Product Description

The Cingular SYNC is a great device for customers interested in a multimedia rich device to handle their voice, messaging and entertainment needs in one sleek, thin, clamshell form factor. The SYNC gives customers the ability to maximize their phone capabilities by providing fast, easy access to Cingular Video, Cingular Music and a variety of multimedia/messaging capabilities. This is a great device for customers looking for a phone that has it all in a nice compact design. Features of The SYNC include the following

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19307 in Cell Phone Accessories
• Color: Black
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: A707
• Released on: 2006-10-10

Features

• To avoid charges and enjoy unlimited audio and video on your device, sign up for a MEdia Max service plan option at checkout
• Watch video clips of your favorite shows with Cingular Video
• Listen to your favorite music, watch music videos and stay up to date with the latest in the entertainment industry with Cingular Music
• 2MP camera to capture those special moments as they happen
• Includes: Battery, Charger and User Guide

Customer Reviews

Even better than I hoped
I am not the most tech savvy person, but I do enjoy gadgets. So, when I finally decided to get a phone, I wanted it to be the nicest one that would suit my needs and still have a nice small/slim form factor. I looked initially at the new RAZR that supports mp3s. However, I took a chance and chose the Samsung over the RAZR because of the amount of negative reviews the RAZR has. I was pointed toward this model, and so far I am really glad I gave it a chance, not having seen ANY reviews on it before purchasing it. I've had this phone for almost two weeks as of today.

PROS:
-Huge, BEAUTIFUL display!
-Great size and style
-Good camera (2 megapixel), although I don't really plan to use it a ton
-Easy, intuitive menus with lots of options
-Very clear with no dropped calls so far
-Phone supports 3G technology, great for music content
-Media player works nicely, and when you plug the USB cable into your computer, it's easy to drop songs onto the phone from just about any media program.
-No quirks or glitches to be found so far!

NEUTRAL:
-Ringer could stand to be a little louder
-Headphone jack is proprietary, so you have to buy their headphones unless you want to use bluetooth
-Gets smudgy/greasy looking very easily
-Outside display isn't very high resolution, but what do you expect?
-No flash for camera

CONS:
-No LCD clock on the outside. I did figure out though, that if you hold the right-side button for a few moments it pops back up, but I would like a clock like the RAZR has.

Overall I am very pleased with my purchase. I'm glad I took a chance.

***UPDATE 12/3/2006*****

I still hold my 5 star rating to be true for this phone. It still great!(I've had it for about a month now.) Also, the picture really don't do the phone justice. It is a really sleek and beatiful little gadget.

I did have one strange anomaly with it. The last time I received an E-Mail alert while I was on a call, it closed the call when the alert popped up. I tried to reconstruct the incident, but it wouldn't do it again. I've had a couple dropped calls too, but it was in a brick building, so I can understand.

I still think the ringer isn't loud enough...but I have been setting it to "outdoor" which seems louder and vibrates as well. I love the ringer profiles and change them quite a bit. It comes in very handy

I have also purchased the media kit for this phone which comes with a USB cable, software, and stereo earbuds. I am loving the media player function. I can drag and drop songs (or other files) easily onto the phone with the USB. The only thing I don't like is that the earphone jack is the same as the charger jack. No charging while listening, and no buying whichever headphones you want. You have to get them in their kit, unless you want to use Bluetooth headphones. I ride a motorcycle and want to use the media player on trips, but I'm not sure yet how I will be able to rig earphones that will fit in my helmet (the Cingular earbuds will not fit due to their design). I am used to this dilemma (trying to find headphones for my helmet)even without the proprietary headphone jack isue. So, I am not counting it as a negative against the phone.

I am very, very pleased still. I will update again after a few more months!

Sooooooo close!
First, don't take my 4 star rating as indicative of the fact that there are really any better phones in the US market. I'm not sure there are. But that's more a case of the atrociousness of most American phones - and I've tried a bunch. That said, this phone is so, so very close to being everything you (or I) could want in a cell phone - it just has a couple of issues that keep it from being quite possibly the last phone you will ever buy.

Since everyone else seems to do this, I'll list my own pros and cons.

Pros:

* As others have said, the 240x320 main screen really is quite amazing. It's almost startling the first time you open it up and just see the default wallpaper. It's like looking at a high-res computer LCD display (or HDTV), not a cell phone. The screen is not huge, but it's as big as it can be without the phone itself becoming unreasonably large.
* Call quality is quite good. Signal strength is pretty much the same as my old Sony Ericsson, which seems limited more by the network than anything else.
* It's 3G! One of only two standard phones Cingular offers that are (I think there may be a PDA phone or two with 3G capability also, but not sure). Internet browsing and downloading are very fast. I have not tried the music or video streaming yet, but I can imagine that they'd work pretty well.
* It has pretty much the perfect form factor for a phone. Not too large and not too small, slim but not overly thin, and when opened its length easily reaches from your ear to your mouth.
* Supports MicroSD. Expandable memory to hold all your videos, photos and music. Easily accessible via a side door; some phones hide access under the battery.
* 2MP camera takes great photos (for a phone, anyway). I have a digital SLR but I've missed having a decent little pocket camera when I don't want to carry the SLR around. I no longer really need one.
* Includes bluetooth.
* Seems to have a speedy processor - menus and navigation are quick, no lag. This drives me crazy on a lot of phones.

