| Samsung A300 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | 2001 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 81 X 42 X 22 Mm |
| Weight | 77 G ( Slim Battery ) |
| Display |
| Type | Grayscale Graphic, 4 Shades |
| Size | 128 X 128 Pixels |
| | - Second External Display 80 X 48 Pixels
- Four Way Navigation Keys
- Dynamic Font Size
- Softkeys |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Amount | 48 + 2 Custom |
| Customization | Composer |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 100 Entries, 5 Contact Groups |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 10 Received, 10 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| | - Message Templates |
| Data |
| Gprs | No |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | Yes |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms |
| Browser | Wap 1.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | No |
| Colors | 3 - Champaign Gold, Metallic Silver, Rich Black |
| Camera | No |
| | - T9
- Calendar
- To Do List
- Speed Dial
- Menu Shortcuts
- World Clock |
| Battery |
| | Slim Li-ion, 570 Mah |
| Stand-by | 50 H |
| Talk Time | 2.5 H |
|
Samsung - A300A bonus display with the Samsung A300
Major Differences
Full-flip phone design with external display (Dual LCD)
WAP over CSD
T9 predictive text input
Infrared port
Organiser functions (calculator, calendar, to-do list functions) Problems/Issues?
Calendar text size too small
Sales package (should contain):
1 x SGH-A300 handset
1 x standard Li-ion battery (900mA)
1 x slim Li-ion battery (570mA)
1 x over-the-neck ear microphone
1 x hand strap
1 x SGH-A300 user manual
1 x SGH-A300 WAP browser user manual
1 x warranty information card
Overview
The only full-flip, folding phones that I ever got the chance to use and try out were the Motorola ones. There was the StarTAC (can we ever forget!), and then followed the V’s (better). I can honestly say that there is a bigger chance of me getting a Motorola flip phone today than a few years ago. But if there was an alternative, then I would consider that too!
It has been worth the wait. The SGH-A300 from Samsung is one of the first few full-flip phones to become available in the Australia market that is not “Motorola”. Apart from previously seeing the TV advertisements for the phone, the thing I was most impressed with this phone was the LCD display on the front side of the flip - allowing information to be shown when the phone’s flip is shut.
"Closing the phone's flip didn't make a huge bang!"
After opening up the A300’s sales package, I found the phone sat very comfortably in my palm in any position (whether I was holding it tight or just letting it sit in my hand), and on opening/closing the flip and inserting/removing the battery I found the build quality to be quite good. Closing the phone’s flip didn’t make a huge bang - thanks to the two small cushioning devices located at the base of the phone. The weight of the phone was just right - not too heavy and not too light. The package came with two batteries - a standard-sized and a slim one. I found both battery sizes quite acceptable - which didn’t make the phone too thick for it to be considered uncomfortable.
The phone looked great when the flip was closed. But on opening it up, I found the main display being “too square” - which immediately took away the curvature effect of the phone’s design. A sufficiently-bright, green backlight illuminated the keypad and main greyscale display, while a blue backlight was used for the outside display instead.
Talking about the outside display, this will be one of the main factors that will make people think about buying this phone over anything else available. What we have all hated about full-flip phones is that you cannot see the display when you need to (for example, knowing who is calling, the signal strength, etc). Take this example, for instance: one would want the convenience of having an active flip when they don’t need to disable this to be able to see who’s calling before answering the phone (for those StarTAC and ‘V’ users, does this sound familiar?).
Some of the information that is presented in the outside display include the current time and date, signal strength and battery level, notification of received messages, missed calls and (of course) the telephone number or the name of the person - if in the phone book - of a person calling in. When you want to see what’s on this display, simply hold down on one of the volume buttons (on the left side of the phone) until the blue backlight comes on.
Navigating the phone’s menu wasn’t an issue - thanks mainly to a system assisted by icons. The phone displays configurable options and information on one line (which scrolls if the whole line of text does not fit on the screen) - requiring the user to actually pressing either choosing “select” or by pressing the right side of the navigational key and then choosing the preferred option. But a person would want to know what the current setting or option is before going in there to change it. Samsung has solved this problem by showing you what the current selected option is after highlighting the option in the menu for more than 1-2 seconds. Very convenient indeed!
