Samsung SGH-e335 - Good Sound, But Not Reception
Written: Dec 19 '05
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Pros: Looks, well-built, easy to use, colorful screen, camera, sound quality, battery life, worldwide charger
Cons: Reception not as good as the best phones (e.g. Motorola RAZR V3), monochrome external screen
The Bottom Line: The Samsung E335 is a good phone with very good sound quality. It is easy to use, well-built and looks nice. It is a good choice if...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Samsung SGH-e335 |
In addition to getting the Motorola RAZR V3 for myself, I got the Samsung SGH-E335 for my mother. I paid less than $20 for it (provided I get my rebate for extending my service contract). I had a choice of this phone and the Motorola V188, but decided to go with Samsung E335. It does not have an external antenna and has a VGA camera. I use it on the T-Mobile network in LA area.
Features and Benefits
The Samsung E335 is a nice-looking flip-style phone that features a colorful screen (128x160 pixels, 65K colors) and a smaller monochrome screen on the outside (96x96), letting you identify callers before opening the phone. It also has a VGA camera.
The E335 has 3-band GSM compatibility (850/1800/1900) and can be used in many countries that use GSM (virtually all European countries). It also comes with a charger that can be used in any country (110-240 V) and even a plug adaptor for European AC outlets.
With compact dimensions of 3.25x1.75x0.9 inches and weight of 3.1 oz, the phone is stylish and is of blue/silver color combination.
The phone features nice ring and has speakerphone functionality. It can be used to sent instant messages using AIM and Yahoo Messenger. The E335 promises good talk/standby time of up to 4.5 hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby.
Getting Started
Once I received the E335 phone, I inserted the SIM card (removed from the previous phone), attached the supplied battery (which also serves as the back side of the phone) and plugged the supplied light-gray worldwide charger into the wall outlet and the cord into the phone.
The phone uses a wide and narrow connector for all accessories (aside from the hands-free) and the charger is no exception. You have to remove the narrow and wide rubber plug that covers the slot and set it aside. Since it is not attached to the phone, it is easy to loose. So I removed it permanently and placed it in the box, in which the phone came.
The charger connector has a couple of buttons on its sides, which you have to push/squeeze to insert or remove the connector. The battery was fully charged about an hour, at which point I was ready to use the phone.
The phone does not require any initial setup, although you are free to change the ring tone, volumes, etc. The E335 is easy to use, even for someone who has not read the manual (I did not). The phone even automatically sets the time, using the T-Mobile network.
Construction
The phone is nice-looking, well-made and has a sturdy construction. The materials it is made of are durable and fit and finish are impeccable. The buttons have good tactile response and well-lit. The phone is a flip-style with good amount of effort required to open or close. There is no external antenna, which means nothing sticks out or prone to being broken off.
The fact that the phone has no external antenna is a good thing, but now I wish I considered the Motorola V188, even though it has an external antenna. I will tell you why a bit later.
Usage
The phone is very easy to use. I did not have to read the manual at all. The menus are easy to understand and use and the screen lets you see a lot of information at any given time, although not as much as my Motorola RAZR V3. You can send email or SMS messages easily and also can use instant messenging through AIM or Yahoo Messenger.
As others, the E335 lets you customize its numerous features and sounds. You can specify if you want to answer a call by flipping the phone open, by pressing any button or neither. You can select from numerous ring tones for incoming calls, SMS or voice mail. The volume for rings/tones can be set to a rather loud level.
The phone has buttons on the side that let you adjust the volume while speaking, which is convenient. The side also has a jack for a supplied hands-free device. The jack is covered by a rubberized flap that is attached to the phone and easy to open/close.
The small external display shows you the time and who is calling you without the need to open the phone. It is a monochrome screen, which is not as fancy as some color external screens, but it works well.
Performance
For me, the most important aspect of the performance of any given cell phone is its reception and sound quality. Whereas my other recent purchase, Motorola RAZR V3, excels in both, this Samsung E335 is a mixed bag. Comparing the two side by side, I found that while this Samsung provides very good sound quality, it does not provide as good of reception as the RAZR.
The E335 also shows about 20%-30% less signal strength than the RAZR V3, on average. Granted, the RAZR is about twice as expensive as this E335. I wonder if cheaper Motorola V188 would be close to RAZR in terms of reception.
Once again, the sound quality the E335 provides is very good, although not quite up to the sound quality of the land line.
The speakerphone mode of the E335 works well with good sound quality and volume.
The battery of this phone lasts quite a long time for its size and weight. I have not validated the claims by Samsung about up to 4.5 hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby time. But the phone can definitely handle at least 3 hours of talk time with no need recharging. And the compact worldwide charger makes talk time a non-issue.
The camera provides pictures that are adequate but not great. And of course, do not forget to remove the protective plastic film from your new phone, otherwise the photos will be blurry.
Pros
Nice looks, well-built, easy to use, colorful screen, great functionality, camera, sound quality, battery life, worldwide charger and European AC plug adaptor included, no external antenna.
Cons
Reception not as good as the best phones (e.g. Motorola RAZR V3), monochrome external screen, wide charger slot is slightly inconvenient.
Bottom Line
The Samsung E335 is a good phone with very good sound quality. It is easy to use, well-built and looks nice. It is a good choice if you do not want to spend much. But if you want better reception, check out the Motorola RAZR V3.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 69-50 rebate
Recommended for: World Travelers - Works Anywhere and Everywhere!
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 838
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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