opinion will explain my thoughts and experiences of this handset and at the end; I will mention a few similar mobile phone handsets you may wish to consider.

The phone – A-300
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Normally I would start by discussing a phones features and functions first but with a phone of this design one cannot start a description and analysis of this phone without mentioning this phones stylish good looks!

The design ~

The phone looks stunning; it is finished in silver and has the unmistakable round window displaying the famous LCD screen, which lights up in blue. It is a flip phone, making operation sleek and effortless with no large buttons to switch on and off. The remarkable thing about this phone is that it has a dual screen; once you open the flip, the internal screen reveals a clear big display with aqua green lighting. At first, I thought the display on a small phone may be too small but the amazing design and styling makes it just the same size if not bigger than my previous larger phone.
Being small and compact weighing in at under 100g (~92g); the phone fits snugly in the palm of your hand. Unlike similar small phones such as the Motorola V50, which are oval curved contours at end, the Samsung A300 is rectangular, though the edges are not sharp and are curved off. There is also a small antenna, which doesn’t protrude and is finished in light grey to complement the colour and styling of the phone.

What do you get~

When you purchase this phone (which is currently available on monthly contracts in UK), you get the following; 2 batteries (standard battery and slim battery), mains charger, Samsung earphone, hand strap and a manual.

Battery ~

Now you may be wondering why Samsung have included 2 batteries with this…a clue to this is in the rather limited battery time that’s is available on this handset. It claims a standby time of 80hrs (which is less than 3 days), whereas powerful phones such as Nokia’s 6210 claim standby battery time’s of up to 260 hours, which is over 8 days!! Therefore, Samsung have included 2 batteries a chunky standard battery and a slim battery that probably lasts up to 70 hrs. However, I am finding that the standard battery does not last up to its claimed 80 hours, and in reality is lasting only 48 hours. This is something I am currently investigating. The battery is an integrated part of the phone and also forms the back flap or lid of the phone; one side is the battery and the backside is finished in silver and forms the back lid. So there are no fiddly back panel lids to replace after you fit the battery in, once the battery is fitted, that’s it; you’re ready to go.

As with all new phones and batteries; the battery was charged about 14 hours prior to use, though the fast charge was completed within 3 hours. I have not charged the battery in 2 days and it is still 75% charged and the phone has been on all the time, including lengthy phone calls to my new networks customer service and testing various ring tones! The battery life of single battery is ok, but I think it could be a lot better and does not come in the range of the powerful Nokia’s.

Features and Functions ~

The Samsung is designed with all the features and layout you would expect in a modern phone, i.e. everything is easily accessed via a Menu. The phone has a range of features associated in today’s mobile world; it’s dual band, has vibration alert, personal organiser, works with a PDA via infra red port (IRDA), allows SMS text messages, predictive text messaging, calendar, alarm, numerous ring tones etc, etc. I must admit this is my first professional Menu driven phone and I found it very easy to navigate. The phone can be navigated by the use of two soft keys on the left and right allowing one to select or exit a menu. The navigation key; up, down, left and right, allowing menu navigation and WAP browsing is situated in the centre in between the two soft keys.

There are 8 different sub-menus covering a variety of features on this phone. The menu is presented in a logical order with things like ‘Missed Calls’ being the first option in the Menu and is listed as No.1. The missed calls can be visible on the outside LCD panel of the phone, as well as via the internal main screen. The beauty of having a dual screen is the external screen shows you who is calling without the need for you to open the flip phone, so you can ignore it if its not important. If you missed the call, it shows you the time, date and number of the caller (providing the caller has not blocked their number). This is an improvement over my last phone that only showed the last 10 calls received but didn’t show dates or times.

PhoneBook ~

Entering numbers in the phone book was never simpler, as soon as you start entering a number it asks you if you want to save it. You have 2 choices of where to store phone numbers; in the phone memory or in the SIM card. This phone allows 100 phone numbers to be stored in phone memory and 99 on the Sim card. The phone also allows speed dialling to 9 numbers you call most often; this can be done by assigned a stored memory location on the Sim card. The format available on the handset allows you to write/store numbers and names in lower case, or Capitals and also uses a host of other symbols. There are many extended features in the phonebook that allow you to copy and paste names and numbers to other locations in the phone’s memory or elsewhere to be exported.

