Overview
Compatible with Cingular cell phone service, the Samsung X427 sports a snappy, lightweight shell, a large 128x160 pixel 65K color display, wireless Internet access, and plenty of phone and organizer features.
Calling Features
Used simply as a phone, the X427 benefits from a 5-way scroll key for easy menu navigation and dialing. Primary calling features include vibrate mode, 40-chord polyphonic tones and alerts, and more.
Messaging and Internet
In addition to Internet service, the X427 provides you with two-way text messaging capability, and EMS picture messaging which lets you use downloaded pictures, messaging templates, conventional email, and predictive text assistance in your messages. You can also access online services such as stock quotes, road directions, airline information, entertainment, and more. High speed data retrieval service is also available, and the phone is compatible with downloaded Java (J2ME) applications.
Organizer
Organizer features include a calendar, to-do list, an auto power-enabled alarm, and calculator with currency converter.
Fun and Games
For fun, the X427 provides customizable graphics, a variety of built-in polyphonic ring tones, and three nifty games.
1 Wouldn't Recommend
I bought this phone last June and have had nothing but problems with it. I tried returning it to the store which I bought it from the very next day and that was a whole other fiasco. I had Motorola phones up until this point and was very satisfied with my cell phone carrier and the phones I had. This phone bittered my experience with both. Unfortunately, I am now stuck in a cell phone contract for another year and a half with a phone which doesn't work majority of the places I am.
2 Good for the price
Good Phone with the following qualifications:
Its not as tough as the Nokia or Ericsson phones I have owned in the past. If you drop it the battery pops off. Mine is now lose.
Over time it seems to get slower and slower. I have gotten in the habit of "rebooting" it once a week at least. More than once I have had to remove the battery because it "crashed" completely.
Because there is no external screen, you have to open it to see the caller ID. If you are set to answer on open, you cant screen calls. If you aren't set to answer on open, you have to train yourself to open and then press the answer button. I will not buy a phone without an external screen again.
Battery life is good - about 2 days of medium use. Recharge is very fast and I got a generic car charger for $10.
I have no problem with the ringtone volume or the vibration. Works great for me.
Its small enough to get lost in your pocket. Size wise it is the best I have owned.
I like the games and the text system is good.
Once you figure out the convoluted way to set distinctive ring it works great too.
Overall a good phone for the price.
3 Not as great as I thought
Have had this phone for a year now.
Pros: It's cute and light-weight.
Con: If you download ringtones they play at a really low volume.
The vibrating alert can't be felt unless it's up against your bare skin almost (don't even think about putting it in the pocket of your tightest pair of jeans).
Keep the charger handy at all times.
After a while the dialing is delayed (you dial a number, it takes up to 40 seconds before the numbers actually pop up on the screen and dial).
When you open the case, the screen display can be delayed also, but up to as much as 1 minute.
4 Great Starter/Basic Phone
I got the Samsung SGH-X427 for free when I signed up for a 2-year service agreement. Before selecting the phone, I did some research, and it seemed like it would be a great phone to own. And it is! I also found the same problems that most other reviewers found.
Pros:
- Small size - not too small and yet small enough to carry around and not be bulky, great flip phone, I can now open it with one hand without a problem.
- Battery life - while this is my first cell phone, and I have nothing to compare it to, I have been very happy with the battery life of the phone. It lasts a few days with moderate use before I have to charge. If you play a lot of games or do a lot of talking (more than 40 or so minutes a day) you will need to charge more often.
- Color screen - the color screen is one of the coolest things about this phone, it looks beautiful indoors (outdoors see "Color Screen" in Cons) and the contrast can be adjusted. Games look great, as do wallpapers.
Overall, I am very happy with this phone. I have Cingular and I know reception is a combination of the service and the phone, but I am very happy with reception and I know part of it is the phone. It can play Polyphonic and Music tones, which I think is the coolest thing ever. I only wish I had gotten the Samsung model with the camera and the external caller id...
