Samsung S500i Review
Phone rating: 
Review: March 2006. Updated April 2009.
The Samsung S500i is an i-mode phone available exclusively on O2. i-mode is
a replacement for WAP, and is a much better way of accessing the internet from
a mobile phone. It offers fast access to a range of websites and to e-mail.
You can get a
list of i-mode websites here - the list is suprisingly large even at launch.
The S500i is a clamshell phone and is much better than the S400i.
For a start, the capabilities of the phone are much better - there's a 1.3 megapixel
camera with video recorder, an MP3 player with stereo external speakers, support
for stereo Bluetooth headsets and external controls, and a high resolution TFT
display with 262k colours. Bluetooth and USB connectivity are supported. The
memory is fantastic, with 80 Mbytes of internal memory plus an expandable TransFlash
memory card - perfect for storing MP3 tracks and videos. The battery life isn't
that great, but that's the only downside. The looks of the S500i are cool too
- very Darth Vader! The S500i is probably the best of the initial batch of i-mode
phones and is recommended.
Features of the Samsung S500i include:
- 1.3 megapixel camera with flash
- Video recording
- Internal display: TFT, 262,000 colours, 240 x 320 pixels
- External display: OLED, 64,000 colours, 96 x 96 pixels
- MP3 player (MP3/AAC format)
- Stereo external speakers
- Support for stereo Bluetooth headset
- 64-voice polyphonic ringtones / AAC & MP4 ringtones
- Messaging: SMS, MMS, E-mail
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB
- Memory: 80 Mbytes plus TransFlash card
- GPRS
- Triband
- Vibration alert
- Size: 91 x 47 x 23 mm
- Weight: 98g
- Talktime: 3 hours
- Battery standby: 190 hours
Samsung S500i User Reviews
Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this
phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so
please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive
language, and please, no advertising!
Average rating from 89 reviews: 
Reviewed by hamdy hamed from egypt on 15th Aug
2008
wonderful
Rating: 
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Reviewed by Hannah from England on 16th Jul 2008
This phone is so UGLY!,, Its really annoying that you cant use mp3 songs
as ringtones but its not that bad,, Nothing is great about this phone
its just about ok,, Its really chunky,, The quality of the videos n
recordings are rubbish,,
Rating: 
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Reviewed by Billy from UK on 29th Feb 2008
Had this phone for 2 years now and its great, very reliable. Only downside
is that the battery life is pretty poor but other than that its perfect.
Looks very smart too.
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Reviewed by mark from scotland on 6th Feb 2008
go on www.nchsoftware.com and go on audio convertors and download it
for free. really good. covert it to acc
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Reviewed by Tracy from Northern Ireland on 27th
Jan 2008
A good phone however I would appreciate it f someone could tell me how
to convert the MP3s to iTunes so they can be used as ringtones. Thanks
Rating:
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Reviewed by DB from Ireland on 10th Jan 2008
Probably the best phone I've used, despite some minor quirks. If you
want to use MP3s as your ringtone, use iTunes to convert.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Robbie from UK on 1st Jan 2008
Good phone this one. Had it for almost 2 years now and not had any problems
at all until the last couple of weeks. It's only happened a couple of
times but I've found that the phone has turned itself off and back on
and reset the wallpaper. Only other problems with it are the battery
life is pretty poor (charge every other night) after a couple of months
and you can't use mp3s as ringtones or message alerts. Other than these
points it's been a great phones for me and would recommend it to anyone
if they want to use it for talking, texting and taking the odd picture
now again. 8/10
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Reviewed by Daniel from Nigeria on 27th Dec 2007
The battery doesn't last
Rating:  Reply
Reviewed by thomas pickard from united kingdom on
22nd Dec 2007
i pretty much like this fone! it's got a good camera-with a flash+and
is pretty good all around. but the only thing is that it is pretty dang
ulgy.
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Reviewed by Josh Hailes from England on 25th Oct
2007
Great phone, had it a year now. not really bothered about the MP3 ringtones,
i just use itunes. very good phone. the camera lets it down a bit. you
have to wait 3 seconds after pressing the button before it takes the
picture and when it does come out, unless you have rock steady hands,
it blurs. i suggest taking a 1 second video instead. much better quality.
the imode is a bit naff as it isn't really the internet. great phone
otherwise 8.5/10.0
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Reviewed by Dec from Uk on 4th Oct 2007
I had this phone and it's brilliant, bar the inability to set mp3's
as ringtones (u have to convert to AAC or MP4 and the lack of a widescreen
feature during playback. The phone itself is quite solid and withstood
quite a beating in the time i had it (over a year - fell down stairs,
off landings, onto concrete and marble surfaces etc;) it is also quite
water tight in the sense that it can be used in a steamed up area. (THIS
DOES NOT MEAN DROP IT INTO WATER) the memory @ 80mb is brilliant and
the pictures are top quality as is the sound capture on videos recorded.