The 4-way navigational key, located above the main numeric keypad, allowed for complete control when it came to configuring the phone for use, and without the need for me to take my finger off it to go into another option or menu tree. When used outside any menus, they act as shortcuts (for example, pressing up would start the WAP browser). A long press of the ‘C’ (or clear) key
"The tactility in the keypad gives a user the confident feeling"
below the navigational key, for example, is set by default to activate the phone’s silent mode.
"The tactility in the keypad gives a user the confident feeling"
Unfortunately, I sometimes found this difficult to use - especially at times when I pressed “up” where my finger was too close to the top casing of the phone. If the key was slightly lower, then it would have been perfect. But at the end of the day, I suppose it depends on how one presses buttons… :)
Making calls was no harder. The tactility in the keypad gives a user the confident feeling that their number entry would definitely be correct - whether it be pressing one key or several digits at the same time. Subsequently, typing SMS messages would be a breeze as well - in conjunction with T9 predictive input and the phone being able to buffer keypresses if you type faster than the phone can display the words or letters. Although not a major issue, the T9 indicator (at the top of the main screen) showing whether you are in caps (or capitals) lock mode or not is very hard to differentiate!
One of the things that I didn’t like about this phone was the calendar function. When the full-month calendar is brought up on the screen, the letters and numbers are so small that you have to squint to see what day of the week you have selected. Some people may not mind, but at least provide an option to choose whether a full-month or a weekly/fortnightly display should be used instead - so that at least it can be seen without discomfort.
Other features of the phone I found to be useful include an infrared port, minute minder and connect tones (notify you when a call has been connected), a WAP browser, organiser functions (alarm, calculator, calendar, to-do list), setting of shortcut keys, SIM locking (preventing a foreign SIM from being used on the phone), and 7 games.
As for battery life, I was able to get around 2-3 days out of the standard battery with average usage. As for the slim one, treat it only as a backup battery when your other one is flat. Although very slim and compact, the slim battery will not last just over a day’s average use.
Major differences...
"Outside of flip - Blue screen "
"Inside of flip - Green screen"
Full-flip phones design with external display (Dual LCD)
The dual LCD concept on the A300 is one of the phone’s major selling points. While the main display on the inside provides the standard interface between phone and user, the one on the outside provides necessary information to the user while the flip is closed. For example, the number or name of a calling party or the notification of missed calls or SMS messages are some of the kinds of information displayed. The date, time, signal and battery strength meters are displayed during standby.
WAP over CSD
The A300 comes with a WAP browser allowing you to surf such pages whilst on the move.
T9 predictive text input
To make typing those SMS messages easier, the T9 predictive text input system is provided on the A300 for this very purpose. Rather than having to go through every letter in the alphabet to get to the one you need, T9 will try to “predict” the word you are trying to input through trying to match each keystroke with a possible word in its dictionary.
Infrared port
The A300 comes with a built-in infrared port - allowing communications between other devices (for example, PCs) that also have this port.
"Side of the phone"
Organiser functions (calculator, calendar, to-do list functions)
As with most phones today, the A300 makes available several organiser functions - including a calculator, calendar, and a to-do list.
Problems/Issues?
Calendar text size too small
When I pulled up the calendar function from the organiser menu, I was quite shocked to find the text suddenly shrink to a size that is barely readable if you don’t squint your eyes! When you’re accustomed to the standard font sizing from the phone’s menu, and you bring up the calendar option, you will know what I mean. An option could have been added where another type of view (for example, weekly/fortnightly) can be chosen where the font size could be increased to a more comfortable level.
In Summary
The SGH-A300 is a phone that will do the job that you put forward to it. For the period that I have test-driven this phone, I can say that it has been one of the good (close to best) full-flip phones around that is comparable (or even better than) to the Motorola ones. The dual LCD concept is something that I find very original and useful when it comes to knowing what’s going on with your phone when the phone is folded. Also, it was one of the more “simpler” phones to use in terms of getting around the phone’s menu system and making changes to options.
So if you’re someone out there who has given up on anymore flip phones because they’ve let you down too many times, the Samsung SGH-A300 is a viable alternative to the competition. Something that you may just end up seriously considering. |
| Common misspellings on this brand: samssung |
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