Cons:
- Color Screen - more specifically, it's sometimes impossible or at least extremely difficult to see the screen when outdoors in bright light. You can adjust the contrast and it does help, but then you have to readjust it when you go inside. It's something I've learned to live with.
- Phone freezes - this may be just me, idk, but whenever I speed dial a number, my phone will display gibberish and lock up, I can still talk but all my buttons stop working. The only solution is to either wait approx. 2 minutes until it un-freezes or remove the battery. This, again is something I can live with, and since I did not get phone insurance, it's one more thing I have to, and can, live with. Again, this may be just my phone that does this.
So all in all, a great starter phone or phone for someone who doesn't need bluetooth and camera and extrenal caller id, etc. but just wants a color flip phone.
5 Seems to Be a Decent Phone
I just recently purchased an X427 and so far the phone seems to work okay. While the product lacks the bells and whistles you may find in other phones, it serves its purpose as decent phone.
The buttons are easy to use and the phone's small size makes it extremely easy to carry in your pants or shirt pocket. While I have had some phone calls end prematurely on me, most calls I have made or have had made to me worked out okay.
All in all, a good but not great phone with basic functions - it just depends on what you are looking for.
6 Avoid this phone - you get what you pay for
I agree that the microphone is a bit sensative. It is hard to talk with one hand on phone - hard to hear especially if you have a slip-on case that covers the microphone/ear piece. I have alot of dropped calls (Metro Atlanta area) and widely/almost constantly varying signal strength. Avoid this phone - when I asked Cingular for warranty repair/exchange they were quick to offer a telephone upgrade !!!
7 Solid phone
I have had this phone for about 3 months and have been very happy. I love the light weight and compact size of it, even though it didn't come with an exterior caller ID screen(wanted that but not a camera). I've always been pleased with Samsung phones and this is no exception. Aside form a couple minor things, like a lack of plain, audible ringtones and some menu options, this is a solid, reliable phone. I get great battery life and good reception, in areas that Sprint PCS couldn't. Customer service hasn't been a problem, other than wait times. Overall this is a great phone. As an aside, I would add that the customer who complained about the visibility of the screen in sunlight, probably had not adjusted the contrast, which is an option under the phone settings menu.
8 Ehhhh.....
I am on my 3rd X427. For the past 4 months, I have had nothing but problems. My first the phone would freeze up, and the buttons would be pressed randomly. My second phone, when I was on GRPS, it turned off and when I turned it back on it said "Phone Locked, Return for Servicing" and The 3rd time, the phone turned off, and even when I held the power button down, it would not turn on. After changing the battery 2 times, and having it work for only a few days, I said enough, and brought it back to the cingular store.
SAMSUNG MAKE BETTER PHONES!
9 not so good compared to others
I had this phone for a while with my company thru Cingular and I hated it. Constantly dropped calls, couldn't get a good signal. I switched to a Sony-Ericsson for my personal account and couldn't be happier. In the SAME coverage area, I never lose a signal or call on my Sony-Ericsson phone.
10 Cannot see screen in sunlight
We updated our phone but went the wrong way. Do not try to see the phone book outside in bright sunlight. You cannot see the screen. This is a terrible phone for use outside in the sun. I never had this problem with my Motorola. I do not recommend this for outside use. It is cute but not functional.
11 Hands-free doesn't work....
I purchased this phone as an upgrade and had nothing but problems with the hands-free device. We tried three different phones and seven ear pieces. Either I couldn't hear who I was calling, they couldn't hear me or the phone would indiscriminately dial a number or disconnect a call. I am back to searching for a phone I can live with!
12 i like it
it is true that this phone has a limited selection of ringtones and all of them do suck, but none the less i dont care. other thant that the phone is so small it falls out of your hands, i like that because it takes up no space in my pockets, and the battery life is great(maybe because it's still new). the greatest thing is i can check the news and my stock quotes whenever i want, its brilliant i think, and thank god it doesnt have a camera, i still fail to see the point of camera phones. overall, i certainly would recommend it to anyone who like a practical and non-flashy and reasonable phone.