It is genuinely a great phone for anyone who is looking for a small
clamshell phone with the ability to do all the available processes on
the market today and at a cheap price. It serves it's purpose and the
screen itself has easy legibilty during menu searching and txt messaging.
Rating:
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Reviewed by Conor Moran from Ireland on 23rd Aug
2007
This is a class phone.
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Reviewed by Matt from UK on 19th Aug 2007
Great phone, but needs charging every other day if not every day. Also
the video player can't play full screen its tiny why can't it play in
full widescreen mode? :(
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Reviewed by ???? from uk on 6th Jun 2007
its a horrible fne!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by P from Nz on 26th May 2007
Cool
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Reviewed by Simon from Scotland on 29th Apr 2007
Hi, i have only recently had this fone for a few weeks and have found
it very reliable. All the features are great and the camera is exellent!
the biggest problem i am a having is the ringtones, no matter what i
seem to do i can't get my MP3s set as my tones, the fone itself doesnt
have the options (as far as i can tell, but my knolege is limited) could
someone please send me a step-by-step walk through of how 2 set this
up? if you can could u please send it to simongoody@msn.com, thanks!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Caroline from Ireland on 25th Apr
2007
I had a samsung S500i an I loved it to bits! ! mp3,graphics - excellent
my only fault was that the battery life was very bad! !it was the hole
time attached to the charger, wouldn't mind that tho! ! i sent it away
an it was a bit better but it didn't last long after that! ! Moisture
damage r summat! ! i miss it sooo much! ! ! i love that phone! ! ! had
to recycle it! ! m still broken hearted! ! :( o ancan't use mp3's as
ringtones!
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Reviewed by steven griffiths from uk on 15th Apr
2007
great phone i have ha it for over 1 year now,and you can change mp3,s
to ringtones use itunes.
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Reviewed by Simon Fraser from Scotland on 11th
Apr 2007
Great phone does all it says it will do but spends most of the time
attached to the charger
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Morgan Opie from England on 23rd Mar
2007
If you were considering buying the S500i, then don't. The issues i have
with it are the following. - i have had the fone fone for less than
a year and i have had 2 replacements already because the fone keeps
freezing and gets stuck ont he start up screen. I can no longer turn
off the phone because i fear it wont come back on. - Secondly the black
varnish ont he sides wears away with in days of purchase. -The memopry
size is shocking, i got a usb pen that holds more. -The alround quality
looks good but dnt be led on by samsung, i think this is there worse
phone yet, however there other fones are outstanding.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Amir Shehzad from Pakistan on 20th
Mar 2007
Sir, I have phone S500i. I found it excellient. specification is good
but one draw back is its ring volume that is very slow. So please improve
its ring volume and second thing is that it's booklet should be also
in English. I found its English version even from internet but failed.
I have french book of this mobile. Thanks & Regards.
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Reviewed by kayleigh from scotland!!! on 18th
Mar 2007
i lk it bt you cant use any of your Mp3s as your ring tone
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Reviewed by Tom from UK on 20th Feb 2007
If you were considering buying the S500i, then don't. The issues i have
with it are the following. - i have had the fone fone for less than
a year and i have had 2 replacements already because the fone keeps
freezing and gets stuck ont he start up screen. I can no longer turn
off the phone because i fear it wont come back on. - Secondly the black
varnish ont he sides wears away with in days of purchase. -The memopry
size is shocking, i got a usb pen that holds more. -The alround quality
looks good but dnt be led on by samsung, i think this is there worse
phone yet, however there other fones are outstanding.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by bilal ahmad from pakistan on 15th
Feb 2007
i see samsung s500i and i use it i like so much i get information about
s500i mobile then my friend told me i purshace it from dubai that is
not pakistani modal then my hard broken by my friend. it is so stalish
and coolest mobile i want use it i m already samsung user in this time
i use samsung x120 it is also cool and stalish mobile.
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Reviewed by B from England on 14th Feb 2007
this phone is good. one this though dose anyone know how to foward songs?
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Reviewed by Kate from Britain on 8th Feb 2007
Ive not had this phone for a year yet, but already it has serious issues.
The black glossy varnish is almost all scratched off from the sides
(altho this is only vanity really), at times it refuses to receieve
or send text messages, it turns itself off when certain people ring
me, the buttons have got confused and when pressing one, it thinks you
are pressing another, it distorts when you are talking to people on
it, and the battery life is horrendous. Its very unreliable, and ive
had to start carrying around my old D500, for those times when this
one refuses to work. The problem is that other than that, i actually
really like this phone, it's attractive, it's a good size, and the features
are really really good. I would buy this phone with caution, and if
you have it - be gentle with it!
