Samsung 680 reception?

So, six months into my contract with Sprint, my phone breaks. Great! Lovely!
But it was my fault. I dropped it a couple of times, and we all know how rugged
most cell phones are. :P

So...

I am paying for insurance, because I always pay for insurance on my phones if
they're a year old or newer. I figure that way I don't have to break the bank
to replace a broken or stolen phone.

But I'm thinking about it. There are a ton of features I really like on the
Samsung 660, but its reception tends to suck. Mostly, I like the voice digit
dial and phonebook dial features that don't require you to train the phone. I
like the UI, the menus work well for me... but I understand the 680 has better
reception.

I don't care about the camera - I have a dedicated digital camera (hey, I work
on the web, what do you expect). What I'm curious about is the reception.

I see a 660 being auctioned for $26 right now, whereas an insurance replacement
is $50 (granted, the $50 gets me a new phone with the full twelve-month
warranty, but I've never had to use the warranty except on my old StarTAC, and
Samsung makes better phones than Motorola

"New-in-box" 680s look like they are going for $80-$100 on eBay. I was
wondering if the 680 has better reception than the 660 - that's what I've
heard, and it would provide some justification for spending the extra money.

Either one beats the LG dual-band 5350 I'm currently using as a loaner. (Oh
yeah - is the 680 tri-mode? That's a requirement as far as I'm concerned.)

Opinions?

TIA, Steve

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Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

---

› See More: Samsung 680 reception?

Steve -

Sorry to hear about your damaged A680. I think your should stick with a
replacement A680. They seem to get uniformly good reviews here, while
we've read here about a bad batch of A660's, and I personally know
someone who had bad reception with a brand-new A660 (dropped calls in
places she shouldn't) whose problems went away when she exchanged it for
a new A680.

Besides the lack of camera and external display, other features seem the
same, based on comparing their menus in their manuals.

Check out the user reviews on PhoneScoop and click to 'sort by most
negative.' There are lots of bad reviews for the A660 (as well as good
- a wide range), while the reviews are uniformly good for the A680.

I've had my A680 since 7/04, and it has dropped onto floors and pavement
probably 20 times and still works fine. Neither of the hard plastic
belt clips I've tried, from Samsung/Sprint and from Radio Shack, hold it
securely. I'm now using a nylon & velcro pouch from NiteIze. Mine is a
small SportCase Phone Holster SCS-03-01. It's similar to the CPS-03
shown at http://www.niteize.com/ClipCase.html

--
Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680

Frank Harris wrote:
> Steve -
>
> Sorry to hear about your damaged A680. I think your should stick
with a
> replacement A680. They seem to get uniformly good reviews here,
while
> we've read here about a bad batch of A660's, and I personally know
> someone who had bad reception with a brand-new A660 (dropped calls in

> places she shouldn't) whose problems went away when she exchanged it
for
> a new A680.
>
> Besides the lack of camera and external display, other features seem
the
> same, based on comparing their menus in their manuals.
>
> Check out the user reviews on PhoneScoop and click to 'sort by most
> negative.' There are lots of bad reviews for the A660 (as well as
good
> - a wide range), while the reviews are uniformly good for the A680.
>
> I've had my A680 since 7/04, and it has dropped onto floors and
pavement
> probably 20 times and still works fine. Neither of the hard plastic
> belt clips I've tried, from Samsung/Sprint and from Radio Shack, hold
it
> securely. I'm now using a nylon & velcro pouch from NiteIze. Mine
is a
> small SportCase Phone Holster SCS-03-01. It's similar to the CPS-03
> shown at http://www.niteize.com/ClipCase.html
>
> --
> Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680


There was a mass produced bad batch of both the 660 and 680. The 660's
had a hardware defect that made crackling noises in the earpiece during
a call. A new hardware version was released that was suppose to
address the issue. However I've heard the crackling in the new version
as well.

