Samsung SCH-U740 Alias Specs, Features & Reviews

i got this phone and love it... for the first day

PROS:
AWESOME TEXTING
GREAT BATTERY LIFE
CLEAR CALL

CONS
UNCLEAR PHOTOS
ONLY HOLD 40 MESSAGES AT A TIME
UGLY
HORRIBLE RINGTONES
BAD INTERNET

Let me just start out by saying I was absolutely stunned when I got this phone. I read some reviews saying that the keyboard was horrible and the speakers were tinny, but I got it anyway because I had 15 days to return it for a new phone... I will never return this phone.

First off the keyboard may be a little small, but I got used to it within 15 minutes, and now I txt for no reason at all.

Second a lot of people were reviewing the speakers sounding horrible or tinny. They are nothing of the sort, check your mp3s if you are having problems. These speakers, for their size, are LOUD and CLEAR. ALthough there is no bass, there is also no distortion whatsoever.

Pros:
-Screen is beautiful and vibrant (adjust the brightness as soon as you get it though, it comes dark)
-Speakers are fantastic
-Size. This thing is barely bigger than the razer and about the same weight, I can barely feel it in my jeans now.
-Reception / Clarity. I'm a bostonian, and in boston the service is fantastic. EV / 1x at all times.
-Color. Seriously, cell phones needed this change. Everyone has black / silver, now I'm different with goldish :)
-Speakerphone. One reason why I was scared to go from a moto to a samsung was their speakerphone not being able to activate while the phone is shut, well it does! You can even answer the phone while shut when you activate speakerphone!

Why did I rate this phone 4.5 if I love it so much? Every phone has their downs, right? The camera!! I love pictures, but when I upload them they are just alright. Another thing that I do not appreciate is when Im taking photos the external preview is always on, ALWAYS and I cannot figure out a way to shut it off.

If you like cool little gadgets, go for it

Pros:
-Good reception
-Unique dual-flip design
-Good weight and size
-Very sleek and looks good
-QWERTY Keyboard-very good for texting
-Good battery life
-Some said hinge was flimsy, but not for me. I found it much sturdier than I was expecting

Cons:
-The buttons are a little small and the keyboard is a little confusing at first but you get used to it and it becomes no problem
-Camera isn't the greatest, but its decent

I chose this phone because I liked its unique design and I'm big into texting. I liked its looks and it wasn't overly expensive. It fits my needs perfectly and I am very happy so far with this phone.

Had this phone for a day here is a quick review of features. Old phone was lg v. This phones menus and basic usage almost identical to lg v.

style: very slick and cool phone hands down there is a real wow factor to the phones styling. a good weight and size. the buttons are slightly raised and can easily be used with no problem. I thought the hinge would get in the way when in landscape mode but it cradles nicely in the left palm for one handed use of the navigation keypad. downside, no dedicated headphone jack, you have to use adaptor. but if you use bluetooth i guess that wont matter.

Video: The video is way nicer than Lg v when in landscape mode it uses entire screen. and can watch videos in regular flip mode. I transferred some files in 3gp format on the memory card and worked with no problem. I also could rewind,pause,fast forward my imported videos which is something i couldnt do on my lg v. only downside was the load time was much slower than the lg v.

Music: Played great. outside touch keys worked perfectly. easy to put on mp3s, method same as lg v. downside can only turn music on in landscape mode, but once on you can control music in either landscape, flip, or closed.

Photos: worked fine. had some neat features, but it is a camera phone if you want high quality photos use a real camera.

Texting and IM: worked just as well as lg v. just way cooler cause seriously, this phone is way sexier than an lg v or lg enV. The qwerty board very easy to maneuver, and took no time to get use too. the only disconcerting thing is the gray number keys make a different sound when texting. so its like beep beep beep boop. but i can live with that.

Fun Stuff: The voice functions are really cool. you can dictate your texts. plus all the voice dialing stuff. you can practically use this phone entirely by voice command. You can change you dialing fonts. while you are dialing you can have your numbers show up as post it notes. more in next post.

So I have read through the other posts, and I agree with ALL of the PROs listed by other people! (GREAT keyboard, speaker phone works while phone is closed, works great with my Plantronics Bluetooth, Sleek/Stylish Design, all my friends want it! And many, MANY more great features.)

I only have a few things to say in regards to the CONS other people have listed...

1. Small keyboard. I agree it is small but all of the people who returned it that day are just impatient because after about 48 hours it is very easy to use. Just look at the small keys on a Blackberry. That's what my boss uses and he says the keys on my u740 are way better! So be patient, it is EASY once you get the hang of it.

2. Poor ring choices, background choices, etc, blah blah blah. We those are ALL things that can be easily changed so look through your settings or get new ringtones or take your own background pictures. This is not a major problem to be listed as cons of the phone, just problems with the people using it.

3. Camera. You have to understand that it is 1.3 mega pixel camera. If you expect Nikon quality shots then this isn't the phone for you. For all normal use this is a great phone and works 10x better than my old LG phone.

