UK 3G Mobile Phones - Samsung G800 Review

Your Samsung G800 Reviews

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Reviewer: Miss X - Western Australia, Australia
Date: 8th May 2008

Oh & I have a question. The Samsung website says you can add a memory card up to 2GB, but I have seen places selling ones that suit for 4GB & someone on this review page mentioned having an 8GB memory card. Can someone explain this? Does the phone operate slower if you have more memory, & does it definitely accept higher then 2GB memory cards?

Awesome phone. Yes it really has everything (personalised call & message tones included), you just have to fiddle around with it. Like everyone has established, the manual is useless. I've given it a 90% usability rating because of the user unfriendliness. Options are hidden in menu titles that we're not familiar with, which I would say is the main cause of everyone's problems. But once you get used to it, it's not a problem & it has, in my opinion, pretty much every conceivable option.

The phone in comparison to other phones is a little heavier & a little bigger. But I've come from using a teeny phone, & yet the size & weight doesn't bother me, so it's size can't be that bad & to the people who complained about it, try reading the specs of something before you buy it, rather than buying it blindly & then complaining about it later.

This review page has helped me so much, just in terms of how to use my phone, & how to change options. The only thing that I haven't seen answered is whether the skin can be changed from black & Orange. & to respond to the person who asked how to change the word selections when using predictive, you type in the word & then press 0+ to change it (unlike previous Samsungs where you use the down arrow). & I want to add, that when changing tone alert for messages, after choosing a phone profile (as mentioned in detail in an earlier post) & selecting edit, you will be shown the ring tone change. You need to press the right arrow to bring up the MESSAGE TONE options.

Love the phone!

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Reviewer: Rob - UK
Date: 7th May 2008

I read hundreds of reviews about different phones before choosing one & it still didn't help! I've had Sony Ericsson's for years & upgraded to the Samsung, G800. I've had it 1 hour & have already phoned Vodafone to send it back. It's a huge chunk of a phone that looks pretty cheap to the eye & really is a brick (if it was a PDA I'd accept the size & weight, but it isn't! ) Playing around with it, is like going back 10 yrs in phone technology, the features have the look of being really dated. I've used the camera a couple of times & this did seem really good, so I disagree with all the reviews that slate it. I am really surprised that anyone would buy this & be happy with it, maybe I just don't like the switch between makes of phone, perhaps a hardened Samsung fan would be happy with it but I'll let you into a secret, there's better phones out there!

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Reviewer: Andy - Dawley, UK
Date: 3rd May 2008

Best Samsung so far for me, having just the one problem, my g600 played my videos from the memory card OK, however when I took the memory card from the g600 & placed it in the g800, & tried playing videos, it keeps saying unsupported resolution & won't play ! I have to click edit then preview to watch videos from memory card! Any ideas how to fix this? I must say though that I can't understand why people are complaining about the camera, it's the best I have seen for years.

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Reviewer: Bunny - London, UK
Date: 3rd May 2008

I received my phone today & struggled to remove the back cover, very disappointed with that particular part of the design however the features are very good very user friendly & the best phone from Samsung so far, the battery is good do not charge more than 4 hours for the first time to keep your battery life.

Well recommended no other complain so far! Well done Samsung hope your next upgrade even better this is the best.

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Reviewer: Carmi - Surrey, UK
Date: 2nd May 2008

Hi guys I've just ordered the g800 from Vodafone. I have a few questions I am upgrading from the g600 which allowed you to create & edit your own pictures to use as themes, does anyone know if the g800 does this? Also from using Nokia & Sony Ericsson previously you can set different message tones to different contacts in your phone book, I know my last Samsung didn't do this, just wondered if they'd added this option to the g800?

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Reviewer: L Pizle - US
Date: 1st May 2008

I haven't got this phone yet but should be with me in 2 to 3 days from an online store brand new for 190 pounds. Also I think to change the message tone & T9 is just common sense.

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Reviewer: Jaco - Capetown, South Africa
Date: 29th Apr 2008

It looks cool & that's about it. Really if you're thinking about buying a new phone go for a Nokia, especially the Nokia N82. This phone REALLY doesn't have a good camera, honestly, it is more like a 1.3 megapixel camera. So if you want a phone with great camera, cool games, much more themes & that's quicker, really then this phone is not for you!

At the moment I have a Nokia N82 & Samsung G800 & the Nokia beats the Samsung hands down with everything, & I am not just saying it, it is really true. Actually I prefer Samsung but at the moment Nokia walks away with the trophy.

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Reviewer: Andrew Moore - Nottingham, UK
Date: 28th Apr 2008

I got this phone on a 12 month contract with 02, £30 a month, I would say that it's worth getting.

The best contract I found was through dial a phone website. £30 a month, 400 minutes 500 texts. 10 months half price. You can't moan at that!