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Reviewed by ryan from scotland on 16th Jan 2007
its ryan again well i wouldnt be selling the phone to a friend now cause
the screen broke and half the buttons came out.i think this is the only
samsung phone built like a nokia...to last a couple of months.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by jo from uk on 13th Jan 2007
love the phone use itunes to convert your mp3 to AAC it then saves in
music and you can use it as a ringtone or caller id :o)
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Reviewed by ryan from scotland on 7th Jan 2007
i have had this phone for 7 months now and i am selling it to a friend.I
would keep the phone if you could set mp3 as a rinetone.that does seem
daft but before i had this phone i had the E900 which was the best phone
in the world i had to send it back cause of the network vodafone(never
use them)i couldnt get a signal After the E900 i wanted another samsung
and the s500i jumped out to me i didnt want another phone and when i
made my mind up i can't change it lol.Just to annoy me my big brother
got the E900 cause i said it was the best best phone ever.but anyway
the s5001 would be the best phone in the world if you could set mp3's
as a rinetone and you didnt have to use preset message tones
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Reviewed by charlie from uk on 29th Dec 2006
I used to have this phone before i lost it sadly. i dont no why people
complain about it not having mp3 ringtones. it should as mine did come
with a cd which allows you to convert your mp3 song into an AAC format
which you can then have as your ringtone. in someways this is annoying
(due to time to set up) but it lets choose a certain part of the song
as your ringtone so thats pretty good. this is one of the few new(ish!)
phones i find that allows you to text quickly as it doesnt have any
fancy keypad technology. this phone also feels quite robust as i have
dropped it numerous times and yet it still lives strong! the only reason
this has a 4 star rating for me is that i find the camera to slow to
react which seems silly as whats the point of having the convienence
if its not quick! and lastly the fact that the phone can not vibrate
and ring at the same time seems strange, because if you are out and
about in a busy place you kinda need both so you no that your phones
going off!
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Reviewed by cool from Canada on 19th Dec 2006
thes phone is the best 1 and it looks very niceand the quality of the
camera is rael good too
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Reviewed by CHRIS WARD from ENGLAND on 8th Nov
2006
THIS IS A REALLY POOR PHONE FOR SEVERAL REASONS. YOU CAN'T SET MP3 TRACKS
AS RINGTONES. VERY POOR BATTERY LIFE, SAMSUNG SENT ME A NEW BATTERY
COS I THOUGHT MINE WAS FAULTY BUT THE NEW 1 WAS JUST AS BAD. RUBBISH
CAMERA AND VIDEO RECORDER. EVERYTIME I DOWNLOAD A MP4 VIDEO THE PHONE
WON'T LET ME PLAY IT. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PRESET MESSAGE ALERT. YOU CAN'T
HAVE RINGING AND VIBRATING AT THE SAME TIME. I'M NEVER BUYING SAMSUNG
AGAIN, PLEASE DON'T BUY THIS PHONE IT DOESN'T DESERVE TO EXIST.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by S500i ex-owner from UK on 29th Oct
2006
I had this phone for 10months on an o2 contract. The phone was good
even though there were a few flaws with it. The battery life was poor
to begin with but then i did not turn it on/off while charging or use
it while charging and it appeared to get better (still only 2days life).
Pros - Stylish, Easy to use, Function full. Cons - Ringtone changes
at will, no mp3 ringtones (only AAC), camera shutter slow, NOT WATER
PROOF. I got soaked in the english rain and my phone thought it was
on charge constantly but then when i wanted to charge it would not.
Now i have to wait for o2 to send me a new phone on insurence so im
getting a Samsung z320i for 2 months and then a sony Ericson w810i (because
they are amazing).
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Reviewed by Sypha from England on 22nd Oct 2006
Had this phone for a few days now and I must says its fantastic. It
has all the features you would want in a phone with its 1.3 megapixel
camera, bluetooth, mp3 player and expandable memory. Its also very user
friendly (I haven't even read the manual yet), as is the pc software.
The fact that you cant set mp3's as a ringtone isn't really a big issue
and they can be easily converted to aac format using switch or itunes.
All in all the is a superb phone and has everything to keep you entertained,
this is a great buy! P.S. The battery life isn't as bad as everyone
makes it out to be.
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Reviewed by SWIV from England on 30th Sep 2006
Would say this was a good phone with all the gadgets and gizmos you
need. Battery life is great and the video's are great quality. MP3 player
is ace although more memory should be on the phone. The sleek black
exterior is brilliant.
