This great dual band, entry-level phone boasts features more often found on more expensive handsets. With support for multimedia messaging, mobile instant messaging, and Cingular MEdia Net wireless Internet services, this phone is anything but plain Jane. It's the perfect complement to Cingular wireless service.
Design
The X427M sports a slim, sleek clamshell design with a large 128 x 160 color display with 65,000 colors. A stub antenna is placed on the top right side of the unit. Up and down buttons for volume control are placed on the left side. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad. There's a standard jack on the top of the unit to accept universal hands-free headsets, while the phone's charging and data ports are placed on the bottom of the unit.
Calling Features
The X427M features 40-chord polyphonic ringtones, and in addition to the built-in ringers you can download more from Cingular's MEdia service. A vibrate alert silently notifies you of incoming calls when you want to be discreet. The phone's internal memory lets you create an internal phone book of 500 alphanumeric entries. Caller ID, call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling and other standard features help you more efficiently handle your phone conversations.
Messaging, Internet and Tools
The X427M has all the bases covered when it comes to messaging and Internet connectivity. The phone features support for AOL Instant Messenger (Cingular messaging charges apply), and there's also a built-in web browser for MEdia downloads and mobile web browsing. Cingular's MEdia service lets you receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. Traditional text messaging, as well as picture and sound messaging are also supported by the phone. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
The phone supports the GPRS wireless data protocol, meaning that when used with a Cingular data plan and the phone's data port, the X427M can be used as a wireless modem for laptops and PDAs.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the X427M including a calculator with currency converter, an alarm, a to-do list, and a calendar.
Imaging and Entertainment
The X427M allows you to set screensavers, themes and wallpapers to suit your tastes. The phone is Java enabled, meaning it supports games written on the Java platform. The unit ships with three games and more are available via the Cingular MEdia service.
Vital Statistics
The X427M weighs 2.80 ounces and measures 3.30 x 1.80 x .80 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 7 hours of digital talk time, and up to 216 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Samsung X427M handset, AC battery charger, lithium- ion battery, user manual.
1 Good little phone.
I like the big screen.
Great color.
Great sound.
Sturdy.
I think this phone is quality. I like it.
I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a speaker phone or voice dialing, but it's a good little phone and I wouldn't change it.
2 Now I know why it was FREE!
This phone was great to start off with. But after about 3 1/2 months the phone started to drop calls every so often. Now 1 month later it is dropping calls very frequently. Sometimes with five bars the call just dissconects. I know it's not Cingular the Motorola v551 in the same exact spot is still crystal clear. Do your self a favor stay away from the x427m. If you buy Cingular try to get the v551 from www.cellularchoices.com and you will get a great quality phone for free! (P.S.-This phone shouldnt even have 1 star)
3 Great starter phone
I got this phone for my daughter as an added line on family plan(free from Cingular, because I bought the Motorola V551 from Amazon as the main phone line), and it is perfect for her use(she is 15.) Seems solid, very very lightweight, nice bright screen, good sound, and better signal than my motorola! The battery life is EXCELLANT! My motorola burns out before a day is over, hers goes for days. However, very litte features, which is ok for someone like her. No camera of course, but she didnt want one. Not very customizable. Cant change what is assigned to the buttons(like I can on my phone) and I hate how the middle and the right arrow buttons connect to media or the internet. I put an internet block on her phone from Cingular(customer service), but she was still able to access the media mall and was browsing ringtones before I realized, and made her stop! The data transfer costs!Comes with a few games, mine had one demo game. More wallpaper choices than mine as well. Cant view who's calling or the time from outside of phone when closed. We set the option to not answer when opened, so we arent answering calls we dont know who it is first. All in all, pretty nifty phone, simple, easy to use, one touch to write a text message, and other simple menu features.Buttons are flat, as are mine, but if looking at it(to type text message) not a problem, but if in a prompt command on a call, have to move it from ear to see what numbers I am pressing. All accessories are cheaper here at Amazon versus anywhere else.
4 Good, basic phone - missing some helpful features
I got this phone as a replacement for my venerable and trusty Siemens S46. I'll comment solely on -the phone- and not on the service (which has been fine).
Good points:
- Fantastic screen
- Good to excellent reception
- Fairly simple menu navigation* (note caveats below)
- Included applications, media, games, etc. are high quality
- Very thin and light, even with battery
- Excellent battery life (5-7 days on standby)
Bad points:
- The button configuration on this phone is very strange - maybe this is just due to the Cingular configuration, but I keep thinking the largest button (with the Cingular logo) should be "Dial" by default, when instead it is inexplicably mapped to flip over to GPRS mode.
- The phonebook lookup is -awful-.
- There is no copy to/from SIM card feature. This means that if you want to, say, copy phonebook entries without buying the USB cable, you have to enter them by hand.
- The headset jack is very hard to open and suffers from a loose connection and static.
- The keys have no raised dots to center yourself without looking at the phone - while hard to describe, this makes it very hard to dial the phone with one hand, something which I have been able to easily do with most other phones.
5 Love my Samsung phone
I love my little phone. The battery stays charged. You can hear loud and clear. Cingular is great. DONT get a phone on Cingular online they are totaly useless. Go to the Cingular store and buy it. They know what they are doing.
6 A light simple phone to carry around
I've used this phone for 1 month. I like it so far.