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Reviewer: Paul - Towyn, UK
Date: 27th Apr 2008

All in all better than phones of the same price.

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Reviewer: E Knight - Lydbrook, UK
Date: 27th Apr 2008

It a weighty mobile, little hard working out texting & the camera colours are a bit dull.

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Reviewer: Peter - York, UK
Date: 26th Apr 2008

This phone is not up to scratch. Those who say it's awesome are using media speak. It's not. Look at the reviews.

I sent it back almost on receipt.

It's too big. If it's for photos you can get many smaller better cams. It's too heavy. It weighs a ton. What have they put in it?

It's supposed to be a mobile & as such falls short the only people happy to cart this around will carry it in a handbag.

That's not the sort of people who want a big heavy chunky phone. If it's in your pocket people will look at you funny!

The marketing of this phone like many others has tried to get it accepted when really its appeal is limited. Don't fall for it. If you want video conferencing OK, otherwise it's not even a consideration.

Get the G600 a much better mobile.

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Reviewer: Norton - Lancashire, UK
Date: 26th Apr 2008

I have had this phone for a week now, I haven't charged it up yet it's still going! & I use it almost every day! The features on it are great, it's easy to use, signals great, TV is excellent, basically I would recommend anyone to buy it! Mine is on contract with t mobile, definitely the best signal. Camera is awesome, yes it is a 5 megapixel camera unlike other phones that lie!

Excellent purchase.

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Reviewer: Yas - UK
Date: 19th Apr 2008

I have had this phone for a few months now & it is great. I love it.

It has an excellent camera. My only fault with this phone is that I have problems when people try to find me on Bluetooth but I can't find them. Does anyone know anything or can help me.

Also the ringing volume is very low. If somebody can help me please let me know, thanks a lot.

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Reviewer: Joey - North Wales, UK
Date: 19th Apr 2008

Do I get this phone or not, what do you think guys?

I was thinking of getting it on contract, just wondered if you lot think it's worth it for £30 month.

Get back to me, Thanks.

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Reviewer: Lloyd - Reading, UK
Date: 16th Apr 2008

I have had my G800 for about 4 months now, & although having had initial issues with it, specifically the battery life, I am now growing to love it. I am no longer looking longingly at what I could have had instead.

With regard to the battery, I now have an in car charger, & also bought myself a spare battery which is kept fully charged up, just in case.

John in Bristol, once you are on predictive text, you use the bottom centre key (0 +) to scroll through the alternatives. For symbols, press & hold the bottom right hand key (#) to access them. It takes a little while to get used to especially if you have been used to Nokia as I was, but you soon get used to it.

The G800 is a very nice looking phone, & really does not make me envious of any other phone out there on the market at present. It offers most things that you would reasonably expect in a camera phone, apart from sat nav.

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Reviewer: Frank - UK
Date: 16th Apr 2008

My only fault with this phone is that I had it for two weeks & it had a technical fault with the screen! The screen would not light up, & had an internal crack! Even worse, Samsung do not cover screen damages in the guarantee, so now I have to pay up to £150 t get it fixed! But other than that quality phone!

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Reviewer: Molly - Edinburgh, UK
Date: 14th Apr 2008

I love my little phone, I just would really like to change the skin colour from Orange & Black to something else! Can anyone help me please I would be grateful.

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Reviewer: Lorraine - Bristol, UK
Date: 12th Apr 2008

Can anyone tell me if this phone automatically saves sent messages? Thank you.

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Reviewer: John - Bristol, UK
Date: 7th Apr 2008

This is a wicked phone with wicked capabilities & I am very happy with it so far & very glad that I brought it.

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Reviewer: Emma - Aberdeen, UK
Date: 5th Apr 2008

Can anyone help? I have had this phone for 2 months now & still can't work predictive text. I can get it on the setting but I can't work out how to change the word if it's not the right one. Does anyone know? Thanks!

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Reviewer: Martin - Glasgow, UK
Date: 4th Apr 2008

Looks good but in reality, Dreadful! I can't find a way of switching off predictive text every time & too many things to go wrong. Texting is not easy compared to Nokia or even Motorola. It has virtually no wallpapers with phone & not a good selection of tones.

I wouldn't go for this, go for Nokia.

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Reviewer: Frank Pogorzelec - Dundee, UK
Date: 3rd Apr 2008

Had the phone 2 months now, like its chunky, solid feel, don't know what all the fuss about the camera side of it is about, I have had no problems after playing with it & taking the guy Thomson's advice. The only bug bear I have is the same as someone else's in this forum, HOW do you change the colour of the display banners, mines opens with Orange only, can't find any default path to get this sorted, would appreciate your help, Thanks lots.