Cons:

* Cingular's network!! The only place I can get 3G services to work at all is in my office, and half the time I get "unable to connect" messages even there. I work in NYC so this is really surprising to me. At home, I'm lucky if I can even get voice service (I often have zero bars of signal), let alone any sort of data, even EDGE. I was hoping this was just my old phone, but obviously it wasn't. Cingular really needs to upgrade their network. I'd only consider this phone, then, if you're a current happy Cingular customer - I'd never recommend their service to a new customer.
* The phone's made of plastic that looks like metal. This is not a huge deal but I'd expect real metal from any carrier's "flagship" phone. Every plastic phone I've ever owned has ended up looking really ugly from chipped and peeling paint, so it would have been nice if this phone was black anodized aluminum like Samsung's own beautifully designed A900 for Sprint.
* The side "doors" are really, really flimsy. I'm sure I'm going to break off the charging door within the next week. It's a little plastic swinging door held on by a tiny little plastic nub, and you have to open this door every single time you want to charge. No way it, or the other doors like it on this phone, are going to last through the abuse most phones are asked to take.
* The menus are not intuitive. For example, just to set an alarm you have to go into "My Stuff" and then navigate to "Applications". Huh? I shouldn't need the manual just to figure out such a basic function. There don't seem to be any shortcuts you can use either.
* It's kind of a niggle but the camera lens does not rotate and because of it's placement and design, you're pretty much guaranteed to get finger and palmprints all over it. I've needed to wipe mine off almost constantly so far. Even recessing the lens a bit would have helped.
* The front LCD screen is a joke compared to the main screen. It's a very low quality screen that looks even worse after getting used to the gorgeous main screen. It almost feels kind of embarrassing taking the phone out in public just to check the info on the front screen; I almost want to hide it from view!

Overall I love the phone, but I hate Cingular's network and there are just a few things about the phone itself that make it feel cheaper than a flagship phone should. Still, it is the best deal going right now in a 3G phone, and probably the closest thing we have in the USA to one of the amazing phones available in Japan or other parts of Asia.

Almost Perfect
This phone is hitting the world like a storm, bringing both a really nice camera along with the 3G data speeds and improved call quality that modern service demands. What follows is a breakdown of the pros and cons:


Pros:
-2MP camera takes GREAT photos (almost as good as the w810i)
-3G is super fast!
-Battery life is good (about 2 or 3 days with moderate use)
-Internal screen is a gorgeous 240x320 and razor sharp
-Takes MicroSD cards
-CAN view PDFs, DOC and TXT files with built-in Picsel viewer!*
-Bluetooth works well and has a strong signal
-Internal antenna makes for snagless design
-Light, but sturdy. Keypad is WIDE and easy to use!
-CAN use mp3s as ringtones (must be under 600KB)

Cons:
-Camera shutter is SLOW. You need to hold the camera still for about a full second or it gets blurred.
-External screen is low quality and will not display animated wallpapers, even though phone function alerts are motion-capable.
-Confusing menu system for browsing pics
-Media player is confusing and not very useful. Also, no 3.5mm jack is present!
-Design is so smooth...you'll drop it if you're not careful.
-Hard to open flip with one hand
-NO camera flash
-CANNOT use mp3s as phone tones (message alert, etc.) Must use mmf tones, instead.
-Does NOT come with link cable! Or PC Studio! You CAN download this from Samsung's site. I used Bluetooth to link up instead of the cable.


This phone is ALMOST perfect. The Sony w810i is the superior camera phone and implements a perfect menu system and superior imaging. It is the best phone Cingular has...but it's NOT 3G and it's NOT a clamshell. This phone falls into second place as far as features go, but the clamshell design is long (reaches your ear and mouth easily!) and the 3G has to be seen to be believed. When you browse the Net fullscreen, you'll never want to go back to the small screen size of 176x220 again!

This phone is awesome and I use it daily. I keep my w810i for backup if I go out and want a camera phone for that. This phone is HIGHLY recommended and might only be supplanted by the Nokia N75 as far as features go...but no one can beat the price on this one!

4 out of 5 stars!






*Just transfer these to the memory card with the PCStudio software or your data cable or your Bluetooth. You CAN open them!