Samsung SCH SCH-r500 Cell Phone
- Screen Size (Diagonal): 2.12 inch
- Design: Mobile
- Style: Clamshell
- Network Type: CDMA 1900 CDMA 800 CDMA 1x EVDO
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Samsung Hue (SCH-r500) Cellular Phone
Pros
Phone size, display size, interchangeable face plate covers
Cons
Battery life, ringer lacks features
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
I recommend this phone if you receive it free with your service.
Due to an agreement with the company my wife works for, we recently switched from AT&T to Alltel. When switching, we received new cell phones from Alltel. We chose the Samsung Hue r500. So far, we have mixed emotions about the phone. Here are a few of the positives and negatives we've found:
Positives
Phone size. I'm not a big fan of the extremely small cell phones. The Samsung Hue r500 is just about the perfect size for me. Closed, it's about 3 inches tall by 1.5 inches wide by .5 inch thick. Of course, when open, it's about twice at tall. It's big enough to not get lost in a ladies purse very easily but small enough to fit in most generic belt clips and not be too bulky.
Display size. While I have very good eyesight, my wife has worn glasses or contacts for many years. The large display is definitely an advantage for her. She doesn't have to have her glasses on or contacts in to be able to see the display. The actual size of the display is just over 2 inches diagonal.
Built-in camera. I don't take a lot of pictures with my phone, but it's definitely an advantage to have it when I need it. The pictures seem to be fairly good quality and the camera is very easy to use.
Plate colors. This might not be a big deal to some people, but I was very glad to see that we got two different color face plates with each phone. Since my wife and I both got the same type of phone, we can easily determine which is hers and which is mine based on the red and blue face plates we received. They are very easy to change in case you decide you would like to switch colors for a few days.
Now for the negatives I've found
Ringer. One thing I really liked about my previous phone that the Samsung Hue r500 doesn't offer is the ringer changing from vibrate to ring while the phone is plugged up. I always keep my ringer on vibrate, but when I'm traveling and have the phone plugged up to the car charger, I would like for the ringer to automatically become audible because the phone is no longer attached to my hip. This is very handy option that is not available with the Samsung Hue r500.
Battery life. It seems to me the battery life on the Samsung Hue r500 is fairly short. I don't use my phone very often at all and I have to charge it every few days. For someone who uses a phone as little as I do, I think the battery should last at least 4-5 days if not longer.
Clarity. As I've not had a large number of cell phones, I don't know if the clarity of the Samsung Hue r500 is better than most, but it's not as good as the phone I had before this one. The speaker is very small and needs to be at a precise place over your ear in order to hear the person on the other end at all. The sound from the phone is dull and hollow. It works, but it takes a little getting used to.
Voicemail display. This might be an issue with Alltel's service, but I thought it was worth mentioning in case it's actually a result of the phone. Many times when I check my voice mail screen, it says I have one message. When I call my voice mail, it says I don't have any messages. Then, sometimes when I know I have a message, it doesn't show up in the voice mail screen.
The Samsung Hue r500 has it's positives and negatives, but all in all, it's not a bad phone. The price was right as we received them free being new customers. I don't think I would pay more than $20 for one of these phones, but if you get it free, it's as good as any other free phones I've gotten in the past from other cell phone companies.
Positives
Phone size. I'm not a big fan of the extremely small cell phones. The Samsung Hue r500 is just about the perfect size for me. Closed, it's about 3 inches tall by 1.5 inches wide by .5 inch thick. Of course, when open, it's about twice at tall. It's big enough to not get lost in a ladies purse very easily but small enough to fit in most generic belt clips and not be too bulky.
Display size. While I have very good eyesight, my wife has worn glasses or contacts for many years. The large display is definitely an advantage for her. She doesn't have to have her glasses on or contacts in to be able to see the display. The actual size of the display is just over 2 inches diagonal.
Built-in camera. I don't take a lot of pictures with my phone, but it's definitely an advantage to have it when I need it. The pictures seem to be fairly good quality and the camera is very easy to use.
Plate colors. This might not be a big deal to some people, but I was very glad to see that we got two different color face plates with each phone. Since my wife and I both got the same type of phone, we can easily determine which is hers and which is mine based on the red and blue face plates we received. They are very easy to change in case you decide you would like to switch colors for a few days.
Now for the negatives I've found
Ringer. One thing I really liked about my previous phone that the Samsung Hue r500 doesn't offer is the ringer changing from vibrate to ring while the phone is plugged up. I always keep my ringer on vibrate, but when I'm traveling and have the phone plugged up to the car charger, I would like for the ringer to automatically become audible because the phone is no longer attached to my hip. This is very handy option that is not available with the Samsung Hue r500.
Battery life. It seems to me the battery life on the Samsung Hue r500 is fairly short. I don't use my phone very often at all and I have to charge it every few days. For someone who uses a phone as little as I do, I think the battery should last at least 4-5 days if not longer.
Clarity. As I've not had a large number of cell phones, I don't know if the clarity of the Samsung Hue r500 is better than most, but it's not as good as the phone I had before this one. The speaker is very small and needs to be at a precise place over your ear in order to hear the person on the other end at all. The sound from the phone is dull and hollow. It works, but it takes a little getting used to.
Voicemail display. This might be an issue with Alltel's service, but I thought it was worth mentioning in case it's actually a result of the phone. Many times when I check my voice mail screen, it says I have one message. When I call my voice mail, it says I don't have any messages. Then, sometimes when I know I have a message, it doesn't show up in the voice mail screen.
The Samsung Hue r500 has it's positives and negatives, but all in all, it's not a bad phone. The price was right as we received them free being new customers. I don't think I would pay more than $20 for one of these phones, but if you get it free, it's as good as any other free phones I've gotten in the past from other cell phone companies.