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Reviewer: Stella - Singapore
Date: 2nd Apr 2008

Well, I love it! It's elegant too. The only thing I dislike is the lack of theme & games!

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Reviewer: Snow - Philippines
Date: 31st Mar 2008

I've got a question. How do you use or turn on the WDR OPTIMISATION on your g800? Does it only work on camcorder mode or on camera also? It wouldn't let me turn on the WDR on settings if it's on camera mode. Please help me.

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Reviewer: Andy - UK
Date: 30th Mar 2008

Reply to James, It doesn't matter which network operator you choose. You won't get any more ringtones, memory, games or screen savers. It's the same for which ever operator you choose. There are no games on the Samsung G800, you have to buy your own.

I used to be on 3 mobile but I came off it because the signal is rubbish, I am now on O2 & it's a lot better. With O2 you can also use as many video call minutes as you want because these are included in your Voice minutes. In 3 mobile you have to pay extra for video call minutes.

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Reviewer: Cathy - Belfast, UK
Date: 30th Mar 2008

I have just upgraded from the Samsung E900 to this, & am really pleased with it. I was considering having a G600 as I was already on a really decent contract with O2 but decided to give this a go.

First impressions when I opened the box were like many in the fact it was a bit bigger & very chunky. It's something you simply get used to & is not bigger than the Nokia N95 & is a lot more attractive. It's very sleek & for once makeup doesn't rub off easily on this phone! The display is very bright too, unlike the E900 in which you had to switch it the white skin to be able to see it in the sunlight.

As for the camera, I was really very impressed. I am not sure why people are complaining about the blurriness of the camera. Even my fiancé has said it is a much better camera than his Nokia N73 which is also 5 MP. If a picture is lacking in the wow factor, use the built in image editor to increase the exposure & the lighting or the sharpness. Makes them look twice as good. This is a better feature than in my previous Samsung, as it was a curse for resizing & distorting the pictures whereas this leaves the sizes as they are!

Changing the message tone to a song of your choice is another novelty on this phone in comparison to my previous & is easy to do if you read the manual. Just go in to edit profiles & it's in there somewhere. Also like the fact you can now have the phone ring & vibrate at the same time which I haven't seen on a Samsung before.

I am severely annoyed at the manual that came with this, it's pathetic. It's about 20 pages long & really, if you played about with the phone for at least 5 minutes, you could write it yourself.

This is also the first phone I've had with 3G, & it really excels. Bit hard to find it at some points over in NI but that's because of the vast amount of farmland, not Samsung's fault, & it only affects video calling. The Internet is top notch, it's fast & reliable & I am well chuffed I got the unlimited web bolt on from O2 because now I can go & win all the pub quizzes in the area!

The reason the phone didn't get 100% with me is because Samsung have moved things about with the menu features. I can't find ANYWHERE how to access your memory card & it's driving me nuts because I am using one from my last phone, with a lot of memories on it. Can someone please help me out if they know?

If you want an amazing phone camera, get this. If you want an amazing camera in general, buy a digital camera. Really excels for 5MP.

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Reviewer: Derek - Newcastle, UK
Date: 30th Mar 2008

I have just ordered this phone even after all the negatives on the camera side of things but I think Samsung phones have some of the best security features on the market I have had Samsung phones for about 4 years now after all they are a phone first camera is just an added bonus if you need a decent camera buy a one that is built for the job.

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Reviewer: James - UK
Date: 28th Mar 2008

Does anyone know what is the best phone operator for this phone E.G.

- More games.
- More ringtones.
- More memory.
- Better signal.
- More wallpaper& screensavers (how many wallpapers or screensavers are there in this phone).

If anyone could tell me I would be grateful or even tell me more about this phone. Thanks :).

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Reviewer: Pavo - Croatia
Date: 25th Mar 2008

I got this phone & I am really disappointed with the screen quality, I compared pictures with d600 & they are much better on d600 than on g800.

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Reviewer: James Bowen - UK
Date: 23rd Mar 2008

Well I might have this phone for my birthday, can anyone tell me about this phone.

- Has it got games?
- Is the keypad good or bad?
- Themes?
- Wallpaper?
- Screensaver?
- Messaging?

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Reviewer: Becky - Norwich, UK
Date: 23rd Mar 2008

Overall it's a good a phone. Took me a while to find out how to change the message tone & stuff, but all you have to do is go settings, phone profile, click edit.

The camera is blurred if flash isn't used which I find disappointing for a 5 megapixel phone.

It's also heavy & chunky, which I am not very keen on, although I find it easy to text. But it doesn't fit in my pocket, which is irritating.

Apart from that it's a good phone. Not as a good I hoped paying almost 300 pounds for, I don't think it should be priced that much because the camera isn't that amazing.