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Reviewed by Reema from United Kingdom on 9th Sep
2006
From my point of veiw, I would say that what attracted me to this phone
is it's wonderful design.... It looks very easy to use and the keypad
is soft. It also comes with blue tooth which is a great benefit. I think
the price is very good cause it has 1.3 mega pixel and compared to the
Nokia 6111, the price is very fair..... I was planning to get the S400i
but now I have changed my mind and have set my eyes on the smooth style
S500i..... It's a good choice.....
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Reviewed by Dave from Germany on 1st Sep 2006
It's Alright
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Reviewed by Eva from Ireland on 11th Aug 2006
This phone is not very user friendly. The manual is not clear.I am having
problems sending songs to the phone. I have followed the first few steps,
as outlined by emily from uk on 2nd Jun 2006 but the music track did
not end up in the'MUSIC' folder of the phone. It was in a folder called
'OTHER'. Could somebody please help me? I want to import songs into
the phone so that I can use the MP3 player. I would very much appreciate
if somebody could outline the steps, one by one. Thanks.
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Reviewed by Moose from UK on 8th Aug 2006
Loved this phone to start with (the love affair is over) it was an upgrade
from my lovely Nokia 7200 (which I will keep forever and treasure. I
was told by sales person that it would convert me from a Nokia fan,
Trust me it hasn't - I can wait till I upgrade in 2 months! There some
very irritating things about this phone, all of which have been mentioned
in other reviews but especially – MP3’s can’t be used
as ringtones - you can convert them using the software which is supplied
with the phone, but the file size has to be so small you end up hacking
your tune into smaller and smaller bits (sounding like name that tune)
or have a really poor quality track. You can't have it vibrate and ring
at the same time – vibrate then ring, vibrate or ring but never
the twain shall meet. Yes it has the ‘imode’ function but
you can’t access the usual websites for ringtones etc, and I never
use it. It has upset my nephew because it has no Games on it. The external
display displays your missed calls and messages for a couple of seconds
then disappear, any screen savers or pictures you want on the external
display are only displayed for a couple of seconds after you close the
phone – what use is that? All in all my verdict – roll on
upgrade; I’m going back to Nokia! - if you'll have me back?
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by ryan from england on 15th Jul 2006
the phone is mint i thnks 2 the people who helped me figure how to get
mp3's as a ringtone.i would give this phone 5 stars but 1 problem, the
battery life is not long ans as i listen to music quite alot it does
not help but stil i recomend u to get this phone
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Reviewed by Stephen Kellett from England on 12th
Jul 2006
I have had my phone now for 7 months, and im reasonably happy. It has
everything a phone should have in regards to features, but there are
a few downsides. One is the battery life - I find this to be pretty
poor if you use bluetooth, or the MP3 player/video player. You can end
up charging it every day. Another poor side is the midi ringtones -
how quiet are these? I have missed several calls outside due to not
hearing it, and also not seeing the missed calls on the outer screen
is a drag too. Now as setting AAC files as ringtones, there is NO limit
to the filesize as it says in the instruction book. I have a 3.1MB m4a
file as it says as my tone, all you have to do is go into file manager,
then music, and press options over the file, then set as, and then you
can easily select it as ringtone. So you can have a decent MP3 quality
tone hooray! I would give 5 stars but you cannot change the cheesy message
tones, so it loses a star.
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Reviewed by brownie from scotland on 18th Jun
2006
i love the phone,just got it 5days ago,i had the e720 previously,great
phone,neways i cant receive any picture messages,all it says is incompatible
message format,can anyone help me sort this problem?
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Reviewed by bri from uk on 14th Jun 2006
I CANT STAND THIS PHONE. the video quality is awful. the i-mode doesn't
work. the video memory almost doesnt exist, i shouldnt NEED a memory
card. i have had this phone for 5 days and i simply cannot bear it any
longer i am sending it back today. whats more i can't figure out how
i can switch all my contacts from phone to sim instead of one by one.
DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Andy from UK on 14th Jun 2006
Just got this phone a few days ago, and overall its a nice one. Looks
sharp and stylish, great screen quality, and the usual samsung easy
menu navigation. Loads of features, mp3, camera, video, voice recorder,
etc. Few niggles though... 1) Battery life is terrible. Last about 2
days max with very little use, lasts about 1 day max if you fiddle with
the camera, mp3, or just play with the settings. 2) The external screen
allows you to choose either photo, wallpaper, or whatever. I like the
inbuilt analogue clocks BUT this only displays if you hold the up/down
external arrow keys, or flip open the phone and close again. THEN dissapears
after about 5 seconds! What is the point of that?? Surely if you can
have wallpaper on the outside screen, it should remain visable all the
time shouldn't it? 3) The USB driver issue is REALLY starting to get
me down. In winxp, the phone is found, but windows says it cannot find
the drivers for it, and fails to load any. Others have said windows
says 'This driver has not passed windows verification and you should
not continue'. For those that get that, just go ahead and install (continue
anyway button) it will not harm your PC or your phone, this is a fairly
common windows thing. Any ideas on the outside screen issue anyone?
