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Samsung Sway Review
Performance:
The signal reception of the Sway was mediocre at best, as it would only show 1-2 bars in high-coverage areas, though we were able to place and receive calls without problem. Once we began traveling into fringe areas, the signal would drop down to 0 bars and occasionally the call would be dropped. This is unfortunate, as the Gleam, U550, and Venus all demonstrated better reception than the Sway. The call quality was also somewhat disappointing, and again not as good as the above-mentioned devices. Voices were not as clear and natural sounding, with distortion being produced if the earpiece volume was raised above medium. As can be expected, the speakerphone performance was also lack-luster.
Accessing any of the downloaded applications is easy and there is very little delay in opening them up. We also did not encounter the random re-boot problem that occurred with the Gleam. The User Interface is fast, regardless of which theme and layout we chose. Internal memory on the Sway is limited to only 50MB, with 43MB available to the consumer. Because of this, most users will opt for a microSDHC memory card for storing music and pictures.
The included 800mAh battery is rated by Samsung to provide 4.5 hours of talk time or 13 days of standby time on a full charge. Our testing showed a 4 hours of talk time on a full charge.
Conclusion:
Even though the Samsung Sway is an overall attractive phone and comes in a slim form-factor, it misses the mark on several levels. The reception and voice quality are sub-par, less than most other comparable priced phones; it lacks EVDO for fast data downloads, and the camera takes too long to save images. Because of these shortcomings we believe other devices, such as the Gleam and Venus, to be a better value for the price, as they perform higher in those areas.
PA rating
Samsung Sway Review
Published on: 21 November, 2008 by PhoneArena Team
The signal reception of the Sway was mediocre at best, as it would only show 1-2 bars in high-coverage areas, though we were able to place and receive calls without problem. Once we began traveling into fringe areas, the signal would drop down to 0 bars and occasionally the call would be dropped. This is unfortunate, as the Gleam, U550, and Venus all demonstrated better reception than the Sway. The call quality was also somewhat disappointing, and again not as good as the above-mentioned devices. Voices were not as clear and natural sounding, with distortion being produced if the earpiece volume was raised above medium. As can be expected, the speakerphone performance was also lack-luster.
Accessing any of the downloaded applications is easy and there is very little delay in opening them up. We also did not encounter the random re-boot problem that occurred with the Gleam. The User Interface is fast, regardless of which theme and layout we chose. Internal memory on the Sway is limited to only 50MB, with 43MB available to the consumer. Because of this, most users will opt for a microSDHC memory card for storing music and pictures.
The included 800mAh battery is rated by Samsung to provide 4.5 hours of talk time or 13 days of standby time on a full charge. Our testing showed a 4 hours of talk time on a full charge.
Conclusion:
Even though the Samsung Sway is an overall attractive phone and comes in a slim form-factor, it misses the mark on several levels. The reception and voice quality are sub-par, less than most other comparable priced phones; it lacks EVDO for fast data downloads, and the camera takes too long to save images. Because of these shortcomings we believe other devices, such as the Gleam and Venus, to be a better value for the price, as they perform higher in those areas.
Pros
- Attractive design and slim form-factor
- Can use up to 8GB microSDHC memory cards
- QVGA display
- Updated music player with Stereo Bluetooth support
Cons
- Reception and Voice Quality is sub-par
- Lacks EVDO for fast downloads
- Camera takes too long to save pictures
PA rating 
- Average
- out of 10
Check prices
Check prices
| Model | Carrier | Price Today | Price after rebate | |
Samsung Sway U650 Silver
|
 |
Free | Free | Buy |
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