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Reviewer: Carol - Barnsley, UK
Date: 22nd Mar 2008

Being a devoted Samsung user, I am not disappointed with the G800. However, does anyone know how to change the menu screen from the current black & grey. I find it very difficult to see.

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Reviewer: Simon - Beckenham, UK
Date: 22nd Mar 2008

First new phone in ages & I am happy with the look & feel.

I never use predictive texting & the phone came with this feature switched off & so it is possible to change. Key layout is different from Nokia & I tend to miss the space key quite a lot but this should be just a case of getting used to the phone.

Took the phone abroad recently to Spain & was all that happy with the default light settings (having to switch to ISO 50 manually). However my camera phone seems to be OK in lower light settings. In saying that I agree with the comments about time delay in both taking the photo & also when using the flash. However, this is my first camera phone & so only comparing against my digital camera.

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Reviewer: Andy - Nottingham, UK
Date: 19th Mar 2008

Yes you can personalise your SMS tones! Why do people keep on asking this question? What you have to do is the following:

- Select settings.
- Select the profile you want & select edit.
- Go across to the new message selection.
- Highlight message alert tone.
- Press options & select change.
- Press right & select use my alert tone.
- Select sounds.
- Select music.
- Highlight the song you want.
- Press options.
- Press select.

There you go! Hope you can now all use your songs as SMS tones.

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Reviewer: Kerry - Portsmouth, UK
Date: 18th Mar 2008

I got this phone as an upgrade. I have been using Samsung phones for a couple of years now. Really like the design & the fact it's got a bit of weight. Haven't been able to change message tone or colours so if anyone can tell me how to I would appreciate it. Not fussed about the camera but compared to some phones it is better.

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Reviewer: Maggie - East London, South Africa
Date: 17th Mar 2008

I got this phone 4 days ago. I cannot believe all the negative reviews. Yes it might be a bit more bulky than other Samsung Models, but wow what a terrific phone. It was interesting reading all the opinions, & as for most of them, there is a solution. The phone's features lacks little, it is definitely a user problem. SMS alert can be changed, the camera in the right settings if terrific, just remember you cannot just snap & expect a perfect picture, change settings according to conditions. The keys are easy to use, the right volume load enough.

All in all, I highly recommend this phone, it feels & looks great.

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Reviewer: Paul - Sheffield, UK
Date: 16th Mar 2008

Good phone. But can't change message alert tone to a music tone.

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Reviewer: Andrea - Northampton, UK
Date: 13th Mar 2008

I haven't bought the phone yet but am just about to. Can someone let me know the following please.

- When you slide the cover down & the keypad locks, can it be accidentally unlocked whilst in your pocket for instance?

- Can you definitely personalise your SMS tones?

- When you receive a text message, does it tell you the time it was sent or the time you read it?

- What is the sound like during calls?

- What is the music volume like? Can it be easily adjusted or is it stuck on one level?

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Reviewer: Andy - Nottingham, UK
Date: 13th Mar 2008

My slider top on my Samsung G800 has become slightly loose, has anyone else noticed this problem?

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Reviewer: Ron Clark - London, UK
Date: 13th Mar 2008

Really, like the phone. It feels nice in your hand & is a real head turner! Camera is OK & not as bad as everybody claims. Remember, this is phone, not a digital camera! Has anybody had any joy as to how to take the back cover off? Mine refuses to budge, & I don't want to force it off! If anybody wants to know how to set your own message tone then let me know. It's simple once you know how!

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Reviewer: Nicky - Poole, Uk, UK
Date: 12th Mar 2008

My phone only arrived a few hours ago, so I haven't had the chance to find many problems yet. The manual is rubbish, as people have said, but I noticed people asking how to remove predictive text as the standard default setting, here's how it's done.

- In SETTINGS, select option 7 is APPLICATION SETTINGS.
- Then option 3 is MESSAGES SETTINGS.
- Then option 1 is TEXT MESSAGES.
- Then option 1 is SENDING OPTIONS.
From this screen, go into CHARACTER SUPPORT, & select AUTOMATIC. (mine was on GSM ALPHABET as a default setting! ) Save AUTOMATIC setting, this should remove predictive text.

So far I have no complaints with the phone, apart from the next to useless manual, & the position of the WAP button, as I keep pressing it by mistake! Guess this will just take a bit of getting used to, as it's different from my last 3 Samsungs!

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Reviewer: Dave Ayre - Hull, UK
Date: 8th Mar 2008

This seems to be a pretty awesome phone. The design is slick & classy. The size & weight are good, so you're always aware it's in your pocket, but not so it's pulling your pants round your ankles! The features have increased from the U600, my previous phone, including a better music player, an RSS reader, better Bluetooth etc. The usability is as you would expect from a Samsung, straight forward & very manageable, as previous Samsung models have been. My main problems are with the camera. I found with previous Samsung models that when taking photos, the duration of time between pressing the button, & then seeing the photo you have taken is quite long. I had hoped that Samsung would have sorted this problem out by now. The duration is quicker but not by much. Not so good for reactive pictures really. My other problem is the fact that there are no games whatsoever, or none that I can actually find anyway. Generally it's a better phone than its predecessors & certainly worth investing in.

