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09/01/2007 Entry: "Samsung SCH-u740 - champagne (Verizon Wireless)"

I upgraded from a Motorola E815 three days ago. It's time for new every 2 upgrade from Verizon.

Bottom Line: I've never purchased insurance or extra warranty on any of my previous phones. This will be my 2nd SamSung phone. My previous Samsung cell was also a champagne color and that was back in 1999. My 1st Samsung cell also turned a lot of heads and great compliments from my friends. Therefore I have high expectations for the Samsung SCH-U740.

So here's the scoop with my new Samsung SCH-U740 so far:

Thursday: After Verizon transferred my address book into my new Samsung SCH-U740, I spent 1.5 hours sitting in my car customizing the settings. Meantime, my husband was customizing his new LG VX9400. Within a few minutes he was enjoying many prebuilt ringtones and pictures. While I only had 11 (eleven) ringtones to choose from!

Then I tried to get my front display to be partially lit so I can use it as a clock. I spent an hour tinkering with the settings. Eventually I found out that I need to hold one of the side button for one second to activate the front display. Otherwise the front display is pitch black.

Then I got home and to charge my phone, but nothing happened. So I had to go back to the Verizon store on Friday to ask for a new power cord.

Friday: I tried to take quality pictures with my Samsung SCH-U740 and I was sad to note that the quality couldn't compare with my 2 year old Motorola E815. So I emailed pictures I saved from my Motorola to my Samsung SCH-U740. I was very careful with my file sizes because the Samsung comes with 50MB prebuilt memory. I made sure my pictures were 500px by 400px for size and quality purposes. I must say I was VERY impressed at how well the pictures from my old Motorola looked on the Samsung. The display on the Samsung is SUPERB!

Once I got accustomed to customizing the phone and knowing when to flip the phone from protrait to landscape, the magic begins.

1) I'm now able to send text messages at amazing speed. Although I would've prefer 2 shift keys instead of 1.
2) The phone is VERY slim and looks great in jean pockets.
3) The display in landscape mode is large and bright.
4) When I dial a number, the display is large (and that's in normal mode!).
5) My midi files for ringtones are much louder and clearer on the Samsung SCH-U740 than on my old phones
6) Speakerphone is loud
7) Pairing my bluetooth headset to this phone is a breeze
8) Once the bluetooth is synced, I just have to power on my earphone to begin using it. (No more activation needed, unlike my Motorola E815)
9) The front display is very clear and I know immediately when I received a missed call or text message.
10) The buttons on this phone are solid and not flimsy.

As for the MP3 settings, I probably won't use it. I transferred over an MP3 file via email to my phone and the quality was poor. I'm not about to spend $30 buying the Music Kit to sync directly from my computer to the phone. Especially with only 50MB internal memory to work with.

As a phone and texting machine, this Samsung SCH-U740 is amazing!!!

As an MP3 and camera, it needs work to be comparable with other cell phones.

The Samsung SCH-U740 also comes in black too!