Phone Scoop - Samsung SGH-D407 / D347 Info

User Review: Wouldn't Recommend

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:52:19 GMT

heathielauren submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 2 (out of 5)

This is the first phone that my husband and I have had from Cingular/AT&T. It has some nice features and the size is great, but we've had HORRIBLE reception problems with both phones. I know that it must be the phone, because my husband's phone started rejecting his SIM card, which we replaced and it worked for 1 week, then he started using an LG C1500 which he has had minimal reception problems. I literally have days where my calls are dropped 5 times or more and I can't call out. My phone shows full service, but these are the problems I've been dealing with for approx. 18 months now. I do like the true ringtones that you can download to it, and it is somewhat durable, but when you only use the phone for calling people, you need a phone that is going to make those calls for you. Also, our phones started rejecting the wall chargers a couple of months after we got them, so I've been having to get car chargers to charge the battery, which eats the battery up! I'm over this phone and wouldn't recommend it to anyone using a cell phone to make phone calls.

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User Review: pretty good

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:10:01 GMT

kristenn. submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)

ive had this phone since christmas and it is okay. just recently however, i took a picture and the phone saved it, randomly shut off and when it turned itself back all, ALL my pictures were in a random order and not in their original places which was sorted by when i took them. So i am trying to find a fix for that.

PROS:
-Sound is great; speakerphone and normal
-Can take pictures with the phone closed
-Good battery life
-Charges fairly quickly
-Camera has many options
-Light and compact; can fit into pocket easily
-Can be on speakerphone with the phone closed
-Very durable, ive dropped it many times and it still works good
-Bluetooth is very fast

CONS:
-Takes a bunch of pictures and calls people when in your pocket if you dont lock it
-Can't send audio files through bluetooth and set them as ringtones
-Can't record anything and set it as a ringtone
-PTT button ALWAYS gets in the way
-If you are on speakerphone, and you close the phone, it does NOT end the call, so be careful..
-Faceplates make the phone bulky
-Easy to accidently go into the internet without meaning to

that is all i can think of at the moment.
hope this helped. =]

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User Review: Great Durable Phone

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:22:13 GMT

sccrmanthatch submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I've had this phone for over a year and there is not another phone out there that is as durable and high quality as this one.

Pros
-the sound is great
-durable, Ive dropped it hundreds of times and even thrown it at times and it still works perfect. (I'm trying to break it so i can get a blackjack II ha-ha)
-Buttons are very responsive
-Signal is strong everywhere but i had it with cingular so i don't know about att.
-Media net is very fast for cingular. it was funny i beat the iphone looking up the score to a football game.
-Camera is high quality and can be used when the phone is closed.
-shortcuts were very easy to set up and work with

Cons
-the external buttons are not good when closed. i call people all the time with it in my pocket. i also take a lot of pictures.
-the ptt button can be a hassle if you dont have the service. it just gets in the way and you'll accidently hit it all the time.

I would highly suggest this phone to any high volume talker or texter who is rough on their phone.

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User Review: Great phone

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:35:40 GMT

dellis_72543 submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Not being technically minded, most of the bells and whistles on phones these days don't do much for me. Until now my favorite flip phone was the old reliable Motorola Star Tac and for pure reliability the Nokia series of what I call "bricks," which were virtually indestructible. But I've had the Samsung D407 for about six months and I love it. It's easy for me to use and the camera is a nice toy. I like the bluetooth earpiece (mine is a Motorola) but when I'm talking to someone else who is using one, I can hear my voice echoing back to me, which is rather distracting. As for durability, my Samsung rivals my old Nokia "brick" and the steel pins in the hinge make it feel more solid than most of the other flip phones I've checked out. The outside buttons could stand to be completely disabled as I have called people before without realizing it until the loudspeaker started ringing (pressure from the foneGEAR holster), but it hasn't happened any more often than when the exposed buttons on my previous phone would cause someone to get a call from my seat belt (it would push the buttons while I'm driving). Overall it's a great phone, easy for me to use, and the features it is lacking in, such as games, didn't attract me to the phone in the first place as I don't fool with them. The camera isn't that great but when I go on a photography expedition I grab my Nikon. Basically, everything I need a phone to do it does very well, and the areas it fails to perform adequately in are areas I don't depend on and don't need. Also, when I upgraded with Cingular, the phone cost ten bucks after I received my rebate card (which came just before Christmas-handy). All in all, it's a great phone, I got a great deal, and Samsung got a happy customer.