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Reviewer: Lee - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Date: 7th Mar 2008

Marks very easily & the when the slide is open the top half isn't straight.

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Reviewer: Ash - Trowbridge, UK
Date: 29th Feb 2008

Just had this phone delivered today & what can I say what a phone this is apart from 2 things.

- The weight is not great but the phone makes up for it in all other areas & most importantly.
- How do your change the message tone to one of your songs you have put on, my mind is truly been boggled I have no idea & desperately need 2 change it please can someone1 help?

Other than that a great phone 10 out of 10.

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Reviewer: Amy - Wolvo, UK
Date: 27th Feb 2008

I love it get it now before it goes shhhh keep it to yourself lot of love Amy.

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Reviewer: Anon - Cyprus
Date: 25th Feb 2008

Does anyone know how to switch off the keypad sounds without turning off all phone sounds?

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Reviewer: Andy Moore - Nottingham, UK
Date: 25th Feb 2008

I am slightly disappointed in this phone. I have had this phone for 3 weeks, I like the look & feel of the phone but I am not very impressed with certain things.

- the camera is very dark when you take indoor pictures. The person who commented on this before seems to know a lot about this problem. To say this is meant to be the best camera phone on the market I am very disappointed with the quality of indoor pictures.

- When sending text messages it can take ages because the buttons are not very user friendly & you can make mistakes easily. I much preferred my Nokia N80 for texting.

- the volume on the phone is not very loud, you may not always hear your phone ringing.

- Battery life isn't great, doesn't last that long when you use the camera & to say this is a brand new phone you would think that they would provide a longer life battery.

- No games on phone.

- Hardly any decent wall papers to choose from.

I am just glad I have only got this phone on a 12 month contract & not an 18 month contract.!

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Reviewer: Alan M - Chesterfield, UK
Date: 24th Feb 2008

I played with it in the shop against a veiwty. I liked this phone the best but the viewty had a better image on the photo's I took in the shop. After reading the reviews it would seem that the Camera is not all it's cracked up to be, as I found.

I have a K800i at the moment & have been very pleased with it. They have spoilt it with the K850i, & that is why I am looking around for a better upgrade. Does anyone in the companies that make these phones, ever check with a real member of the general public before releasing it? Still undecided & may have to go for a less than perfect phone, but this seems to be the norm these days. Phone companies please check the public's response before releasing a less than perfect model. It will ruin your credibility in the long run if you don't!

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Reviewer: Dee - Dunstable, UK
Date: 22nd Feb 2008

This is a proper phone. Yes it's a little larger, yes it's a little heavier but it feels good in your hand, strong, sturdy & classy. I have had no problems with the camera, & I found it easy to work out. The radio's clear & not tinny sounding like some makes are. The keypads a better size for those of us with slightly bigger fingers, or long nails, again no problems. The screen is a good size, & for a change the text is clear even without my reading glasses :@).

As for the battery, I haven't had a problem with it. But I have the charger on the desk or table by the bed, so when I sleep it charges then its fine all day, so I don't see a problem there. I might get another battery & dual charger for when I am on holiday. I've changed my ringtone to my Nickelback favourite, & the message tone was changed too! The vibration is fine, the sound is louder than my last Samsung, & I like that I can choose the volume of the keypad, the ring tone, the message tone, all independently of each other.

The only thing I haven't fathomed out yet is how to change the Orange & black theme, but I'll suss it out soon & if I can't fathom it out, then question. It's the only fault I can find. So enjoy!

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Reviewer: Gary - Newport, UK
Date: 22nd Feb 2008

I like the look & styling of this phone & although some people have said that it's a bit bulky & heavy I don't find it an issue. It's about the same size as the Nokia N95.Trying to get my head around the features at the moment & sending messages are tricky as I am used to a Nokia, it's only a matter of getting used to different keys. I've read some reviews & people have said they're disappointed that you can't change message tones. You can, in phone profiles, select normal & edit. Although I have found that you can only select certain music tracks, maybe due to the download or copyright.

I also like the security features, locking the phone when you turn it on & also individual locking for keys, phonebook, messages, call log etc. Not had a Samsung for years but impressed with it so far. Battery life I haven't found too bad but then again if you use all features all the time you'll be charging it up all the time. Only had it 3 days, will check camera out fully when I get chance. I would like more info on Camera either on enclosed disc or in user manual. It would be helpful. My brother wants to swop his N95 for mine, he couldn't get the G800 free on his network. No Chance.

