Band Baj Gaya!. Review on Samsung SGH N-620

So I finally got rid of my Nokia 3310 and got a Samsung SGH N-620. Was it a good buy? hmmm!

Features :

Size and Design : This phone is really small and slim. It weighs 83 grams. The only downside is that theres an antenna that pokes out..but it really doesnt get in your way. It would have looked better without the antenna though. Apart from that, the phone is pretty solid and fits in your palm well. The keys are sturdy. People with big hands like me may find it a little small to type sms messages really fast. Apart from the regular keys, it has 2 'soft keys' (mainly for navigating menus), 2 scroll keys and a volume control key on the side.

Display : It has an appropriately sized high resolution screen with a nice blue backlight. The fonts are good. The illumination makes the phone look pretty nice too. There is an arc shaped service LED that can be configured to flash in 6 different colors. This LED also ''dances'' in different colors to the beat of the ringtones when a call comes in. The phone has 4 animated screensavers and an analog clock that can be put on screen when idle.

Ringtones : It dont ring, it sing eh? People who have not heard the polyphonic ring tones should go out and do it NOW ! The phone comes with 20 preset polyphonic ringtones. 3 Slots for downloading ringtones and 3 other slots for your own compositions. The ringtones are pretty loud and clear. Also, each ringtone is a COMPLETE song in itself. That is, its not a looping sequence of notes, but an entire 2-3 minute piece! This feature makes this phone a real head turner when it goes off. Also, there are 5 seperate polyphonic tones for SMS messages and 5 more for the Alarm clock. What they don't tell you is that Samsung is taking its own sweet time to release polyphonic ring tones for download. They are not available anywhere! This is quite irritating. However, it is possible to transfer midi files into the phone using a data cable and a 3rd party software. The problem is that these data cables are hard to come by and Samsung India says they dont sell them. shrug There is a Ring Tone Composer, but it does not let you compose polyphonic tracks. The phone has a silent mode with vibrator which you can access by holding down one of the keys. The vibrator is pretty powerful, but the downside is that the phone does not vibrate for sms messages.

Messaging : The T9 dictionary feature is there! However, this phone could use a lot of improvement in the messaging area. It does not let you store new words. If you send the message in a low signal area and it doesnt go through...the message gets deleted and you have to type it all over again! Quite frustrating ! There is no option for smileys either, but with a few deft strokes, you can create one pretty fast. All in all, it takes some time to get used to if you're migrating from a Nokia. Picture messaging is supported, and infact, it is compatible with Nokia. So you can exchange picture messages with Nokia users. The high resolution of this phone makes the images appear smaller but clearer.

Voice Functions : I dont know many people who use this function! It looks kinda ridiculous in public when you press a button and start saying things into the phone thinking you're Captain Picard from Star Trek.( 'Computer! Locate Commander Riker!'..... ''COMMANDER RIKER IS IN THE TOILET....'Computer! Lock phasers on Commander Riker and fire at will!' ) It looks even worse when the phone refuses to recognize your voice when you're trying to pull that off!! This phone offers access to any menu/feature via voice and also voice dialing. But this feature is far from perfect, especially the voice dialing. The phone does recognize commands at times, but is not completely failsafe. The Nokia voice systems are much better in this regard.

The phone also has the ability to record voice memos.

Games : Just 3, and they're quite sad, but playable. 'Fortress' is a shoot them damn UFOs down game. 'Squares' is similar to tetris and in 'Ice Cave', you play the role of a mother trying to move her family to safety in dire times....well...i'm overdoing it...you actually play a penguin trying to move his/her egg across the screen without breaking it.

Organizer : Has standard stuff like Calculator, alarm, reminders etc. Excellent alarm tones. WAP : Yes it has WAP, but will you ever use it ? In this phone, WAP can be used to download polyphonic ring tones.

Reception/Clarity : Since i'm always surrounded by thick concrete (no, I am not lodged in Tihar Jail), I have to make do with low signals. No complaints in this area. The clarity of voice is outstanding though. Extremely loud and extremely clear. This was one of the reasons I bought this phone.

Memory : You can store 500 additional numbers other than that of your sim card to the phone's memory.

Battery : The lightweight lithium ion battery also forms most of the phone's posterior. With normal usage, the battery lasts for about 2.5 days. I've not got around to counting how many hours of usage that is! Samsung says about 90 hrs of standby and 2 hrs of talktime. Charging takes about 2 hours. All in all, not the greatest of all battery lives...but good enough!

Accessories : The phone came with a charger, hands free kit, a carrying strap and manual. The hands free kit of Samsung phones are a pretty different lot. They're quite sporty and also allow you to dangle the phone around your neck while talking.

Colors : I got the ''Pearl White'' color. Apparently that was the only one available. But i've seen this phone in Silver and theres even blue and black colors.

Verdict :Its moderately priced (Rs 14,000/- with bill). Hats off to Samsung for coming out with the polyphonic feature. Its time phone makers brought out phones in India with features that are usable and practical. How many of us use infrared ports and GPRS and all that stuff anyway? This phone has a superb design and appears sturdy. ( I havent dropped it yet!). It has its negative points, but they are highly unlikely to leave you handicapped in any way. I have no regrets about buying this phone.