Pros:
1. The battery life is good. One charge lasts 5 days for me. I don't talk much though.
2. This phone does not come with good ringtones. But you can buy one with average $2 from Cingular or Samsung website. Samsung's Samsung Fun site also has a few free ringtones.
3. The reciption and the charging time are acceptable.
4. People in the phonebook can be assigned to different user groups, and each group can have its own ringtone set.
5. Just dial "1" to connect to your voicemail box. Pre-set for me, at least. You can set yourself too.
6. Hold on "#" to turn the whole phone in silent mode, an easy thing to do before a meeting. And the same action brings all previous settings back.
7. Speed-dial list is seperate from the phone book. My previous phones are like the first 9 numbers in the phone book are speed dial numbers. This phone is like you can pick a person/number from your phone book to fill in a speed-dial position.
Cons:
1. No camera, if that's what you want. I don't need that though.
2. You have to open the clip to see the time. And the time is in small font, unless you select "Digital Clock" wallpaper.
3. Not related to this phone though, customer support guys in Cigular are mostly not very knowledgeable. Don't ask them questions other than your plan or bill.
4. The big Cingular GPRS connection button is quite annoying, if you are not going to use this phone to connect to the internet. The review below about setting it to an unexisting profile is gold. Detailed steps: Menu -> My MEdia -> MEdia Net -> Settings, pick those unset ones, like "Profile4 Info", and Select.
5. Once a phone is fully charged, there is no message like "Charge Completed".
6. You can not set individual alerts. Like I don't want to hear the annoying alert when a batterying is running out, but I do want to hear an alert if I get a text message. No, I cannot do that. I have to turn all alerts off.
7. No IR port.
8. The earphone has some contact problem. (Maybe only mine.)
7 OK phone, complicated interface
We just switched to Cingular, b/c Sprint wouldn't give us free phones for re-upping another 2 year contract. I like this phone-- it doesn't get hot like my old dinosaur did. However, the interface is a bit complicated. Why do I have to flip through so many menus to check voice mail, etc?? Also, I have yet to figure out an easy way to turn the ringer off. My old phone had a one-button solution. Guess I'll check the owner's manual.
Oh, and the tip from the reviewer below about putting a password on the internet is GOLD.
8 OK starter phone, great Cingular Service though
Because my wife absolutely loves flipphones (I hate them), I got this phone for her on a Cingular Family Share plan. To me the phone seems cheap, but it does have a nice color and the buttons are very easy to press. The screen is also very bright and easy to read. The ringtone quality is OK, but a lot better than my cheap Nokia 3586. The phone does feel a bit fragile and it seems like it can't take one drop with out breaking. But for the most part the phone gets the job done, no extra features, but what do you expect for one of Cingular's cheapest phones? You can download ringtones for it if you desire. I am not into downloading ringtones, but my wife loves it. One thing I do suggest though is going into the internet settings and move the settings from express profile, to a profile that doenst have the login and passwords already stored. By doing this you prevent any accidental connection to the internet. The middle button is so easy to fat finger and press and that button's sole purpose is to connect you to the internet which can cost some serious $$$ if you unknowingly leave it on. By moving from the express profile to another one, whenever you accidently press the internet button, you will just get an error saying, "Service Not available", in other words, you can't connect to the internet and you won't be charged for accidental connections. I think that it was purposely made like this so they can get money from accidental connections, but good thing you can prevent that from happening.
My last service was with MetroPCS and depsite it having unlimited talk time anytime, $52.08 was entirely too much to pay for crappy service that only works in Atlanta. I was lucky to get one bar while sitting at my second floor cube at work. In the elevator, the phone would just say "Serching for service.." Did I mention the dropped calls? I stopped using the phone because in the rare instances where the call wasn't dropped, I couldn't hear the other person on the other side half the time anyway. My Metro phone's battery was dead at least 2 weeks before I decided to go to Cingular, and I never even bothered charging it up. Cingular's service is miles ahead of Metro, full bar strength most everywhere I go, and even 3 bars in an elevator! I can actually hear the other person on the phone and don't have to worry about important calls being dropped because of poor signal strength. Plus Cingular has rollover and unlimted mobile to mobile and free nights and weekends. I don't use the cell that much, so my 850 minute plan Family share plan may be overkill, but with my wife's phone on my plan its the same price (59.99 + 9.99 additonal line) as the family share 600 minute plan (49.99 + 19.99 additional line), so why not get the extra 150 minutes? Cingular Customer service occasionaly does have you on hold for a long time, but for the most part their reps are very friendly and helpful, unlike MetroPCS.
I highly recommend Cingular, the phone is your own personal taste though. It gets the job done, but thats about it.
9 Cingular and Phone = Great
Cingular is great. They are the company that you get the most bang for your buck. Have great recption with this and all of the other Cingular phones my family has had. From the old TDMA the GSM is great. But remember you get what you pay for on phones. I mean the X427m. It is a great phone without a camera may I add. So if you gotta have the best technology get a better phone. Camera phones from www.cingular.com are very reasonable.
10 Samsung X247M - What A Great Phone
I personally have the Samsung X247M. It's a great phone for those who don't need a Camera Phone. It has lot of features like text messaging from providers like AIM and Yahoo. It has Lots of great Ringtones. Great Color Screen! Simple, Small and Fun! It lets Me - Be Me! You can also find the phone on http://www.cingular.com
Josh R. Jennings
Media Solutions Consultant
