Samsung E315 Phone (T-Mobile)

Rating:
Summary: My phone review
Review:
Pros:

1.Good reception ( unlike sony ericcson T610).
2.Ultra light weight ( unlike some motos).
3.Decent battery life(but not like some motos).
4.Vivid screen display.
5.Lots of internal memory.
6.Loud ringer.
7.Attractive graphics in the main lcd display.
8.Photo caller I.D
9.Different caller groups and associated ring tones.

Cons:

1.No speaker phone and Bluetooth.
2.No voice dialing.
3.Software bug in the phone book entry editing.
4.Horrible buit-in ring tones ( u should download good tones to hear something pleasant).
5.Picture from camera appears to be a long shot alhtough it's taken as a close-up using the screen/view finder.
6.Phone switches off itself sometimes without any low-battery warning/display( when there is atleast 1 bar in the charge indicator).
6.The center button in the menu navigation is somewhat larger than the up/down/left/right keys.

Rating:
Summary: Great for first timers - managed to reduce shutter sound
Review: Before you read this review I think I should mention that this was my first cell phone (can't believe I waited this long) and that I got it for free from the official T-mobile.com website (great promotion for new service) - so I may be a little more euphoric than normal!
But I did spend a lot of time reviewing different phones before making my decision which was also influenced by T-mobile's great family plans. The other reviews on Amazon were very good, helpful and quite on the mark.

Regarding the shutter sound - yes it is very loud by default, but you CAN reduce it. There's no documentation on this. Quite by accident I reduced the "key volume" and the shutter sound was reduced as well. To reduce the "key volume" - get to 'idle' state and then simply use the volume keys on the left side of the phone to adjust the "key volume". The shutter sound changes accordingly - Samsung really should have mentioned this somewhere.

Now getting back to the phone itself - it's really more than adequate for a first timer like myself. It took me a little while to get used to everything, but then again this was my first phone ever. Now, just about a week later, I feel very comfortable using the phone - so I guess that speaks well about how intuitive the phone is.
Rather than go into more details, I think I'll summarize the good and the bad of this phone. Also, I bought the Samsung e105 for my wife and I think it'll be useful to compare features below where applicable.
Cons:
1) 'Special' earphone jack - not your standard earphone jack. So if you need a new earphone set, you'll have to buy from Samsung. They should tell you things like this in the phone details, but they just don't.
Note: The Samsung e105 has a standard earphone jack.

2) Ring tones - the default ones that come with the phone are quite terrible. The only one I liked was the default 'Tmobile jingle', but of course my wife wanted that for her phone as well and so I had to choose some other wierd tune (to distinguish between the two phones).
Note: The Samsung e105 actually has a different set of ring tones that come with the phone, and some are much nicer (in my opinion) - I'm trying to get my wife to switch to one of those!

3) No infrared port - I'm not exactly sure what you use this for (I think to talk to a computer). But the Samsung e105 has this feature.

That's about it for the cons.

Pros:
1) Auto time update: You can set the time/date manually, or have it automatically set according the region you're in. There's also an 'autoupdate with confirmation' in which case it'll ask you first before setting the time.
Note: The Samsung e105 does NOT have autoupdate, you have to set the time manually.

2) Lots of memory on the phone. Also there are various 'memory statuses' on the different portions of the phone. E.g. you have a separate memory status for each of the following: a)Pictures/Video b)Voice memos c)General stuff (like phone no.s, to-do list, etc.)
It's nice that at different menus, you can check the memory status for the particular menu you're on (like those listed above) - the Samsung e105 has only ONE memory status for the entire phone.

3) Great camera - you can also record small movies (obviously not very high quality). Lots of fun!

4) Very nice small and sleek design.

Actually I could go on listing all the nice features, but these are available in the general description of the item.

Neutral observations:
1) The battery life seemed quite adequate - I went about 6 days without charging my phone (just as a test to see how long I could go without charging the phone and still leaving it in standby mode, not powered off - I also used the phone for minimal conversation during this time). This seems to be in-line with the specs.
2) There's a special 'data kit' that you would need to buy if you want the phone to talk with a computer (the kit contains a special cable and special software). I'm not sure if you could use this method to download the pictures/videos from the phone to the computer (without paying for T-mobile service).