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Reviewed by Fez from Uk on 9th Jun 2006
pretty decent phone has loads of features, had problems with the music
ringtone until i read other peoples reviews, there are a couple of bad
things about it, imode itsn't that great and costs loads, picture messages
are a pain and the main thing that annoys me is you can use other features
whilst your listening to music... i mean i could do that on a nokia
3300 which i had years ago....
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Reviewed by jean from uk on 3rd Jun 2006
Just bought this phone today and think it is brill, it only takes a
few seconds to convert an mp3 to aac using itunes to use as a ringtone
i am using a full song as a ringtone which is bigger than 300kb, has
for connecting the phone to the pc with the usb cable simply install
all the software from the cd then turn off the phone, connect the cable
to the phone and pc then turn the phone on, windows might say found
new hardware a few times just keep pressing ok with the cd still in
the drive and it should work
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Reviewed by emily from uk on 2nd Jun 2006
okay so i just figured out the ringtone thing. i'll spell it out, step
by step for all you confused people. first, download iTunes from the
internet. second, in iTunes, click 'file' and then select 'add file
to library'. find the file on your computer that you want as a ringtune,
and click open. it should automatically convert it to AAC, but if it
doesn't, then right click and select 'convert to AAC'. some songs are
protected and cannot be converted. if this is the case - pick another
song!! once you've done that, using the software that came with the
phone, send the song to your phone in the 'MUSIC' folder. i'm not even
going to try explaining this part. figure it out. :P now, on your phone,
go to 'file manager'. notice this part. 'file manager' NOT NOT NOT 'settings'.
go into 'music'. your song should be there. click 'options', and then
scroll down to 'set as' and click. select item 2 'ringtone'. congratulations,
it will now play as your ringtone. note - if you try to select your
song through 'settings' then it will tell you the file is too large.
if you select it through file manager, it automatically only plays the
first 20 seconds or so. so pick a song with a good beginning. i hope
this answers a few questions.
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Reviewed by MollyW from UK on 2nd Jun 2006
I need very clear text messages due to visual impairment. This phone
doesn't do them. The script is fine and I could not read it. Tried to
alter it but couldn't. Asked the experts in the shop. they said it wasn't
possible. Don't get this phone if you have visual problems.
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by alextait from uk on 28th May 2006
For anyone out there who has got the samsung s500i and cant get the
music ringtones work ive managed to get my working. I converted the
mp3 file in itunes (which on a mac you hold control button and click
on the song you want and the opition to convert to aac)send to phone
and then go into the file manager, music folder, selection song the
song click optioins then select set as ringtone or you can set different
songs to indiviual callers (caller id) It won't work though if you go
into sound settings, incoming call. Once I got that sorted I was well
chuffed the camera is brilliant and setting pictures for caller ids
is great to. I loved the E700 and this is a more uptodate version. Bluetooth
works a treat and thye screen is amazing quality. I even like the font
that everyone else seems to hate its modern and clean!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Ade from UK on 19th May 2006
Putting the MP3 ringtone thing to one side even though it is a backward
step not to be able to use them as ringtones. There is another major
problem with the Imode mms pictures with this phone. Depending on what
phone has sent you a picture message you will find that when you try
and view it in your mms inbox it will enlarge the picture so much that
you will only be able to see the top lefthand corner of it. If this
happens the only way you can view it true size is to save it to the
phones folder and then go and view it there. I have spent a lot of time
on the phone to O2 and they finally admited that Samsung has got something
wrong with the software on this phone and you should be able to view
any pic from any phone in the mms inbox without saving it. Its such
a shame that both O2 and Samsung have released a phone on to the market
without testing it out first. As this is the second Samsung I have found
a major fault on ( last one was E770 ) it seems that they are slipping
down the Nokia road, but I do hope not.
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Reviewed by Amanda Simms from UK on 18th May 2006
I love this phone had bit of problem getting mp3 tones on till I figured
out that downloading Itunes and converting the mp3s then transfering
them into the music file lets you select them I was well pleased. I
have had several different models of phones and this is the best to
date.
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Reviewed by Nikki from England on 17th May 2006
the phone itsef is quite cool, although there are a couple of things
that really annoy me about it. first, you can't see when you've got
a missed call from the outside of the phone, which causes some problems.
also, the most rubbish thing is that u cant have mp3's as your ring
tone...gnarls barkely will have to be neglected :( bring back my D500!
i wish now i upgraded to the D600...so be warned!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Martin foster from uk on 14th May
2006
Great phone, battery life no problem, most batteries should be on charge
at night if not in use. Ring tones, anyone wishing to convert mp3 to
mp4 go and download Switch, its only a trial, but it will impress. The
data cable makes it great for getting music and photos on the phone,
even much easier than bluetooth. Happy ringing.
