Samsung SGH-A707
The Samsung SGH-A707, was introduced on November 7, 2006 by AT&T Mobility, who chose to brand it as the Samsung SYNC instead of using the manufacturer's model number. The phone marks the first HSDPA flip phone to be offered by the wireless carrier, and has been marketed at those who seek "music on the go" as well as trying to capture some of the market held by the Motorola RAZR flip phone.
Features
Coming in at just under 0.75" thick, the A707 is slim, but is wider than most at 3.75". Samsung claims a talk time of up to four hours on a full charge, and approximately 10 days of standby time. In keeping with its music phone image, the A707 software has an MP3-capable multimedia player and supports stereo Bluetooth headphones. However, recent versions of the A707 lack the Stereo Bluetooth Profile making it impossible to consistently use a Stereo Bluetooth headset. As an added problem, Samsung's Support can't even help users pair the phone with their own Samsung Stereo Bluetooth headset and the manuals for both are incorrect on the subject. It also has a MicroSD memory card slot which, at the present time, has a capacity of 2Gb (2GB MicroSD cards can be found for as little as $20) that adds storage for music, applications and user data. Other multimedia features include a 2 megapixel camera (without flash) and an external speakerphone. An outside LCD allows viewing of Caller ID data, as well as a clock and media player functions. The A707 comes equipped with capacitive external media controls to allow music playing without opening the phone.
The AT&T-branded phone uses an orange over black color scheme for menus and adds several AT&T-specific functions, such as a dedicated music key that leads to the AT&T Music Mall, an AT&T logo center button and four AT&T-branded menu options. One notable inclusion is the Picsel File Viewer, which allows on-device reading of certain Microsoft Office file types, as well as Adobe PDF and text files.
In Europe this model is known as the SGH-Z560, and has 3 different firmwares available.
Feature list
- Talk Time: Up to 4 hours
- 2MP Digital Camera/Camcorder
- MP3 Player
- Multimedia Player
- MicroSD Memory Card Slot
- Bluetooth
- Speakerphone
- Video Share
- 3G Network Capability
- Airplane mode
- Dimensions: 3.75" x 1.89" x 0.625"
- Weight: 3.52 ounces
Supported File Formats
- Audio: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, MP3, WMA, 3GP, MPEG,MPEG4, MP4, and M4A
- Ringtones: MIDI, MMF, MP3 (less than 600KB) ATT Branded A707's (less than 300k)
- Video: MP4, 3GP (QCIF/QVGA resolutions (up to 320x240) supported)
- Documents: TXT, PDF, DOC, PPT, XLS, HTML
- Pictures: GIF, JPG, PNG
Acceptance and Criticisms
Though the phone has reportedly been well received by reviewers, some users have complained AbOUT the phone's lack of customization options. Notably, AT&T-themed menu options and preconfigured dialing entries are not able to be changed or removed, and unsigned applications are subject to additional prompts before using. AT&T has also disabled the loading of JAVA software via any mechanism other than the internet. Most negative views of the phone stem from advanced users who desire access to all capabilities, as opposed to the general public who may not be aware such options are available.
Hardware based complaints include flimsy covers for charging slot and memory slot; the memory card is very difficult to remove--The Spring often doesn't engage or gets stuck pressed in forcing you to employ some sharp device and making swapping cards unrealistic. Also, many users have complained about the durability of the front LCD screen, which, over time breaks internally, causing a loss of visibility on this screen. The lack of a standard headphone jack can also be difficult compounded by the fact that all the time you are using the headphone jack (same as the power jack) the tiny, barely attached cover is open and vulnerable.
Overall reviews have been positive, even with these limitations experienced by some users.
External links
ru:Samsung SGH-A707