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Reviewer: Really Frustrated - Turkey
Date: 21st Feb 2008

HOW DO I GET the BATTERY COVER OFF TO INSERT MY SIM CARD?
GETTING VERY IRRATED SOMEONE please TELL ME!
I would love to review it but as I can't actually get into it I can't! Please reply someone in the next half hour so I don't throw it through the window! Thank.

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Reviewer: Jenny - UK
Date: 20th Feb 2008

I have had this phone for about 3 months & I am very impressed with it. The battery is quite good not brilliant but not absolutely rubbish. The sound is also very good & the storage for pictures, sounds, videos is also quite good. The downsides are the camera isn't that good. For 5MP, it isn't brilliant. Also I am more of a texter but on this phone I hate it. The number of mistakes I make is a lot. This pone is simply not a texting phone. Another downside is that you can't permanently turn off predictive text. Every time I start a new message, I have to turn predictive text off, which is REALLY annoying. Hope this helps.

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Reviewer: Jen - Glasgow, UK
Date: 20th Feb 2008

Can't decide whether to buy the samsung g800 or Nokia n95. Any suggestions?

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Reviewer: Chris - Notts, UK
Date: 18th Feb 2008

I love this phone.

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Reviewer: Terry Byford - Birmingham, UK
Date: 15th Feb 2008

I got this phone for its advertised camera capabilities, so extras such as music player, FM radio etc, whilst welcome, weren't high on my list. I'd never even thought, or knew, about web'n'walk, but think this is an excellent feature, especially being able to pull in emails without going anywhere near my PC! My comments will, therefore, be limited to the camera function. I hope users will find it useful.

Initially, I found it exasperating using the camera, coming across many of the problems experienced by others. However, with 48 years experience of being a hands-on hobbyist photographer, I could at least experiment to find out exactly what was going on & why the images were not coming out as one might expect. Nothing in the Samsung User Manual to help me here!

Despite having a reasonable number of user adjustments, such as white balance, contrast, saturation, sharpness, macro, etc, there is no published information regarding shutter speeds or apertures & this becomes an issue with pics taken indoors with flash or under low level ambient lighting. Again, it is a pain to remember that image stabilisation & wide dynamic range are cancelled when the phone is switched off or the sliding lens cover is simply closed, to protect the lens, but with the phone still switched on! Oh dear.

The problem with indoor shots is that (a) the flash isn't very powerful (how can it be, have you seen how small it is? ) (b) x-synchronisation (should be at least 1/30 sec but Samsung aren't letting on) only occurs when the ISO is set to Auto, & in Auto it doesn't use the whole ISO range so the flash is still pretty much ineffective beyond 3ft (c) setting ISO's other than Auto mode cancels x-synch so when the flash goes off it acts as a fill-in flash to the shutter which now reads & responds to ambient light only. Try handholding an exposure of 1/2 second, say, it can't be done, so you end up with a very nice blurred photo. Nice one, Samsung, for not pointing this out to your customers. Use a tripod, you ask? Nope, no tripod bush!

Then there is the aperture range of the zoom lens, which given the physical size restrictions of the camera it is put in, means it will be quite small at 3x max optical zoom. I am guessing at least f5.6, may even be smaller, but there is no way of knowing as no EXIF data is captured when transferring images to a computer.

So, all this conspires to make the G800 pretty useless as a fun point & shoot indoors camera, which I guess is what a lot of youngsters will want to use if for. Now this is a great shame, as the quality of images taken outdoors in reasonable lighting conditions, is very respectable indeed for a camera phone.

To summarise: great looking cameraphone (to my eyes), fairly user friendly once you delve into the menu structure to find the myriad user settings, to be highly recommended for outdoor & macro photography only, but a lemon if you want to do a lot with it indoors, say further than about three feet away. So, all in all, a bit of a Curate's egg.

Now for those of you looking for a spare battery. They are available. Try Mobilefun or m-99.

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Reviewer: Sarah - London, UK
Date: 14th Feb 2008

I am looking to get a new phone & am very interested in the G800. I don't want it to make breakfast for me or anything & I am used to Samsung so it seems perfect. One question I have though, could someone tell me if you can password your text messages, pictures etc as I work with a lot big jokers who like to send entertaining text messages if you accidentally leave your mobile on the desk!

Any help would be gratefully received.