The A680 is a solid phone for the most part but there are major issues
with the ringer speaker blowing out on many of them. There are also
issues with the Vision data arrows flashing when they shouldn't be
causing incoming calls to go to VM and text messages replies to be
lost. Whether or not you get a good one is like a crap shoot. In fact
I heard it from some Sprint employees that the A680 is one of their
most returned phones.

I would personally consider the new Samsungs A740 or A760 as better
alternatives with fewer bugs. I'm about ready to give up my A680
because I cannot hear the ringer often even when set to loudest volume.
Plus the vibrate function is weak.

[email protected] wrote:

> I would personally consider the new Samsungs A740 or A760 as better
> alternatives with fewer bugs. I'm about ready to give up my A680
> because I cannot hear the ringer often even when set to loudest volume.
> Plus the vibrate function is weak.

Ugh. I really can't afford a brand-new phone right now. Do any of the Sanyos
have voice-dial and digit dial that don't have to be trained? That's what I
really liked about my 660. In particular, I'd prefer models old enough to be on
eBay for relatively little money (between $25 and $100).



--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

Steve Sobol wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> I would personally consider the new Samsungs A740 or A760 as better
>> alternatives with fewer bugs. I'm about ready to give up my A680
>> because I cannot hear the ringer often even when set to loudest volume.
>> Plus the vibrate function is weak.
>
>
> Ugh. I really can't afford a brand-new phone right now. Do any of the
> Sanyos have voice-dial and digit dial that don't have to be trained?
> That's what I really liked about my 660. In particular, I'd prefer
> models old enough to be on eBay for relatively little money (between $25
> and $100).

OK, I found an inexpensive 620 auction on eBay, and according to Phonescoop,
the 620 has everything I want, including AMPS capability and the same voice
dial features my 660 has. Will I be ok with a 620?


--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> So, six months into my contract with Sprint, my phone breaks. Great!
Lovely!
> But it was my fault. I dropped it a couple of times, and we all know how
rugged
> most cell phones are. :P
>
> So...
>
> I am paying for insurance, because I always pay for insurance on my phones
if
> they're a year old or newer. I figure that way I don't have to break the
bank
> to replace a broken or stolen phone.
>
> But I'm thinking about it. There are a ton of features I really like on
the
> Samsung 660, but its reception tends to suck. Mostly, I like the voice
digit
> dial and phonebook dial features that don't require you to train the
phone. I
> like the UI, the menus work well for me... but I understand the 680 has
better
> reception.
>
> I don't care about the camera - I have a dedicated digital camera (hey, I
work
> on the web, what do you expect). What I'm curious about is the reception.
>
> I see a 660 being auctioned for $26 right now, whereas an insurance
replacement
> is $50 (granted, the $50 gets me a new phone with the full twelve-month
> warranty, but I've never had to use the warranty except on my old StarTAC,
and
> Samsung makes better phones than Motorola
>
> "New-in-box" 680s look like they are going for $80-$100 on eBay. I was
> wondering if the 680 has better reception than the 660 - that's what I've
> heard, and it would provide some justification for spending the extra
money.
>
> Either one beats the LG dual-band 5350 I'm currently using as a loaner.
(Oh
> yeah - is the 680 tri-mode? That's a requirement as far as I'm concerned.)
>
> Opinions?
>
> TIA, Steve

If you do decide to make that insurance claim be sure to activate the broken
phone back on the account. They will send you whatever phone is active at
the time you make the claim.

Rod wrote:
> If you do decide to make that insurance claim be sure to activate the broken
> phone back on the account. They will send you whatever phone is active at
> the time you make the claim.

Nah, I am seeing a lot of A620s/VGA1000s on eBay, and they got a bunch of
really good reviews on Phonescoop. And they have the same voice dial features
my 660 has. AND I can get one for slightly less than the cost of the deductible.

Thanks for the tip, though.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

FWIW, I just switched from a N400 to the A680 and it gets measurbaly
better reception and night & day difference in audio quality. Granted
the N400 is not a great phone, but I am pleased with the A680 so far
except for the small keys which my fat fingers tend to hit incorrectly.


Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> So, six months into my contract with Sprint, my phone breaks. Great!
> Lovely! But it was my fault. I dropped it a couple of times, and we
> all know how rugged most cell phones are. :P
>
> So...
>
> I am paying for insurance, because I always pay for insurance on my
> phones if they're a year old or newer. I figure that way I don't have
> to break the bank to replace a broken or stolen phone.
>
> But I'm thinking about it. There are a ton of features I really like
> on the Samsung 660, but its reception tends to suck. Mostly, I like
> the voice digit dial and phonebook dial features that don't require
> you to train the phone. I like the UI, the menus work well for me...
> but I understand the 680 has better reception.
>
> I don't care about the camera - I have a dedicated digital camera
> (hey, I work on the web, what do you expect). What I'm curious about
> is the reception.
>
> I see a 660 being auctioned for $26 right now, whereas an insurance
> replacement is $50 (granted, the $50 gets me a new phone with the full
> twelve-month warranty, but I've never had to use the warranty except
> on my old StarTAC, and Samsung makes better phones than Motorola
>
> "New-in-box" 680s look like they are going for $80-$100 on eBay. I was
> wondering if the 680 has better reception than the 660 - that's what
> I've heard, and it would provide some justification for spending the
> extra money.
>
> Either one beats the LG dual-band 5350 I'm currently using as a
> loaner. (Oh yeah - is the 680 tri-mode? That's a requirement as far
> as I'm concerned.)
>
> Opinions?
>
> TIA, Steve
>

Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> I would personally consider the new Samsungs A740 or A760 as better
>> alternatives with fewer bugs. I'm about ready to give up my A680
>> because I cannot hear the ringer often even when set to loudest
>> volume. Plus the vibrate function is weak.
>
> Ugh. I really can't afford a brand-new phone right now. Do any of
> the Sanyos
> have voice-dial and digit dial that don't have to be trained? That's
> what I
> really liked about my 660. In particular, I'd prefer models old enough
> to be on eBay for relatively little money (between $25 and $100).
>

I just picked up two new A680's in the Sprint store. I opted to get new
numbers and get the rebates up front rather than keeping my old numbers
and waiting 6-8 weeks for the rebates.

$215 out the door for two new phones, an extended battery, car cord, and
a case (including tax). Plus i switched to the fair and flexible plan,
all told I should save about $40 /mo total, and after 8 years with
Sprint, ,signing another 2 year contract was not an issue.

Steph wrote:
> FWIW, I just switched from a N400 to the A680 and it gets measurbaly
> better reception and night & day difference in audio quality. Granted
> the N400 is not a great phone, but I am pleased with the A680 so far
> except for the small keys which my fat fingers tend to hit incorrectly.

Hi Steph,

Yes, that's why I was thinking about buying a used-with-no-warranty A680 for
$80-100 on eBay instead of getting a new-with-warranty insurance-replacement
A660 from Lock/Line. But after having heard about quality issues with the 680,
I've decided upon the A620/VGA1000. Last night at about 11pm Pacific, there
were 31 VGA1000 auctions on eBay.


--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

Steph wrote:

> I just picked up two new A680's in the Sprint store. I opted to get new
> numbers and get the rebates up front rather than keeping my old numbers
> and waiting 6-8 weeks for the rebates.

I don't qualify for any rebates.

The 660 that I broke was the one I bought for $30 after instant rebates, with a
two-year contract on my second line of service. The second line of service was
opened only six months ago. The original line is out of contract, but it's my
wife's phone, and she doesn't want to get into another contract (especially
since she has a no-longer-offered plan and might have to change it).

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Yes, that's why I was thinking about buying a used-with-no-warranty A680 for
> $80-100 on eBay instead of getting a new-with-warranty insurance-replacement
> A660 from Lock/Line. But after having heard about quality issues with the 680,
> I've decided upon the A620/VGA1000. Last night at about 11pm Pacific, there
> were 31 VGA1000 auctions on eBay.