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Reviewed by Seb from England on 12th May 2006
Had this phone for a few months now, and a few things really annoy me
about it, firstly that you cant set it to vibrate and ring at the same
time, also about the fact that it doesnt display missed calls on the
external screen. But mostly its the mp3's as ringtones, sure you can
convert it to aac to be able to use it as a ringtone, but once this
is done, the file needs to be under 300kb in size to be compatible,
so you either have to have really short ringtones, or really poor quality
ones. I wish i had my d500 back...
Rating: Reply
Reviewed by Hannah from England on 11th May 2006
Upgraded my D500 for this phone and not too impressed with it really.
One thing that really bugs me about it is the fact that you dont know
you have a missed call until you open the flip screen. This has caused
a few problems. Also have found that the camera tends to take pictures
whilst in my bag as there is a button for the camera on the side. The
battery life is rubbish too, needs charging every night. On the more
positive side the ringtones are pretty cool and i like the blue display
on the outer screen, one other thing i cant quite work out is how to
send picture messages as you have to do it through i-mode! Trying to
look for another phone, anyone have any suggestions??!
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Reviewed by Katie from England on 8th May 2006
PLEASE BE WARNED!!! I brought this phone 3 days ago and the usb cable
wouldnt connect to the computer, i see quite a few people have had the
same problem. The phone itself is pretty smart and i was very impressed,pitty
about the software that came with it tho!!!!
Rating:
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Reviewed by Andrew Yarrick from Scotland on 8th
May 2006
the only thing wrong with this phone is i cant put files from my pc
on to my phone cause the usb driver dont work with my pc
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Reviewed by Matt from Scotland on 1st May 2006
This phone has everything!! The camera has great quality but the only
problem is that when u take a picture it has a delay of about 2 seconds,
so if you click to take a photo and move the camera within 2 seconds
it takes that picture. That and you cant set MP3s as your ringtone are
the only bad things about it!! EVERYTHING ELSE IS CLASSSSSSSSSSSS :D
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Reviewed by Liam from England on 30th Apr 2006
This phone has a great image, great features, and so on, but battery
life is terrible. standby, about 4 days, actual usage, about 10 hours,
seriously. it has skins, which beats the z500, but the z500 is in the
smae price range is miles better. i ahve had both and the 6230i, and
to be honest, 6230i wins. z500 has better image and features of s500i,
but dont be fooled by i-mode as its rubbish and expensive. Z500 is the
key
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Reviewed by Jan from UK on 27th Apr 2006
Hi everyone, I upgraded my good old nokia to this samsung model 2 weeks
ago with O2. Looks wise, I'm impressed. However, still struggling to
get my downloaded MP3 files(from the PC), which I have converted to
AAC to be ringtones, keep getting 'unsupported file' message! Also I
am unable to recieve picture messages, keep getting 'incompatible message
format' instead! Can anyone advise me on how to solve this please?!
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Reviewed by Mush from Uk on 26th Apr 2006
Got this phone afew weeks ago, and still madly in love with it!! To
solve the ringtone problem guys.. go to www.download.com, and search
for "Switch" or "Switch Plus" and download it. This is software that
enables you to convert your mp3, wmv etc files into aac which the phone
uses as a truetone!!!! Then all you have to do is convert the track
you want, and put it in the Music folder on the phone!! (preferably
not the mp3 folder) Hope it's helped xx
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Reviewed by kate from uk on 22nd Apr 2006
I just got this one but I love it....I;m not really bothered about mp3s
being ringtones though. The battery does go down quite fast but I leave
it charging over night every noght anyways so it doesn't really matter.
The camera is really good.
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Reviewed by Bex from England on 21st Apr 2006
Hi everyone. jus got an upgrade to this and the phone itself is ace
its just the accesories that area a pain. i'm also having trouble installing
the drivers on to my computer. It keeps on saying that it does not pass
the windows logo test and recommends stopping the installation of the
drivers. I thought there was something wrong with the lead or even the
cd so changed both and still have the same problem. Does anyone have
any ideas to what to do next???
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Reviewed by .x. Chloe .x. from UK on 19th Apr
2006
i only got my phone this morning and i havent put it down since :-)
.... i love it so much it looks great but i need help!!! .. i no you
cant have mp3 as ringtones and i know that you have to change it to
a aac or mp4 file ... i have changed my music to this format and put
it on my phone but it only lets me put it into the "music" section because
that supports the format.. then i went on my phone and selected music
then a piece of music and clicked set as ringtone but it says unsupported
file :S evan though its an aac i dont get it ive tried saving it as
another type but nothing works does anyone know what i can do to it
so i can have music as ringtones thanks Chloe xx
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Reviewed by Jade from USA on 19th Apr 2006
Just brilliant far the best flip phone around, it is a d600 but in a
flip phone but better, only good thing about d600 is that it has 2mp
but s500 has i-mode, louder sound, sharper screen and looks way cooler.
