Samsung x495 Phone (T-Mobile)

Does everything it is supposed to do and does them all well. Just received the x495 as a backup phone (to my P910a) ... no camera, MP3 player, add-in memory cards etc but for a new cell phone user or someone needing a solid phone "that just works simply and solidly" this could be the one.

Pros:

+ Usability is excellent, simple & straightforward

+ strong RF (signal), perhaps not as strong as a Nokia or my P910a but pretty close.

+ excellent speaker-phone

+ clear audio for you & the caller

+ sharp, vibrant screen

+ menus are simple, easy to follow

+ 3 different alarms, great as an alarm clock even works to wake you when the phone is powered off.

+ does WAP/ T-Mobile t-zones nicely

+ good battery life, 2-3 days between charging

+ Outside screen "can" be seen easily in the dark, just hold volume up side button for 1-2 seconds

Cons:

+ no email

+ no easy syncing to get address book, tasks & calendar entrees to/from a PC

Still a "5/5" and a great entry-midrange phone ... it just works, no glitches at all (so far).

This is a basic phone with the added plus of having a SPEAKERPHONE. Unfortunately though the speakerphone seems rather staticky compared to turning it off (so it is not really a reception thing).

Another plus is an external volume control. However, this is on the side of the phone. For me, it is right where I hold the phone, so I seem to be turning the volume up and down a lot unintentionally.

There are only two very bad games. There are a couple pictures on the phone. There is a calendar, alarm clock, timer, and voice recorder (which is nice).

It is small, but the keys are well placed. It is not hard to use at all.

BATTERY CHARGE TIME FAST! It fully charges in about 2 hours. Unfortunately, after 1 day and 3 calls (all under 5 minutes) it is already showing less than half charged. So, I think the battery life may be less than indicated. But, still better than my ancient Nokia.

BUT, POOR, POOR, POOR reception. I am SHOCKED! I thought at first it could be the carrier (T-mobile). To test this, I stuck the SIM card into my old (3 years old) Nokia. Well, on the samsung I had no service to 1 bar but not enough to complete a call on the Nokia I had 3 bars! I placed a call, and no static! Sheesh! So, no, not the carrier it is the phone.

If you search the CNET reviews for the Samsung X475 you will see it has poor reception as well. I took a gamble and hoped this was updated on the 495. But, I guess not.

It is an attractive phone. I like that the time, date, day of the week, battery remaining, and signal strength are all displayed when the phone is closed. But, since I got the phone to actually make/receive CALLS not tell me the time of day, I have to rate it accordingly.

I am going to return the phone and maybe try the Motorola V330 or something else with some kind of antenna.

Buy Samsung x495 Phone (T-Mobile) Now

When deciding how many stars to give this phone, I decided it really depends on your frame of reference. If you are lining up all the phones currently in production, then you can arrange them in ascending order based on a number of factors. The factors we use to judge a phone naturally include the number of features. So in our hypothetical lineup, there are certainly other phones with more features, and those are likely to occupy some of the top spots. BUT, another way to judge a phone is to ask how well the phone measures up against what it purports to be. This phone has no camera, no bluetooth, and no email client. If those are the features you are looking for, then this is not a 5 star phone. However, this phone, to me, makes a statement abot its intended purpose by virtue of its selective inclusion -and exclusion -of features. While it doesn't have all the bells or whistles in today's spectrum of wireless gadgets, what it DOES do well is act as a phone. And in that context, it is a great PHONE -having those features you would likely want in a device for making and receiving calls. A large, easily readable screen font; a very lightweight housing (made lighter, no doubt, by not including extras like a camera lense); nice key layout with excellent tactile feedback (i.e. the buttons are easy to find and press, and feel good doing so); pretty good menus; excellent color display that can be viewed well even outdoors; a very solid feeling flip (the hinge is strong and pivots smoothly); teriffic battery life; and the phone comfortably cradles your face with it's angled v-shape when open. Although I don't need a camera, I DO prefer to be able to sync with my numerous phone contacts on my PC. I would have liked bluetooth for this reason, but a cable and software is available that I am going to try -I will be satisfied using a cable interface if I can get some good syncing between the phone and PC. Overall, I am conservatively rating the phone 4 stars, because the sky's the limit when it comes to gadgets, and in today's ever-evolving gadget marketplace it is hard to call anything perfect. Bottom line, great phone.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung x495 Phone (T-Mobile) Here

This is my 4th Samsung cell phone with T-Mobile. S105, E105, X475 and now the X495. I love T-Mobile because they upgrade phones cheaply as long as you extend your contract 12 months as opposed to other carriers who require 2 years. I paid 40 dollars but they gave me a 50 dollar rebate. -10 dollars to get a new phone! Have not had any reception issues as stated by the other reviewer. I love the look and feel of Samsung flipphones. None better. This phone has a clean and unique look, although slightly feminine with the white plastic insert.

Speakerphone is awesome. I can hear clearly and they can hear me. Speakerphone plays through the earpiece but has convenient volume control on the side. Screen is bright but on the compact side. Phone is a little bulkier than most other samsungs, but not annoyingly so. No external antennae so it is clean. Best of all I really enjoy the feel and function of the buttons. Nice separation and also raised off of the body to ensure accurate dialing. Great Battery life. Have had the phone on for 3 days now and one hour of talk time and I am showing 2 bars out of 3 left. No camera, but I think camera phones are overrated anyway. Can't go wrong with this one.

Want Samsung x495 Phone (T-Mobile) Discount?

I bought this phone to repair an older Samsung model. I've had this phone now for a month and it has not given me any problems. I did not need a phone with fancy gadgets. All I wanted the phone to do was to call and receive phone calls without static. A nice added bonus was the speaker phone which works fairly well. Another benefit of this phone was that you could transfer your phonebook and old text messages that were stored on a SIM card staright to this phone. The included ringtones are a bit cheesy but was not a bid deal since I all I wanted was a cheap phone that works well.