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User Review: Excellent performer in every way

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 23:50:03 GMT

eatdrums submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This is the best phone I have had in years. I had purchased the new LG with the mp3 player, but the ascending ring tone was not practical, and let's face it, I'll use my rear mp3 player for serious listening.

Pros:
light weight
Great speaker volume
Answer without opening
Close while talking and not cut off
Best speaker phone I've had
Easy bluetooth connectivity
Great battery life

Cons:
Really none unless you're a serious phone photographer

All the features just work so well I can't think of another phone that comes close. I've had it now for 2 trouble free months.
Great phone. Great Price, every feature and more I need, easy menus, and doesn't drop calls like my Motorola.
Homerun Samsung!!

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User Review: Many advanced

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 14:34:10 GMT

whiskey7 submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

After being with Sprint for several years, I decided to try Cingular with the D407.

Positives:
--Software: Robust software gives you lots of customizable options. I disagree with the reviewer who found it too complicated. I find it to be intuitive and its depth keeps the phone from being boring. I've found no bugs.

--Bluetooth: allows you to wirelessly transfer files (including pictures from the camera) to and from your computer without getting charged for data usage. I had no problem setting this up with a $10 USB/BT adapter from ebay (I have never used BT before and am only moderately technical). I haven't tried a BT headset.

--Camera: picture quality is standard for a phone, but there are lots of fun picture options.

So-so:
--Call quality: MOST of the time I get a natural, rich sound quality. Sound is also normal and clear for the person on the other end. There is a good range of earpiece volume. However, sometimes incoming sound errors on the side of being bass-heavy and slightly under-water-like (though understandable). My biggest complaint is that I get a lot more "drop out" than I ever had on Sprint. This is where the incoming sound either drops out or degrades for 1-2 seconds, so you have to say "What?" to the person you are talking to. It even happens with a strong signal. It is infrequent enough not to be a major problem (I've had hour-long conversations with no issues at all). Though, I now feel that CDMA is superior to GSM for clarity (I am aware that there are several factors that may cause this, but I tend to think this type of thing is the service).

--External Speaker: the speaker itself is strong and clear, so ringers sound good and incoming sound is great on speaker phone. However, when using speaker phone, outbound voice quality is terrible to the point where you really can't use it to have conversation. I limit speakerphone use to waiting on hold or listening to automated info.

--Some flaws in how the external buttons work.

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User Review: can't believe nobody mentioned the software

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 04:51:22 GMT

keithad submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 1 (out of 5)

After wrestling with this phone all day, I have to say it's about the worst phone interface ever. Everything involves multiple button pushes. For instance, page 57 of the manual, see how many keys it takes to delete a message. That's at least fourteen key presses to delete 1 text; more key presses if you've more folders and more emails.

Press Menu
Select Messaging
Press the Select soft key
Use up or down to to highlight My messages then press Seelect
Higlight Inbox
Press the Select soft key
Select an individual message
Press Options soft-key
Select Delete
Press Select soft key
Select "Selected"
Press the Select soft key
Press the Yes soft key to confirm the deletion
Press the Hang up key.

You press the Menu key, and out jumps the word in BIG letters "BUY". That about says it all about this phone. And you don't seem to be able to change, reconfigure or customize the menus or hot-keys in any way. You can use numeric short-cuts, if you can memorize about seven pages worth of instructions. What's the point of a short-cut if you have to look at the phone in between each key-press to find out what the next short-cut is?

It's almost impossible to read the manual, since the key images are so tiny and all look the same. (e.g. page 34)

I can't find any way of changing the default text entry method. It's always AABB unless you change it each time to T9. Having said that at least I can send my texts in French or Spanish, and with bold-face font, if I can remember which fourteen-key sequence to use.

You're stuck with the given ring-tone. The only way to download another is to, you've guessed it, "BUY". And that feature does not work with the phone from my company.

I haven't been able to try or test any other features because my eyes are not fine enough to read the manual, and every time I make it so far, I inadvertently press the wrong key and end up somewhere completely different.

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User Review: Best yet!

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:34:01 GMT

policechief submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

I have had the Samsung D407 for two weeks and it is wonderful to finally have a new phone about which I have NO complaints: size, ease of use, audio quality, design...it's all good.
PTT system is top notch...it works where Nextel never does. The PTT feature is loud & clear when there is only one "bar" of signal strength.

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User Review: Not bad at all

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:42:26 GMT

romanmct submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

Have this phone about a week. I like it. I gave it 4 because first time write review. Had V60i for few years.

Pros:
Realy good reception,
Loud ringtone,
Speaker phone,
Earpeice volume,
Camera (Just in case)

Cons:
Not many ringtons included,
Sensitive sidekeys (but not realy bather).