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Reviewed by Ben from on 18th Apr 2006
This phone is ok, although I too am having trouble with the aac/ringtone
bit. I've converted songs using iTunes to aac (they are called m4a on
my pc) but then the sound editor won't upload them. When I do get them
onto the phone by naming them .aac, they can't be played as ringtones.
Frustrating.
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Reviewed by Paul from England on 17th Apr 2006
Hi all, just got an upgrade to an S500i and am having trouble installing
the drivers on to my computer. It keeps on saying that it does not pass
the windows logo test and recommends stopping the installation of the
drivers. Dont really wanna continue with the installation in case it
knacks up my computer. Does anyone know how you can install the drivers
without this warning keep on popping up?? Apart from this, i think the
phone is fine and battery life seems Ok despite what other problems
people are having. Cheers
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Reviewed by Sam from UK on 13th Apr 2006
This is quite possibly the most disappointing phone I have ever had.
I loved it when I first got it, I had researched it well, looking at
all the different reviews people had written about it and I was pleased
with my decision. BUT! I have had it for about a month now and it turns
itself off every hour or so! All of a sudden I hear its tune telling
me its turning off and I have to turn it back on and re-enter my pin!
IT'S SO ANNOYING! So now I have to send it in for repairs. Don't even
bother, stick with the d500 or a nokia! Believe me! P.s. Everything
people say about it having a bad battery is true too! Pretty phone but
not worth the hassle.
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Reviewed by Adam from England on 11th Apr 2006
This phone is GREAT! It's stylish and it's features are great. Buy this
phone.
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Reviewed by peter from uk on 8th Apr 2006
ive had this phone coming up to 4 months and its going on for its 2nd
repair. the phone bat lasts 2 days max and that is with out playing
music on it and on slient all day. the phone resets its self all the
time resetting all my settings along with it stay well clear!!! btw
to set mp3 and ringtones go to menu--->file manager--->music--->options--->
then set as this will only work if you have music in that folder!!
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Reviewed by the guru from UK on 6th Apr 2006
read the manual- it can't take mp3's as ringtones. instead use itunes,
convert your ringtones into .aac format and use them, or mp4.
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Reviewed by beckie from uk on 2nd Apr 2006
i have just bought this phone n i think its gr8, but i cnt set my mp3's
as ringtones, as other people have sed. iv tried downloading mp4 format
songs from limewire, but then wen i try to put them on my fone it says
'file type is not valid'. can anybody help me pleaseeeeee x x x
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Reviewed by James from England on 28th Mar 2006
Good phone. You can't have mp3's as ringtones as it clearly says above.
Convert them into mp4 using Quicktime or something like that and then
it will work and sound exactly the same.
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Reviewed by x.jess.x from united kingdom on 26th
Mar 2006
ive had this phone a couple of weeks .. its a very sleek phone and i'm
pleased with it. the only thing i can't figure out is how to set an
MP3 song as my ringtone, any ideas? thanks x
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Reviewed by Mike from England on 21st Mar 2006
Overall good phone. Bit a a brick shape. Cant put on music, but i think
that is because i got the 'refurbished' model and they didnt sent the
CD and the wire thing. Can anyone tell me where to buy one, and how
much they are? Thanks
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Reviewed by sollon from india on 21st Mar 2006
This is th efirst phone i have every had and it will probably the only
phone i will have it is that good. i got it for my birthday this year
and my parents can't get it off me i am on it allmost every minute of
the day so i would recomend this phone to anyone who is looking for
a phone you will never find a better phone than this. it may look ugaly
but look don't realy matter it is what the phone does that maters
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Reviewed by KC from on 13th Mar 2006
Always wanted a clam-shell / flip-fone (Whatever you call it) and when
I finally got round to buying one I thought I'd go for this. I wasn't
too bothered about a camera facility or mp3 player as I have a great
digi camera and fantastic mp3 player, but I have to admit the volume
on this phone is superb as is the picture quality. Granted it's not
2mp but at the end of the day its a phone and a phone that takes great
pctures. Still exploring its many features, but for now this phone is
fabulous. As with everything Samsung, its very user friendly and has
a fabulously sharp screen...This phone is also the reason that I haven't
gone for a Sony Ericsson. All my fones were either Nokia or Samsung
and if this phone is anything to go by, I don't think I will be getting
a Sony for ages yet........Oh and one last thing, thanks to all who
wrote in about this phone (both good and bad comments)...found it extremely
helpful when I was choosing my new phone as there are tonnes to chose
from and I was completely lost. Keep sending in those reviews folks
it really does help.