My wife and I have two VGA1000's that have served us well for the past
16 months. One drawback: no SMS, so be forewarned.

--
John Richards

John Richards wrote:

> My wife and I have two VGA1000's that have served us well for the past
> 16 months. One drawback: no SMS, so be forewarned.

At this point, I'm willing to forgo SMS. Voice dial is much more important to
me. Actually, are we talking "no SMS at all" or "no mobile-originated SMS"?
Even the PCS phones that were around four years ago could *receive* SMS.
Receiving is all I'll generally need to do. I'll eventually sign up for
unlimited Vision and at that point, I will use EmailViewer or my PCS Mail box
to send mail.



--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> John Richards wrote:
>
>> My wife and I have two VGA1000's that have served us well for the past
>> 16 months. One drawback: no SMS, so be forewarned.
>
> At this point, I'm willing to forgo SMS. Voice dial is much more important to
> me. Actually, are we talking "no SMS at all" or "no mobile-originated SMS"?
> Even the PCS phones that were around four years ago could *receive* SMS.
> Receiving is all I'll generally need to do. I'll eventually sign up for
> unlimited Vision and at that point, I will use EmailViewer or my PCS Mail box
> to send mail.

The VGA1000 treats incoming SMS like an email that has to be retrieved
from a server by using Vision. It's a slow process.

--
John Richards

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> Frank Harris wrote:
> > Steve -
> >
> > Sorry to hear about your damaged A680. I think your should stick
> with a
> > replacement A680. They seem to get uniformly good reviews here,
> while
> > we've read here about a bad batch of A660's, and I personally know
> > someone who had bad reception with a brand-new A660 (dropped calls in
>
> > places she shouldn't) whose problems went away when she exchanged it
> for
> > a new A680.
> >
> > Besides the lack of camera and external display, other features seem
> the
> > same, based on comparing their menus in their manuals.
> >
> > Check out the user reviews on PhoneScoop and click to 'sort by most
> > negative.' There are lots of bad reviews for the A660 (as well as
> good
> > - a wide range), while the reviews are uniformly good for the A680.
> >
> > I've had my A680 since 7/04, and it has dropped onto floors and
> pavement
> > probably 20 times and still works fine. Neither of the hard plastic
> > belt clips I've tried, from Samsung/Sprint and from Radio Shack, hold
> it
> > securely. I'm now using a nylon & velcro pouch from NiteIze. Mine
> is a
> > small SportCase Phone Holster SCS-03-01. It's similar to the CPS-03
> > shown at http://www.niteize.com/ClipCase.html
> >
> > --
> > Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680
>
>
> There was a mass produced bad batch of both the 660 and 680. The 660's
> had a hardware defect that made crackling noises in the earpiece during
> a call. A new hardware version was released that was suppose to
> address the issue. However I've heard the crackling in the new version
> as well.
>
> The A680 is a solid phone for the most part but there are major issues
> with the ringer speaker blowing out on many of them. There are also
> issues with the Vision data arrows flashing when they shouldn't be
> causing incoming calls to go to VM and text messages replies to be
> lost. Whether or not you get a good one is like a crap shoot. In fact
> I heard it from some Sprint employees that the A680 is one of their
> most returned phones.
>
> I would personally consider the new Samsungs A740 or A760 as better
> alternatives with fewer bugs. I'm about ready to give up my A680
> because I cannot hear the ringer often even when set to loudest volume.
> Plus the vibrate function is weak.

I got an A680 over the holidays. So far, no problems. However, you are
correct in one thing. Its vibrate function is weak. It seems to share
that problem with my previous phone, an A500. However, its ringer is
definitely louder than that of my A500.

--
Orac |"I am not *trying* to tell you anything. I am simply not
| interested in trying to compensate for your amazing lack
| of observation."
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