Memo feature on new phones?

The Samsung 8500 that I now use has a memo feature that allows me to record
60 seconds of a call while I'm on the phone. This comes in handy while I'm
driving for getting a number or directions without having to write something
down.
I went to the sprint store to look at the new phones. Though many of the
new phones have a memo feature, I didn't see the handy record button, so I
asked the sales guys about it. They said that none of the new phones had
the record-a-call capability.
BTW, mine only records the other party while on the line, and it puts an
audible beep on the line to satisfy the anti-bugging law. I wonder why they
have taken that useful feature off? Am I the only one who likes that
feature?

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The salesman is uninformed. My Samsung A620 (VGA1000) can record voice
memos to myself and can record the far side of the conversation, though
unlike my old Samsung 3500, there is not a dedicated button for it.
However, one can customize one of the 4 directional buttons to acivate
this feature. I'll bet other current phones can do it, too, but you may
have to find a more knowledgeable salesperson or download the PDF
manuals and look it up. According to my quick look at the Sanyo 8100
manual, it has the memo-to-self, but not the call recorder.

The manuals are at
www.sprintpcs.com | Help | Find Phone Information.

Floyd in Tampa wrote:

> The Samsung 8500 that I now use has a memo feature that allows me to record
> 60 seconds of a call while I'm on the phone. This comes in handy while I'm
> driving for getting a number or directions without having to write something
> down.
> I went to the sprint store to look at the new phones. Though many of the
> new phones have a memo feature, I didn't see the handy record button, so I
> asked the sales guys about it. They said that none of the new phones had
> the record-a-call capability.
> BTW, mine only records the other party while on the line, and it puts an
> audible beep on the line to satisfy the anti-bugging law. I wonder why they
> have taken that useful feature off? Am I the only one who likes that
> feature?
>
>

--
Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A620

> The salesman is uninformed. My Samsung A620 (VGA1000) can record voice
> memos to myself and can record the far side of the conversation, though
> unlike my old Samsung 3500, there is not a dedicated button for it.

Thanks for setting me straight Frank, To be fair, while in the store I
might have been asking about the memo button that my phone has, which
results in one-button recording of a memo or a call. After reviewing a
couple of the PDF manuals I suspect that many of the phones that have
voice-dialing also have memo or call-record capability. However, without
the dedicated memo button it might take between 5 and 7 button pushes or
scrolls to activate the recorder, which takes most of the convenience out of
it, especially when you're driving the car.
With all the recent talk about the hazzards of cellphone use while driving,
and some locales mandating a hands-free phone, I would think that the phone
manufacturers would make the record feature more easily accessible by
having the memo button. Go figure. I guess the camera button is king now.