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Reviewed by Zoe from UK on 12th Mar 2006
I just bought the phone and i think it has a great look with great features,
great picture quality and an mp3 player. But you can only have polyphonic
ringtones or video ringtones, not mp3 and i can't connect it to my computer??
Also the battery life only lasts about a day which is really annoying,
but aprat from that this is a really great phone, the best one i've
had! X
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Reviewed by Dave from uk on 11th Mar 2006
A superb piece of mobile phone genius.Easy to use keys and menu and
super smooth flip mechanism.MP3s have to be converted to MP4s for use
as ringtones but its simple stuff really & only takes 20 seconds from
PC to ringtone.Great in all black & super camera.This phone will definately
take over the D600 as top dog.I mode and I mail aswell as every possible
extra make this a phone to be proud of!!!AWESOME!!!
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Reviewed by TimmY from Ireland on 10th Mar 2006
this phone is outstanding, great modern look unbelievable camera and
a great mp3. however i cant seem to get the phone to connect to the
computer and cannot put mp3 music as a ringtone but on the whole it
is a great phone and would definatly recommend it!!
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Reviewed by x haZZah x from x england x on 8th
Mar 2006
this phone is abosulty wkd ... i bought this phone not so long ago after
my last phone got nicked [MoterlaV547] =( which i really did love that
phone as i had it for couple years and got use to it so was finding
it hard to get a new one !!! but as soon as i got this phone canme through
the post i was like WHOOOP so happy it luks very smart nd is such a
nice phone ... the only down fall i wud say wud be the price VERY expensive
... but i got mine cheap =) so its all good !!!
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Reviewed by K Green from UK on 6th Mar 2006
Phone great, can't say the same for O2, however in answer to 'Emma'
if you download itunes on the net, it will display any music, mp3 etc
that is on your pc, if your mp3's on your phone are not on your pc put
them on before you download the program, you can then convert them to
a m4a or acc and then put them in the music file on your phone and you
can then play them as a ringtone, easy honest if I can do it anyone
can, :)
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Reviewed by Alex from UK on 6th Mar 2006
outstanding phone! very impressed, great camera, takes a little while
to take a picture though, shutter isnt very fast but picture quality
is very good, the camera in video mode is very impressive, top of the
range atm simple to use and is very smooth, can take photos and videos
from when the phone is shut, lots of different effects for the camera,
picture editor, frames, effects,....overall very good camera. Was also
impressed with the MP3 player, with the 88 mb's memory built in + expandable
memory it leaves alot of room for music i have currently 19-20 songs
on atm? and still got quite abit of room left, bare in mind though taking
long videos on high res will take up alot of room. new i-mode service
recently released by o2 is very good, i-mail is great send and recieve
email just at the click of a button, the actually i-mode browser is
great fun to use but is quite pricey if your on there for a long time.
bluetooth and infered have worked well so far had no problems with them
yet. only problem with it i have found so far is the battery life, i
use my phone alot because im a heavy texter but after a day of sending
and recieving texts and emails the phone is almost out of battery, this
isnt to much of an issue as i just leave it on charge over night every
night. has a very big bright screen and is easy to navigate around all
the menus, would highly recomend this phone to anyone who wants to be
up to date with technolagy, very impressive peice of kit from samsung!
wait till price drops a bit, £160 ish then go for it, it wont dissapoint!
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Reviewed by Emma from ENGLAND on 6th Mar 2006
I love this phone so much, its like my little baby, without it i dont
know how id cope! only problem is though, i have no clue whatsoever
how to get an mp3 to be my ringtone, and it really annoys me, ive tried
everything and nothing works!i love it in black but i would have liked
it more in silver! at £230 it was worth it! best phone ive ever seen,
the massive screen is mint!
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Reviewed by Paul from UK on 4th Mar 2006
Very good phone yet again by samsung!!!
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Reviewed by Conor from Ireland on 1st Mar 2006
it is the best phone ive had in my life it has an mp3 player and all
its great i love it to bits especially its sexy finish
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Reviewed by hash from uk on 21st Feb 2006
fanatastic fone, the camera quality seems to be more than the specified
1 megapixel. this phone is a genious peice of engineering. the flip
system is smooth and the black finish is class quality. the imode browsing
certainly increases the amount of fun you can have with the fone. fast
internet, good bluetooth, good memory + memory card & excellent games
means that this phone is a media package. it is probably samsung's best
flip phone yet. not to forget the camera flash and the handset being
exclusive to o2 means that this is the perfect handset. the price tag
is quite steep at approx £200 but if price drops to bout £160 or below
then this handset is perfect.
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Reviewed by ragita from France on 21st Feb 2006
cooooooooooooool
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