The Organiser~

I find this function one of the most useful; it is found under Menu 5 and this menu comprises of 6 sub-menus. The first option is the Calendar, which slows the whole month with the days of the week printed in words across the top e.g., Mo, Tu, We, Th., etc. The current date is highlighted, so you can see todays date. One can also search to see if you have added any ‘things to do’ under the Memo that may be appearing shortly. So, say, for example, today’s date is 13 November; the 13th will be highlighted and the bottom of the calendar month there’s a blank space reminding you of any appointments you may have on this date.
You can also set timers to remind you to do things and also assign a high or low priority. A feature I particularly enjoy and find useful is ‘World Time’, this shows you the time in up to 21 countries. When World Time is selected, you see a map of the whole world, which will show what time zone you are in. In this mode you can scroll across the world and go + or – GMT, as I’m going to Dubai shortly this will be useful for me (ok, even if I cant count 4 hours ahead it looks good!) Oh and just so that you can do all your currency conversions correctly there’s also a calculator.
As mentioned earlier the phone has an alarm, which allows you to set up a daily alarm, or a weekly alarm. I have been using mine for last 3 days and it has never failed and gets me up for work in no time.

Ringtones ~

This phone has 48 ring tones. I personally find one or two sufficient but for those if you that like changing the melody as fast as changing fashions this may be of some use to you. I actually found most of the tunes rather boring. So, for the creative musicians out there; Samsung have added a Melody composer, which allows you to compose your own ring tone using the keys on the phone. It allows you to listen to your melody first and then modify it or save it when you’re happy. You can create and save about 2 melodies. When you are trying out some of these tone make sure you find out where the volume keys are, which are conveniently located on the side of this phone and can be turned up or down by pressed 2 arrow keys. The volume can also be adjusted by entering the On-Screen Menu.

Other Features~

The phone allows many network features such as call diverting, call barring, call waiting, and the ability to set up Group Calling etc. Again, many of these features are pre-determined by your network provider and various charges may apply. Currently, this handset is available on BT cellnet, Vodaphone, One2one and will be available on Orange too by end of November 2001. This phone is also a WAP phone with a variety of features according to network. An extended set of Messages can be sent as text, e-mail, fax etc, again this will depend on your service provider. You can also set up pre-set messages, it allows up to 5 regularly used messages to be stored. I’m not a heavy text User and each message of mine tends to be individual so I don’t really use this feature.

I better mention what this phone doesn’t have (which will be everything that I cant find in this phone or in the manual) there is no voice-activated dialling, there are no games and it is not Tri-band (i.e. you cant use it in USA). I didn’t want any games on my mobile, neither did I want to incur exorbitant costs of using a mobile phone in USA, so on that basis these small omissions were not of great concern.

The graphics~

The graphics on this phone are superb, very clear, crisp, and sharp. I am really impressed with it and didn’t expect such clarity on a small phone.
The LCD Graphics are 128x128 Pixels which allows 6-lines of text or 1-line icon.

Sound and call quality ~

Being a small phone, the sound occasionally sounds ‘tinny’, or shall I say the ringtones do especially some of the included 48 ringtones! Receiving a call is easy and the call has been clear and the sound audible. However, I am still getting used to handling such a small phone. Sometimes I think I may lose it, it’s so small! The call quality is clear, again there will be regional variations, and this will be dependant on your network provider too.

So overall what do I think about this phone, to make it easier I think I will award ratings out of 5 to each section:

Design and Style –5/5
Functions – 4/5
Graphics – 5/5
Battery Life –3/5

Cost- Well understandably this varies from network to network and tariff, and quite often costs of mobile phones are not submitted in opinions for this reason. I managed to buy this phone for £9.99 on a monthly contract and still retained my previous number as I switched networks.

This is a new phone and it’s price on networks varies from £49.99 to £79.99+, but if you do an upgrade at well known chains such as carphone warehouse it can be found at £19.99. For the more cautious and investigative bargain hunters..the best deals are always found at private local retailers..I haggled and got mine reduced from £19.99 to £9.99 and in a few months I guess you will find this phone available as ‘free’ on any network, so keep hunting. Other new phones to consider are the Motorola V66 (though it’s expensive!) Motorola V60 (even more expensive), Motorola V50 (free on contract!), Sony Z5, Sony Z7..and do I need to mention the Nokia’s…..?

I would recommend this phone to anyone considering buying or replacing their current handset for a small, compact phone and different yet is high on design and equally loaded with a bundle of features. On the evaluation of the above I award this handset a 4 star rating.
 

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