Samsung SGH-C417 calling and messaging phone

The C417 sports an eye-catching red shell, a sleek profile, Bluetooth, and a VGA camera. Will it make other flip phones green with envy?

Design

The Samsung SGH-C417 is certainly an attractive clamshell with its fiery red shell and relatively thin profile (0.65 inches). However looks can only get you so far, and when we dove a little deeper we found room for improvement. For example, the monochromatic external display is quite dark, leaving our customization options rather bleak. The internal screen has four integrated wallpapers, but the low-resolution display suffered from the ''screen door'' effect.

Calling - Good

During our tests in New York City, call quality on the C417 was generally decent with good reception, although we did encounter some static here and there. The C417's speakerphone is tinny and a bit fuzzy sounding (par for the course), and conference calling only allows for three-way calling (although that's standard for any CDMA phone). The C417 offers decent maneuverability between the calls, but youll have to dig through menus, which is a bit of a hassle. Also, the phone doesn't have voice dialing, a basic feature on most calling and light messaging handsets. On the other hand, the C417 does offer a nice phonebook that supports while-you-type searching and ample room for up to 500 entries. The clamshell also scored points for its Bluetooth abilities and solid battery life (four hours of talk-time).


Part 2

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