4. Hinge. I have had this phone for over a month now and the hinge is fine. Yes there is a slight bit more give when flipping between regular mode and landscape mode, but this is normal. It's not like it's just going to break off any minute, it just is getting accustomed to daily usage.

Overall - this is a GREAT phone with lots of neat new features and some oldies but goodies. Like any phone there are some things it just doesn't do, but I'll tell you the PROs outweigh the CONs BY FAR!! Thanks!

The Samsung U740 dual hinge flip is much stronger than I initially thought. It feels very comfortable in the hand no matter which way you opne it, and has a loud ringer and strong vibrate. However the signal strength (NYC) is medicore. I was consider the LG EnV, however this phone has more features, is much smaller, and the dual hinge flip is cool and makes it more pratical.

PROS:
* Everything on the phone can be customized, it has options for everything.

* Camera offers many options for picture taking as well as borders, photo editing, a real flash, make postcards, effects, resize, and decorate.

* Texting has many options and you can SPEAK YOUR OWN TEXT, this is hands down the coolest option ever!!!

* All of the menus are intuitive no matter which way the phone is opened. It locks all the keys when you flip it open.

* Speakerphone works with the flip open or closed. Calls can be picked up and hung up by using speakerphone button, w/o ever opening the flip!

CONS:
* Games and photos are distorted when opened like a flip, must be opened long way.

* Keys are small, takes some practice to dial the numbers. Letter "P" is hard to press.

I've had this phone for about three weeks now and i have devided to exchange it for the enV2. I did like some things about the phone that i liked, but overall, but some glitches in the phone overuled the positives:

PROS:
~The dual hinge which allows you to either use the qwerty keyboard or the usual T-9
~The camera is decent
~The camera flash
~The menus have any customization options which is nice
~THE SPEAKERS! they have ammmaazzziingg quality and they almost give a sorround sound affect
~Easy to use keyboard
_________________________________________
CONS:
~Phone would restart about every thirty seconds on some days
~Beware: the hinge becomes lose after basic, gentle use in about a week
~Many features are not available in the normal phone mode and you have to close the phone and open it up in the landscape mode to use them
~If you have fat fingers lol, this phone will be impossible to use, for the keys are quite petite.

Overall, i would say that this phone satisfied me for a little while, but i have a feeling that the hinge will give up in less than a year and i have decided that i will exchange this for the LG EnV2, a more advanced messaging phone on the verizon network.
(i will review on that soon as well)
I hope this review was helpful
^_^

This phone is AMAZING! I love the dual-flip! i mess around with it sumtimes. I also find the buttons to be a nice size, i can txt just fine, they r not TOO small like what most people say. I would recomend this phone to someone who likes to txt (like me). Otherwise, this phone is pointless. I prefer this phone in black instead of the champagne, it looks more sleek. This phone is really slim, unlike the EnV. It also has WAY more options than the EnV. Its am cute and functional phone! Anyway, here are some pros and cons:

PROS:
~Its slim, therefore can fit in pockets
~It has a lot of unique options
~Makes great, crystal-clear pictures/ videos
~It has a lot of memory
~Good battery
~Awsome sound
~Nice size buttons, EASY to use
~Nice txting options
~Vibrant color screen
~Nice speakerphone
~A speak-to-txt which is pretty sweet
~Cute dual-flip!

Cons:
~Wont be too good if it comes in contance with the floor. The hinge seems kinda flimsy
~Easy to get fingerprints on

This phone is an excellent budget qwerty (the price has come down significantly now that new models are out for verizon) if ur still with a 2yr old phone and just want an upgrade w/o shelling out $200+ then get this phone. I was an LG fan & was hesitant to switch over to samsung but my sisters have this one so I had the advantage of trying it out in real time situations. I've always hated text messaging cuz the LG phones were slow & u had to click several times for a letter & go back if you misclicked - I would always just call the person in reply cuz it was simply faster for me. With this phone, u can text just as fast now & in full sentences if u want. It took me 3 days to get the hang of the small keys - it takes patience & I've got big fingertips so if I can do it most anyone can. I use my thumbs for more precise texting. The gold color wasn't my thing at first (I hated it actually) & was going to trade it in for the black one, but after a few days, it grew on me. It's very thin and I can barely feel it in my pockets as well & it took some getting used to while holding & talking but I'm fine with it now. My only gripe is the speakerphone on this particular one: it is not the best, but being able to have the phone closed & use it has come in VERY handy plus it is bluetooth headset capable which I am going to try out in a few days as well for when I'm driving. As far as reception goes, it has been the same reliable service as my LG was so that's great too. The UI is wonderfully responsive and FAST. After just a few days, I've really warmed up to this phone & the only other phones I would have considered other than this one were the models that are going for $300 which I can't afford so it's moot. (like the Voyager or new Blackberry) If ur patient & want to be able to have the convenience of fast texting /w some cool features, get this phone.

just got this phone yesterday and i absolutely adore it. i have the gold one which is super sexy.

Pros: qwerty keyboard is so stylish
nice camera quality
sexy lol
great features

Cons: i wonder why if the phone is made for texting, that i can only hold 50 messages in my in box. hmmm

but i love it, get it, slim sexy, sleek