Summary: I may have been easily pleased, but in my opinion this phone is really neat. I highly recommend getting it, especially if it's at a great price.

Rating:
Summary: My 1st Samsung
Review: First and foremost, I must note that this phone DOES NOT have speakerphone. Fortunately, the earpiece, in comparison with other manufacturers phones, is not gigantic. It actually fits comfortably in my ear. It also has a call and end button on the earpiece, which other manufacturers usually don't include in the initial kit. It's definitely a cute phone, very stylish! I was impressed by the exterior display and the ability to see actual caller id pictures on the outside. The camera and video are also impressive. The camera offers different size, color and BORDER options. As with any other camera phone, taking pictures and videos does eat the battery. Otherwise, for talking only it has a reasonable talk time. If you're used to Nokia's you would be thoroughly disappointed. You do have the ability to program GROUP ringers. The HIFI ringers don't work well with this baby (to say the least), but the poly's sound great. Paired with Tmobile, the phone gains a bit more appeal. If I had paid full price, I would have opted for a Motorola. It's not my preferred phone, but it's pretty good. I'd give it 3 stars with an added star because it's a Tmobile serviced phone!!

Rating:
Summary: Reasonable features, slightly too expensive
Review: I had an E105 before the E315. Overall, both phones are easy to use, sturdy and reliable.

This is my first camera phone so I'm enjoying that new toy. I like the photo caller ID which even works on the external display.

I guess it's easier to focus on what I'd like to see improved. The shutter sound when you take a picture is awfully loud, and there's no way (as far as I know) to turn it down/off. The built in rings on this phone are pretty bad (though there are a couple that were better than on the E105). Speaking of the E105, it had a display brightness setting you could change to increase battery life. The E315 apparently lacks this setting so the display is always at its brightest (though it does look good that way). I'd also like to see voice dialing, a speaker phone and Bluetooth features.

I'd really like to sync this phone with my Outlook contacts, but it is way expensive to buy that cable and software so I won't be doing so any time soon. The E315 comes with a charger, and hand-free ear piece, but omits the belt clip that came with my E105 (which doesn't fit on the 315).

Contrary to what others have said, you can use groups so that you can assign group rings. Not only that, but you can assign different SMS tones to the groups.

I haven't had it long enough to speak about battery life, but it shouldn't be too bad. My E105 lasted several days in stand by if I didn't talk to anybody, and at least a couple of days if I did use it.

Rating:
Summary: Samsung E315
Review: I have had a few cell phones in the past, but this is the best. With T-Mobile it costs nothing, and you can take pictures and movie clips on the go. It has an organizer, a to-do-list, a phone book, lots of memory and more. It is really an awesome phone, especially considering they are just giving them away. I have had a couple of Nokia's in the past, and was never really impressed with them - this is soooo much better. I do believe that you can buy a cable off of ebay for around $10-$15 that plugs into a USB port & then you can download the software from Samsungs website - I am not 100% sure, since I haven't tested it all out yet. But then you should be able to transfer pictures & clips from your phone to your pc.

Rating:
Summary: absolutely wonderful
Review: i have just recived this phone after having a nokia 3595 and a nokia 6010. nokia always died and dropped my calls, but since i have had this samsung my reception with T-Mobile has gone up. i havent dropped a call and over all its very simple to use. i love my samsung e315!

Rating:
Summary: Good phone but with design flaws
Review: I have owned two Samsung flip phones before I bought this phone. You would think that Samsung will keep the good features from previous models and even make them better, but that's not the case with this phone. I believe many of the flaws are due to software design. For example, when you press the option key in the phonebook and want to add a new phone number to an entry, it is actually saved as a new entry (with the phone number used as the name) instead of a new number. What is the usefullness of that? This can definitely be corrected on the software side.

Overall I like the phone: Very good camera with sharp pictures taken indoor. That's the #1 reason I bought it. I am OK with flaws on some of the features. After all, I am not entering new phone numbers every day.

