Samsung C417 Cell Phone
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- Installed Memory: 2.5 MB
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Performance: Quad Band
- Design: Mobile
- Style: Clamshell
- Network Type: GSM 850 GSM 900 GSM 1800 GSM 1900 GPRS
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Looks Nice, Sounds OK, Menus Not So Much
Pros
Light, attractive, good display, easy buttons, sound quality is good.
Cons
Camera is awful, and menus need serious redesigning.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you can get a good deal on it (Cingular had a rebate program going when I got mine, maybe they still do), go for it.
I have been using a Motorola V220 for years. I liked it fine, but gadget-lust was setting in and Cingular lured me in with a special on the Samsung C417. The phone is beautiful; thin and light, but comfortable to hold when talking. (I prefer clamshell phones; they don't dial themselves in my purse, and somehow actually talking into something is important to me. I don't like the mic hovering over my cheek, halfway between my mouth and ear. But that's just me.)
The display is nice and bright, the numbers on the display (as one dials) are almost too big, which is an advantage in sunlight or for people with poor eyesight. The number buttons are clearly marked, easy to handle, I've never had any problem with accidentally getting a neighboring button instead of my intended target. The outer display has a clock, caller ID (no picture ID on the outside display), and a missed call/voicemail/text message alert. Again, easy to see.
Voice volume during calls is fine and easily adjustable with a rocker switch on the side of the phone. Speakerphone volume is good too. Clarity is also quite acceptable.
The camera works from a dedicated button which is too easy to press accidentally, as it is on the right edge of the phone, right about where my thumb goes when the phone is open. The camera's brightness can be adjusted, and you can go tighter on a shot at fixed intervals. I believe that you can also set the size of the resulting picture. But the picture quality is awful, and that's saying something given the general quality of cell phone cameras. My old Motorola produced small but quite acceptable pictures. This Samsung phone gives me bigger photos, but they're blurry.
I said that "I believe" that you can set the size of the pictures, and that leads into the discussion of the worst flaw in this phone. The menu system. Oh. My. God. I'm learning how to navigate them, but good golly there's a lotta button-pushing going on! The menus are non-intuitive and vastly complicated. Again, I'm comparing to the Motorola, and there is no comparison.
However, their predictive text capabilities are pretty awesome when texting. (I text a lot.) The phone learns as you go, and it's easy to enter words that either aren't in the phone's dictionary or are specific to your use, like nicknames or technical terms. This feature I like very much.
The ringer is loud enough. The default ringtones are pretty lame, but of course they want you to buy new ones, and the default tones will do what you need them to do.
The address book, if you store your numbers on the phone and not the SIM, is nice. It's well-laid-out and has entries for every category of phone (home, business, mobile, fax, etc), e-mail, and allows you to categorize your contacts as family, friends, business, etc. You can enter a picture ID (not visible when the phone is closed) and assign a ringtone to individuals. (Handy when you want to avoid a call!)
I think those are the high points. I'm not sorry I "upgraded," although I don't feel that this phone is much of an improvement over my old Motorola. It's a pretty phone, it does what it's supposed to do. Shame about the camera and those menus, though.
The display is nice and bright, the numbers on the display (as one dials) are almost too big, which is an advantage in sunlight or for people with poor eyesight. The number buttons are clearly marked, easy to handle, I've never had any problem with accidentally getting a neighboring button instead of my intended target. The outer display has a clock, caller ID (no picture ID on the outside display), and a missed call/voicemail/text message alert. Again, easy to see.
Voice volume during calls is fine and easily adjustable with a rocker switch on the side of the phone. Speakerphone volume is good too. Clarity is also quite acceptable.
The camera works from a dedicated button which is too easy to press accidentally, as it is on the right edge of the phone, right about where my thumb goes when the phone is open. The camera's brightness can be adjusted, and you can go tighter on a shot at fixed intervals. I believe that you can also set the size of the resulting picture. But the picture quality is awful, and that's saying something given the general quality of cell phone cameras. My old Motorola produced small but quite acceptable pictures. This Samsung phone gives me bigger photos, but they're blurry.
I said that "I believe" that you can set the size of the pictures, and that leads into the discussion of the worst flaw in this phone. The menu system. Oh. My. God. I'm learning how to navigate them, but good golly there's a lotta button-pushing going on! The menus are non-intuitive and vastly complicated. Again, I'm comparing to the Motorola, and there is no comparison.
However, their predictive text capabilities are pretty awesome when texting. (I text a lot.) The phone learns as you go, and it's easy to enter words that either aren't in the phone's dictionary or are specific to your use, like nicknames or technical terms. This feature I like very much.
The ringer is loud enough. The default ringtones are pretty lame, but of course they want you to buy new ones, and the default tones will do what you need them to do.
The address book, if you store your numbers on the phone and not the SIM, is nice. It's well-laid-out and has entries for every category of phone (home, business, mobile, fax, etc), e-mail, and allows you to categorize your contacts as family, friends, business, etc. You can enter a picture ID (not visible when the phone is closed) and assign a ringtone to individuals. (Handy when you want to avoid a call!)
I think those are the high points. I'm not sorry I "upgraded," although I don't feel that this phone is much of an improvement over my old Motorola. It's a pretty phone, it does what it's supposed to do. Shame about the camera and those menus, though.