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Reviewer: Darren - UK
Date: 10th Feb 2008

This phone is currently the best on the market. The battery life is not anything like as bad as some people on here claim, if you do happen to be worried about it you can buy a genuine Samsung spare for less than £20. The transfer of pictures & music is easy just use the micro SD card & the adapter to transfer files if your PC does not have a card reader I suggest buying one you can buy a card reader to read standard SD cards (which is what you need as the adapter which the micro SD card fits into is) from various websites for less than £10 & it's much faster than either the USB cable or a Bluetooth transfer. The camera is amazing again it's a case of what you prefer if you are not sure about the phone go to one of the phone stores & have one of the assistants demonstrate it to you. There will never be a product created that everyone everywhere loves but most of the people I showed my G800 loved it & two are going to go out & get one. I would say to anyone who is thinking of buying this phone take into account my review & the others but try it out for yourself to see if it's right for you.

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Reviewer: Nick - Burnley, UK
Date: 7th Feb 2008

I've had a Samsung D600 for some time now & when I was offered an upgrade I looked at a Nokia 6500 & a Sony W910i but for me the G800 is a quality phone with all the features that I need & a simple to use menu. I always used to use Nokia's but I think they have fallen way behind the quality of Samsung.

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Reviewer: Amy - Manchester, UK
Date: 6th Feb 2008

I would just like to say a huge thank you to Barrie from Bradford. He has solved the mystery of changing the message tone on my new Samsung G800! Hurrah I will be eternally grateful.

I too had the Sony K850i before I switched to the Samsung G800 & after months of the hassle of my phone being constantly replaced (for what seems to be a common problem) of the software freezing. I am pleased to say the Samsung G800 has been a dream. It is a great looking phone & very easy to use (apart from the message tone issue! ) & I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a new phone.

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Reviewer: Jackie - Hertfordshire, UK
Date: 6th Feb 2008

I love this phone! It's much better than other phone's I've had, although it's a little large it still looks stylish, & it's no bigger than the Nokia N95.

The camera is good, & video quality is very good too. It's easy to use too.

Overall I think this phone is very good! & I am picky about what phone I get, having been a manager in mobile phone shop myself.

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Reviewer: Jt - Sheffield, UK
Date: 3rd Feb 2008

Few misleading comments on this page, but in short this is an excellent phone with some serious drawbacks.

On the plus side.

- It looks good (albeit like a camera).
- the screen is decent, both in size & resolution.
- the sound quality on calls is notably better than many others.
- MP3 playback through the earphones is excellent.

You can get accessories, I bought the in car charger with it from Carphone Warehouse.

On the downside.

- It is big & heavy, think about whether you'd be happy carrying a small camera about.
- the camera is very poor indeed, which is shocking considering the marketing. You can get the blur sorted out (if you turn the anti shake function on, which you have to do every time) & stand very still, with a very stationary subject, but the quality & tone of the photos is terrible. If you're struggling with dark photos indoors turn the flash off, seriously, it's ten times better!
- Ringtones & wallpapers are very limited & games aren't included (have to buy them).

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Reviewer: Barrie - Bradford, UK
Date: 2nd Feb 2008

Both my wife & I had Sony k850i since its launch Nov/07 & had nothing but problems with software. Freezing, crashing the lot. I ordered 2 G800 & then read the reviews & wondered whether I had done the right thing.

The answer is definitely yes!

Overall size is only a fraction bigger than K850i but looks so much better. My real concern was functionality as after 4 years with Sony's excellent usability I was worried the G800 would disappoint. Wrong again! The G800 is easy to use, easy to set up & better than the k850i for transferring files & music. The message tone I found easy to change by going into settings, phone profiles, options, edit, scroll right to message symbol & then scroll down to message alert tone. Go into options again & select change, then 'use my alert tone' & select the tone from your files. No big issue really.

I agree with the comments about night time photos being a bit dark but my phone is not a replacement for my digital camera. The overall quality of picture is good for day to day photos.

Sending a text has a few more steps to take than the Sony & takes some getting used to.

Overall I am delighted with the G800, the way it works. Oh, & the fact it doesn't freeze or crash!

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Reviewer: Keith - London, UK
Date: 28th Jan 2008

I have had this phone for 2 days, & I think so far so good, the only thing I can't get it to do, is to be able to transfer music onto the phone, I have 3 computers in the house & I can't seem to find the whereabouts the icon is, can anyone.help please, many thanks.

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Reviewer: Lloyd - Reading, UK
Date: 28th Jan 2008

Having kept away from Samsung since their first clamshell, the only phone I found remotely attractive was the G600. It wasn't enough to win me over though. So there I was waiting for the W960i to appear, & I would have had, had they not keep delaying it. I came across the shiny new Samsung G800. Waited in anticipation for its arrival.

Yes a bit bulky, but let us use the term substantial instead, which is not a bad thing. Now I've been used to either Nokia's or Sony Ericsson's, I like the functionality of the Nokia's, but they there is not a lot in it. Sony Ericsson tend to provide an ideal balance between functionality, looks & battery life.