13 Good phone, but....
This phone is very useful and I love it, but there is one flaw. If I was going to choose a new phone, I would definitely get a flip phone, but one with a screen on top of it. What I mean is a screen so you can see who is calling you or how your reception is without opening the phone. Other than that the phone is wonderful with a internet browser and color!
14 Poor Product!!!
I am currently on my second X427, and I am greatly disappointed with the product. I haven't done anything to cause the phone to malfunction, yet both phones have provided me with poor service and far more headaches than any other phone I've used before (including several Nokias and a Motorola). I do not recommend this phone, and the number of phones in my home state that have been returned to Cingular stores outnumbers the number of phones originally purchased. I believe that this speaks volumes about the product.
15 excellent phone
this phone is great. im a college kid and its not too expensive and it has great features. the battery life is great. i leave it on for a week and then i have to recharge it. and recharging the phone is only like an hour. u can plug it in for like 10 minutes and it is charged enough to use it for the night. i highl recommend this phone
16 Quirky but good
I ordered this phone from Cingular as a free upgrade. Prior to receiving it I read several reviews elsewhere lambasting it for having an excessively sensitive microphone, no ability to send email, poor ringtones, bad audio quality, issues with the hands-free kit, and an inability to talk and charge at the same time. So far, I have had none of these problems.
The microphone does not seem particularly sensitive, it doesn't sound like I'm shouting and my voice doesn't distort. Ambient noise doesn't seem to be picked up particularly easily under normal circumstances.
You can send email, it's just not described in sufficient detail in the user guide.You need to select the email setting in the message settings prior to composing the message. you need to reselect sms before going back to that type of message.
The ringtones included aren't the greatest, but mine had 2 standard phone rings, the cingular tone (which isn't bad), and a couple abstract sounds, as well as a cat and a bird that are only mildly annoying.
The audio quality is excellent, and I vastly prefer it over my old Sony-Ericsson T226. It seems like the earpiece on this phone has a wider speaker area, so it doesn't need to be held in one particular place to be heard clearly.
The hands-free kit that cingular included does not hum or behave badly. The microphone is a little weak but it's tolerable. I can charge and talk at the same time.
overall, the phone is better than what I expected from a free promotion. It feels very sturdy, the screen is beautiful, it hangs onto a signal very well (inside several layers of cinderblock in my office I can still get about 2 bars, where my old phone got no signal at all), the WAP browser is quite functional. The games aren't great, but I'm never fond of mobile phone games.
My biggest beef with it is that only animated wallpapers are included, and they occlude the visibility of my standby text. I'd rather have some nice, still, light-colored wallpapers that weren't the cingular logo. With that said, the animated wallpapers are very nice, I just feel like they're a waste of processor and battery power.
The buttons are a good size and have pleasing tactile feedback. I'm never going back to tiny rubber buttons like on my old phones.
The handset feels very comfortable both talking and typing. The menus are simple but occasionally show korean-to-english transational difficulties and aren't as clear as they could be. Like I mentioned before, the user guide is pretty bad, and isn't good for much except learning how to do advanced calling functions and basic settings.
Overall I'm very pleased with this phone.
17 Earset problems
This phone has only one weakness. I use the "Hands Free" earset while driving in my car. The voice quality is muffled and the volume is low even when set to high when both transmitting and receiving. Also, an incoming call ring tone cannot be heard in the earset. I tried different brand earsets that were compatible but they were worse and not usable. The many positives include ease of use, compact size, quality of color screen, large choice of polyphonic sounds and quick access to features on the Internet. Except for the earset, I love it.
18 The best there is...
Cingular is great - I've never had problems with reception at all. The phone is great, minus the part that I can't see my screen outside. It's a pretty clear phone in general. Buy it - you'll be glad you did.