So far so good. Will see in the future :)

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User Review: d407

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 22:44:06 GMT

jrdfox submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

Best phone I have used in a long time...it is a phone to talk on folks. PTT works very well as rf and sound quality. The earpiece volume is awesome!!

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User Review: Design problem

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 15:02:57 GMT

twoclones submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 1.5 (out of 5)

While this phone appears to work 'ok', it has some design problems which have been exploited by poor programming.

First, the menu icons are so crowded on the screen that they are difficult to differentiate. Why not offer a text menu option?

Second, the external keys are easily pushed by accident and the keylock is turned off by holding an external key. When I placed the d407 in a case, an external key was held long enough to turn the keylock off EVERY TIME. This phone started dialing voice mail using the speaker phone, it accepted voice commands which were unknown to me, it took photos of the inside of my pocket and phone case, etc...

Why on earth would I want a key lock which is turned off by pressing a key on the outside of the phone? It's like putting the deadbolt to your front door on back-wards so you can get in by turning the knob rather than using the key!

I tried using the phone lock to cure this awful problem but that only has an affect when turning the phone on.

Might be a nice phone but you'd better carry it by the strap and forget using a case or putting it in a purse or pocket.

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User Review: My Review

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:42:40 GMT

phoneuser99 submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

Pros
Earpiece volume: Better than my V400. In the car I could never hear because my tires are noisy. Last night on the highway I could hear just fine. I still think the volume should go a bit higher though. I tested it and could hear with the radio on and windows down but I would like it to go two levels higher.

Speaker Phone: I like it. You can answer without opening and you can redial recent numbers or use voice dial without opening. However, when you have phone open and are going to speaker phone, you have to press speaker and then softkey.

Signal: I get great reception so far and my calls did not drop.

Looks: It looks MUCH better than the pics I saw on the web.

Menu: Pretty good once I got used to the different user interface than my old phone.

Cons:
Games: one basic game (tetris) and two demo games...demo games should be illegal....come on!

Display: It is ok and fully works with how I use it. I downloaded a game I had on my old phone and it did not look as good. I would think a newer phone would look better than my old phone but it is not as good. It is not that much worse than my old phone, but I expected more since it was a newer phone.

Extra:
From best to worse on how I sounded to others:
Best: Using the phone mic
2nd best: using the bluetooth headset
Third: Using the speakerphone
-But I was told I sounded good on all three

From best to worse on how others sounded to me:
Best: Bluetooth headset
Tied for 2nd: Normal mode and speakerphone. Speakerphone was louder but normal mode was good. Tough decision. Based on volume, speakerphone wins...based on clarity, probably normal mode.

Pictures: Have not played too much with it and really do not use a lot. It is cool that you can take a pic with the phone closed (if you do not have the side buttons locked).

I am sure I left out some stuff, but overall I like this phone and I like it better than I thought I would have.

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User Review: Very good phone

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 23:25:44 GMT

trickster_qc submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)

This is a great little phone and here's why!

-The phone is pretty light
-Feature loaded for the price
-Good battery life
-Soooooooooooo easy to use; customizable in many different ways. Especially good if you need big digits on the keypad (elderly citizen)
-Great design
-Feel solid state
-The reception is very good ( with Fido in mtl where I had a average reception with Motorola's v360/v400/v180.
-Sound quality is pretty good. but maximum settings for the volume are a bit low
-Great games included with the phone.
-Loading speed is excellent

Here is some stuff to improve

-The screen is average and so is the camera. The VGA camera is within the price range but other phones of the same price have nicer display. Not bigger but with a better resolution.
-Maximum settings for the volume are a bit low
-Ugly external antenna
-Not many ring tones or wallpaper included with the phone.

Overall it is a very good phone that is completely worth the asked price. Samsung's reputation is very good regarding the quality of their products so we can hope for the best.

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User Review: Great Phone!!!!!!!!

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 17:49:14 GMT

cingularfreak12 submitted this review of the Samsung SGH-D407 / D347:

Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)

This is an amazing little phone. It does anything that you could want. The phone is extremely sturdy and looks pretty sweet too!

Pros

EDGE
PTT
BTooth
Size (small and light)
Voice Dialing
Speaker phone is great
Sweet Design
Reception is better than my old Razr

Cons

none really, camera could be better I guess

I've had a Nokia 6230, Moto T720, Moto V400, Moto V557, Moto Razr, Moto Rokr, Samsung D357, and this D407 is my favorite of them all! At $119 with a $50 mail in rebate this phone is actually a steal from Cingular!

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