Please potential buyers beware, if you like to use your phone the quoted battery talk time for the Samsung G800 is 90mins, that is one & half hours. Pathetic! It's now too late for me to return my phone having had it for longer than 14 days, because I was trying to get used to it & to rub salt in the wound, Sony Ericsson then release their W960 with 9hrs of talk time.

At present there are no accessories available, like a spare battery, in car charger, more useable headset.

Think twice before you allow yourself to be seduced by the looks of this phone, it's totally lacking in substance.

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Reviewer: Eric - Singapore
Date: 28th Jan 2008

I am having the same problems with the camera as many others have mentioned. Other than that, I am happy with the phone. However, my main reason to change brands, Nokia to Samsung was because of the phone features. But now it's a letdown. Is there anyone who knows how to work the camera features & can share the information, thanks.

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Reviewer: Kelly Robinson - Lodon, UK
Date: 25th Jan 2008

Quick heads up on this phone, I bought it to replace my ageing N75 & am totally disappointed by the camera, Phone wise it's a bit clunky but that's me getting used to Samsung. So back to the camera there are two issues these being.

- The flash is just not good enough & any indoor pictures will come out dark.
- You cannot default the anti shake option, so you have to select it from the camera options panel every time you take a picture.

For these reasons alone if you want a decent camera phone don't get this one. Only had mine a week & it's getting binned.

Also one other thing in case someone from Samsung design reads this could we have a normal display with small fonts & plain backgrounds, not all of us like big LETTERS, with gradient colours. Reminds me of Fisher Price toys. Please, please give me a plain background & small fonts.

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Reviewer: Nick - Norwich, UK
Date: 24th Jan 2008

Overall, this phone is superb.

Yes there are a couple of little niggles, the camera is a bit hit & miss, battery life is a little below par (compared to my old Sony, but not much worse) & the slider has ever such a tiny amount of 'wobble' in the down position.

However, I really rate this handset. It's easy to use, logical & YES, you CAN change alerts to those of your choice (including message tones) as Paul below has said.

Go get it.

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Reviewer: Ash - London, UK
Date: 23rd Jan 2008

Great phone, if you don't mind carrying a brick in your pocket. I made arrangements to send it back, as soon as I opened the box when it arrived. Going to try the G600 instead! Wish me luck.

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Reviewer: Anon - Preston, UK
Date: 22nd Jan 2008

I had this phone replaced for the g600 as that kept turning off, but I found this hard to use due to the ridge round the side making it hard to text. I also like small phones & this is very bulky compared to the d900 or the g600.

To the previous person who asked about changing to your own message tone. Samsung have finally taken on board the comments that every review has had you can change the message tone if I recall it was in the message tone selection, think it said customise but it is definitely in there just fiddle around.

This phone is def not for me but is a solid phone that would probably survive any trauma!

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Reviewer: Susan Boyce - Swansea, UK
Date: 22nd Jan 2008

Hi had this phone for a few days now I think it's great only thing I can't seem to work is transferring pictures from phone to PC do anyone know how to do this otherwise I love this phone have had a few Samsung but this one is a lot louder than what I have had before.

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Reviewer: Sara - York, UK
Date: 21st Jan 2008

Does this phone only have predictive text, or can you turn it off?

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Reviewer: Andrea - UK
Date: 20th Jan 2008

Great phone so far, but does anyone know how & if you can change your skin on this G800 handset? I am getting bored of the black & Orange, I want it nice & bright not dull. You could change from black to white on the Samsung D900. HELP. Please.

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Reviewer: David - London, UK
Date: 18th Jan 2008

I am a big fun of Samsung but this phone is a brick. I brought it after reading some reviews, but really it's not good, I had the G600 but decided to return it & get this brick, wrong choice. I am now returning this phone & getting a W960i from Sony Ericsson.

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Reviewer: David - Glasgowish, UK
Date: 18th Jan 2008

After waiting a while since my upgrade date (October) I was torn between this & the w960i. I gave into the G800 as it was free on selected tariff on O2. This is my first Samsung & have been used to Sony Ericsson for past few upgrades, the layout is fairly easy to get around & the big screen display is awesome.

I like the number entry fonts, nice touch. I can't change the message tone either! LOL can't for the life of me find a way how! The phone is big, but it being a camera phone at 5MP you can see the need for it. Have taken a few pictures & have to say not that impressed. This has been the main selling feature & that's the coolest thing about it for me I am afraid but it's not enough to make me keep it. It is a good phone but I feel like I am forcing myself to like it.

Memory wise, mine has 120MB internal memory but you can only insert up to a 2GB Micro SD which isn't much when you couple your MP3's & pictures together.

In conclusion it is a great phone if you like the Samsung brand but having used Sony Ericsson for so long I do miss the familiarity, I am going to be sending this back at the start of next week for the W960i.