Samsung Rugby A837 / Reviews

As with any cell phone, they're designed for certain users. Most people wouldn't care for a phone like this, but it's perfect for me. I'm pretty hard on phones, and so far this one has held up.

Ownership time: About 4 months

+ Durable; water resistant

+ Responsive; Virtually no menu lag

+ Easy to learn and configure menu

+ Clear, Loud speaker

+ Large number buttons make it easy to dial and text

+ The "flip" is strong

+ Yellow makes it easy to find when dropped in the dark

+ MP3 Player; sounds good for a phone

+ Multitasking

+ Large, clear notification icons and text

+ Date and time visible on main screen

+ Can load your own ringtones and MP3s with MicroSD card or USB cable (neither included)

+ Not buggy. Hasn't shutdown/restarted a single time so far

+ Strong metal lanyard connector on top

+ Decent camera and video; has night mode that works quite well in low-light conditions.

+ Charges very quickly; charge lasts up to a week depending on usage

+ Vibration is quiet, yet forceful enough to feel it in a pocket

+ 3G

+/- Big phone

+/- Claims you can submerge in water, but I don't have THAT much faith in the seals of the phone

- You have to open the phone or hold an outside button down for 3 seconds to light up the front screen

- Ringtones have 512kb limit each

- Need a flat screwdriver to remove back panel at first. Loosens up enough over time to open it with a fingernail.

- Back panel and battery must be removed to take out MicroSD card

- Single proprietary connector for power, headphone, and USB connections.

- No dedicated camera button

- Middle select button is also internet button when on the main menu

- Games it comes with are USELESS

- Speakerphone mic could be more sensitive

- GPS requires a monthly charge AND data charges

Other thoughts:

*I don't use Push-to-talk, so I can't comment on anything to do with that.

*Some reviewers have mentioned the yellow rubbing off. My yellow isn't rubbing off, but it does seem to be getting slightly darker over time. I'm fairly rough on my phones but I haven't had any scratches on the front screen yet. There is a single scratch on the metal grill covering the speaker from a rivet on my jeans scratching it.

*Some people I talk to complain that there is an intermittent loud static sound that makes it hard for them to hear me sometimes. I'm not sure if this is due to the phone, some interference, or AT&T's network. I have never heard this static on my end.

*When on speakerphone in the car, sometimes I have to yell for them to hear me. The speaker is loud, but the mic apparently isn't very sensitive.

*To use MP3's as a ringtone, you have to have an audio program like Audacity to edit the song down, then reduce the quality, then save the MP3 as mono in order to make the filesize small enough. The phone will not accept ringtones or alarm tones that are too big.

*I hate texting, but the keypad is slightly bigger on this phone, so it makes it a bit easier than on other phones.

*There is no way to lockout the internet or GPS with a PIN. I could do this on my old phone. This lead initially to one of my friends taking the phone and adding charges on my 1st month bill (no data plan). Instead, I found that I can make a "blank" connection profile. In the browser application settings, I can set it to use the blank profile. If I need to use it in the future, I can switch it back to the normal connection profile. This affects GPS and all internet apps, but fortunately MMS is separate.

*The games the phone comes with are all trial versions. They let you play them for about 30 seconds, which is basically pointless. This annoyed me so much I deleted them all out of spite.

*Since there is only a single connector for the power cord, headphones, and USB cord, I feel like over time the watertight seal for this cover would loosen up to a point where it would no longer be watertight. So far, it still fits tight though, so I may be wrong.

*I suggest setting up things often used like the camera, calculator, etc, in the customizable options left-menu. If you don't, in order to get to these things, you have to go to into Menu > My stuff > down to 2nd page > Tools > then select the application you want. It's not TOO hard to get to, but it takes a lot longer than just hitting the left menu and selecting it right there.

Read original review at Amazon.