Samsung A800

05-12-2006

When it comes to technology I tend to keep hardware until it either stops working or its no longer of any use. Take my mobile phone as an example. I bought the Samsung A800 flip phone a few weeks after it was released. It was one of the rare occasions when I bought something I really liked without umming and ahing for ages and waiting for the price to come down. I’ve used it continuously ever since for over 3 years and it’s a shame to replace it but it has started to develop a few faults.

Like I said I’ve used this mobile every day and as more than a phone. It acts as my alarm clock in the morning, I use it as a reminder, scheduler and to do list each day, and I make phone calls with it. I don’t play games although it has a few pre-loaded in its firmware. I don’t surf the web although it comes with WAP. It doesn’t have bluetooth or PDA functionality but I don’t need that. I cant play mp3’s but that’s what my mp3 player is for (coincidentally I own a Creative Rhomba which is about the same size as the A800).

I mentioned that the phone has started to develop a few faults. A few people seem to believe that mobile phones have a life of one year, after that the phone companies expect you to upgrade. Some try to get you to upgrade every 6 months!

About a year ago the phone started beeping and displaying the message “please wait” as it rebooted. This happened every time I sent a text message. It still does that today but only about every 3rd or 4th text I send. The other problem is that the main display keeps fading in and out and most of the time I cannot read the screen. Finally, the buttons have become a little worn so you have to give them a firm press before you get a response.

One thing that is a little annoying is that there is nothing wrong with the flip lid. When I bought the phone I was persuaded to pay extra for insurance as I was told that the hinge on flip phones are always breaking. Yet despite over 3 years of constant use and abuse, the hinge is still fine. The strap has snapped off, the rubber earphone cover has fallen off and the case is scratched to hell but the flip is still as good as it was on the day I bought it.

Its finally time to upgrade and I’ve been looking at the available models available today. Surprisingly with the somewhat dubious need for modern mobile phones to encompass colour screens, PDA software, cameras, radios and mp3 players, all the ones I looked at are bigger than the A800. One of the reasons I bought the Samsung was because it was small. I figured I wouldn’t be buying another mobile for a few years so I needed to future proof my purchase by buying something that would not look crap in a few years time. A tiny flip phone that fits in the palm of your hand was just what I needed.

If you are into retro mobile phones and you don’t need everything radio shack offers packed into your mobile then you can’t go wrong with the Samsung A800-SGH.