19 Awesome
This phone is amazing. The only bad things I can really say about the phone is that it doesn't have a outside caller ID but I don't really care about that. It weighs only 2.8ounces, color is GREAT, and the ringtones are too! There aren't many choices of ringtones and wallpaper but I don't mind that. I really like the games on this cell phone too. It has a total of 5 games (go to downloads/games & more for more). I really like chess and bubblesmile(rotate these circles to match them in a line and they pop). Overall, I love this phone. Reception is also AMAZING. Very well done Samsung!
20 Headset problems
Phone is small and cute and I love the color display...however, there's a loud buzzing noise when you try to use any headset with it. Does anyone else have this problem?
21 Good reliable phone; but Cingular is not so great.
Purchased this phone one month ago when I switched from T-Mobile to Cingular. I previously owned a sony Ericsson T68i which had all the bells and whistles (and a stellar battery life of 3-4 days to boot) but had the most unfortunate downfall: horrific reception and ubiquitous dropped calls. Even the customer service people at T-Mobile admitted that numerous people had complained about it. So when I changed to a new phone, all I wanted was a compact, lightwieght, flip-phone, with great reception.
I've been impressed with my Samsung x427 so far. I would definitely recommend it. My friend just got the exact one but with a camera on it, as well as an exterior LCD and loves it as well. The only drawbacks are that the batter life is about 1.5-2 days and the standard ringtones aren't great.
Additionally, I have to add that Cingular's customer service leaves much to be desired, compared to T-mobile. The billing is especially problematic -- they even have to furnish a "guide to understanding your bill" if that gives you any indication. They could easily charge you anything in terms of random taxes and fees, and get away with it unless you were meticulous about scrutinizing your bill.
22 Don't even THINK of trying to read your screen outside...
It's like many notepads - your screen is invisible in the sun.
23 Small, fun-- great rebate
(...) As I think I would have with any phone company, I have issues with Cingular in that they try to steal my money on a monthly basis. Also, this contract is for two years which kinda stinks. However, my philosophy is that every phone/health insurance company is trying to take more money than they deserve, so I might as well have stuck with the one I have. Which is what I did.
24 Meow....nice phone and Cingular service is pretty good
I got this phone a few days ago and so far it works like a charm. First the basics. I want good reception, I want to hear people clearly and for people to hear me clearly. I want decent talk time and very good standby time. All the bells and whistles don't mean much without that.
This phone meets all those requirements fine. Now on the other extras. The screen is very nice and the phone comes with some very cool animated wallpapers. Those are a pleasure to see. The speaker is good but they made some um interesting or odd choices with the standard ringtones. There are not that many, and frankly they are not very good. The only one I could stomach was a cat meowing, hence the title of the review. The phone does support 'super polyphonic' downloads though so you can get actual songs for ringtones.
There is a good and easy to use organizer and calculator. The included games are lame, and they should have and could have included a couple of decent ones. So basically what you get is a solid phone, that is pleasing on the senses (sleek design, great animated wallpapers) with useful extras but a bit lacking in stuff to make it great, i.e. bad and limited standard ringtones, lame standard games.
As for Cingular. I am fine with them. They are now GMS and there are no roaming charges anymore. They have unlimited mobile to moblie which is useful. With the $100 back from Amazon right now or at least $100 in merchandise it makes this phone and Cingular service even better.
25 Cell Phone User from Alabama
I just received this phone last week. I ordered it from Cingular. I've been a Cingular customer since they were Bellsouth Mobility. So far, this phone is great. I haven't had any problems. The reception and signal strength are good. It's very lightweight and compact, which is something else I wanted, because I upgraded from the Nokia 2200. I've never had a Samsung before, but so far, I feel that it's a great basic phone. It doesn't have an external caller id, so you have to open the phone to see who's calling, but I can adjust to that. I don't care to have all the advanced features that some cell phones have, because all I want to do is talk on my phone...maybe text message every now and then. Overall, a great phone. I would definitely recommend it.