Rating:
Summary: Great Phone for the Non-business User
Review: PROS:

1) Price: FREE last month, along with Samsung d415 under a family plan from a cell store. I suspect that this phone is going to be phased out soon, but my Sony Ericsson T610 died after 14 months and I needed a replacement.

2) Looks: Small and light. Clamshell has a color external & internal screen.

3) Reception and Voice Quality: Great, at least in Los Angeles where T-Mobile offers great service.

4) Phone book: Can accomodate multiple numbers per name, e.g. I can put under "MOM" 3 mobile numbers, 2 house numbers, AND 2 work numbers, but there's a catch. See CONS.

5) Photo Caller ID: You can assign a different pic for each number, which is great though the external screen's small.

6) Camera: You can choose from the following effects: gray scale, negative, sepia, sketch, emboss, and of course color.

Note on the Service Light: It's good if you tend to lose your phone and need to find it in the dark without calling yourself. It can be easily turned off though.

CONS:
1) Phone book: If you want to add a 2nd number to a name, you must input the number, save it as a mobile/work/home #, then input the name. . . . Alternatively, if you try to add a new number to "MOM", it'll be saved as a nameless number, and then you have to edit the name to be "MOM."

2) A little Noisy.
I turn off my phone, but for people who dont: "Vibrate" works, but it'd be loud if you left it on something hard, like a table. You can choose "light only" (multi-colored flashing) but when the person hangs up, the phone makes a small noise.

If you're a business user, I suggest Sprint phones. However, a casual user could do worse than this phone.

Rating:
Summary: Cute phone, but can I call someone without pressing 20 keys?
Review: The major positives of this phone involve appearance (tiny, cute, great color display, decent camera picture quality, etc.), but for a business phone, or even someone who has a high call volume, this just doesn't cut it.

MINOR CONS:
- Contrary to the description, there is NO SPEAKERPHONE.
- There is no way to completely stop your phone from "doing the (multicolored) 'disco flash.'"
- You can only enter three numbers for each name in your phonebook.

MAJOR CONS:
- IMO, the up and down arrow keys on the left of the phone should always be designated for volume of the phone speaker or ringer volume. Who cares how loud the keypad is? The (faulty) designation of this key to "keypad volume" when the phone is not in use forces navigation through various menus with a minimum of 10 keystrokes (I'm not kidding) -- every time you change environments and want your phone to ring louder or softer.
- Worst of all is the process of accessing names and numbers from the phonebook. Example: say you miss a call from "Amy's work," but need to return the call to "Amy's cell." Motorola keystrokes (I use them as an example, b/c this was my last phone): enter call log, select Amy, select Amy cell, call. Samsung keystrokes: enter call log, select Amy, select options (oh wait, there are none, b/c I need her other number), exit, exit, phonebook, select Amy, select view, select cell, call.

CONCLUSION:
There is a general lack of intuitiveness with this phone, resulting in way too many keystrokes than should be necessary for basic functions. I dunno, maybe I should get a PDA? But I just want to CALL people. And do it with ease. Is that too much to ask? I want my Motorola back!

Rating:
Summary: I luv this phone!
Review: This is my second phone. Before i had a nokia 1221. I love this phone!! After looking around for months i found the perfect phone (e315)! I wanted this phone becasue it has a camera but then i found out how cheap it was and i was conviced! The camera feature is very easy to use and video feature is fun to use (not that great quality though) Also the ear volulme is great,clear, and crisp compared to my old nokia. Also this phone is VERY light! I find the predictive text very helpful to write quick text messges. I felt like i knew everything about the phone with a day! It is very easy to use! I also love the photo caller I.D! Mine also has AIM which is fun to use while out and about.I could only find two minor megatives
1) There isn't flash. I think the pictures could be better with flash. (cannot take pictures at night without a light on)
2)There isn't a complete silent button. The # key puts the phone in "silent" mode, but it vibrates. I want a button like on my nokia where i can have it completely silent.
Overall i think i will have this phone for a long time. T-mobile is a great provider and easy to read bils.