vB Easy Archive - LG 325 vs. Samsung A680 vs. Samsung A740

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LG 325 vs. Samsung A680 vs. Samsung A740
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Posted by: 328iGuy

As the subject says, what are everyones thoughts on any of these phones?

I am considering the LG simply because of the BT enabled capabilities and would love to use a wireless BT headset. Is it worth taking an LG over a Samsung for this option?

Please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by: casualsuede

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328iGuy

As the subject says, what are everyones thoughts on any of these phones?

I am considering the LG simply because of the BT enabled capabilities and would love to use a wireless BT headset. Is it worth taking an LG over a Samsung for this option?

Please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

I liked the time I had with the PM325 (I had the Sprint phone) but I am a clamshell guy at heart.

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by casualsuede

I liked the time I had with the PM325 (I had the Sprint phone) but I am a clamshell guy at heart.

Any PROS/CONS you could share possibly?

Thanks

Posted by: slowly drifting

I have the a680 and really like it. I was very pleasantly surprised by the RF performance - I've had no problem picking up a good signal and no dropped calls so far. I've tested it in the Markham area, Kingston, and all along the 401 East going towards Kingston. At first I had some problems with the incoming sound quality when I called my boyfriend LD in the US but it turned out to NOT be a problem with the phone - it was actually due to Bell's routing system for the LD call. Battery life is very good - but keep in mind that coverage seems to be good in my area and I'm therefore never in Analog mode, which helps a lot.

There doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the a680 and the a740, aside from aesthetics. They're the same price ($249.99 outright) and the a680 seems to have more features. I've never used the a740 but maybe someone else could comment on the RF performance and sound quality compared to the a680.

I played with an LG 325 the other day and it's nice, size-wise, but I'm not a fan of the 'slider' thing. Also, the slider part felt a bit fragile/cheap as if it could easily break at some point. But, I've heard good things about the sound quality and RF performance so if you like the slider-style you might want to consider it (I prefer clamshell and bar phones)

If you can wait a bit longer before investing in a new phone you might want to wait a few weeks - apparently Bell is supposed to get the e815 within the next few weeks, and it also has Bluetooth capabilities, along with a multitude of other features. Rumour has it that it'll likely only be $100 more than the aforementioned phones outright.

Posted by: swiftfox

I'll tell you what not to do. Don't buy an A680 and leave it on top of your car, and drive away. They don't like that. Then definitely don't buy an A6 80 model on Ebay from the states, because apparently even though they look identical, they arn't. (good times those)

Posted by: CELLULORD

Get the A680. RF seems to be a little better than the LG, and it is WAY better for SMS. Just try and text message with one hand when the LG is slid open.

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by swiftfox

I'll tell you what not to do. Don't buy an A680 and leave it on top of your car, and drive away. They don't like that. Then definitely don't buy an A6 80 model on Ebay from the states, because apparently even though they look identical, they arn't. (good times those)

I can also tell you what NOT to do with an A500, don't go swimming with it in a pocket for an hour before realizing you didn't remove it.

Thats why I am in need of a new phone investment quickly. :rolleyes2

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by CELLULORD

Get the A680. RF seems to be a little better than the LG, and it is WAY better for SMS. Just try and text message with one hand when the LG is slid open.

I have never used SMS text messaging and don't plan on doing so in the near future so I don't really care about this feature. Thanks though!

Posted by: dirtyjeffer

i did find the LG 325 a little "awkward" feeling in the hand, but i suppose you would get used to it...the phone has excellent sound quality and decent RF...my nokia is still the only phone i can use in the lower levels in my house...i consistently get 3-4 bars of signal, whereas every other phone i have used either gets 0-1 bars or searches for service (drops calls if i go downstairs while on a call)...even ignoring the "bars" on the screen, most other phones either drop the call, or chop the conversation up when i am downstairs...sure, the nokia isn't a flip, and it chews through battery life, but it works, and to me, that is the most important "feature".

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtyjeffer

i did find the LG 325 a little "awkward" feeling in the hand, but i suppose you would get used to it...the phone has excellent sound quality and decent RF...my nokia is still the only phone i can use in the lower levels in my house...i consistently get 3-4 bars of signal, whereas every other phone i have used either gets 0-1 bars or searches for service (drops calls if i go downstairs while on a call)...even ignoring the "bars" on the screen, most other phones either drop the call, or chop the conversation up when i am downstairs...sure, the nokia isn't a flip, and it chews through battery life, but it works, and to me, that is the most important "feature".

With the 325 being BT though, cant you leave it upstairs and just head down with the BT headset, will this work?

Posted by: Falken

You have a good point with that 325. Although I've never tried it with this product (so I cant speak to how it will sound at that range), I have done that with other bluetooth devices and they seem to work just fine through a couple walls.

Somebody on here with their own headset / phone should test that out for us.

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falken

You have a good point with that 325. Although I've never tried it with this product (so I cant speak to how it will sound at that range), I have done that with other bluetooth devices and they seem to work just fine through a couple walls.

Somebody on here with their own headset / phone should test that out for us.

This would be very interesting to know......I plan on getting the phone and HS this week hopefully.

Posted by: casualsuede

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328iGuy

With the 325 being BT though, cant you leave it upstairs and just head down with the BT headset, will this work?

Bluetooth has a useable range of 30 feet I think. It doesn't have to be line of sight but the more walls that block the phone, the shorter the range.

Posted by: dirtyjeffer

Quote:

Originally Posted by 328iGuy

With the 325 being BT though, cant you leave it upstairs and just head down with the BT headset, will this work?

i suppose i could have tried that...i just like having my phone near me, as i often receive text messages and phone calls, and the BT headset i had didn't allow me to see my call display.

Posted by: 328iGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtyjeffer

i suppose i could have tried that...i just like having my phone near me, as i often receive text messages and phone calls, and the BT headset i had didn't allow me to see my call display.

I will test one the BT headset and LG 325 are done charging, just picked them up.

Posted by: Fife

I have used my LG 325 with abluetooth Jabra 250V.

Left the phone in the house while gardening outside. Works ok but some static.

I also have the Jabra SP100 and its RF and sound quality is pretty **** good.

Posted by: tuolumne

A680 has TFT displays compared with the A740/320s STNs...

Posted by: uugh

New to this forum...I bought a BT200, and love it!!! Works great with the phone. One thing to note, seems that when the BT200 is weak on battery, BT signal is lost often by the phone, and you need to reconnect the headset.

Otherwise I LOVE IT.

On another note, does anyone know how to use BT to transfer files and/or sync data with the LG325?

Posted by: ejohan

Wirelessly posted (LGE-LG325/1.0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

I have both the 325 and the a680. I like them both, but the lg is more my taste. The user interface is more profesional then the samsung. The samsung has a nicer overall look to it in my opinion. Both have good reception. Look for my review on the lg coming soon.

Posted by: Gquie

Hrm, I signed up for bell two weeks ago and have been using the a680 and I must say the phone is really great. I love all the features and the screen quality plus the look of the phone is very sleek. A downside I think may have to do with the Bell network as opposed to the phone itself but I seem to have poor reception in markham usually 1 bar only but that might just be beacuse Im in a new district there for work. The phone itself I find has poor battery life. I find myself charging this everyday. This could be due to the fact that I text like crazy and talk on the phone a lotbut regardless the only other phone where I would have to charge the phone everyday was my crappy 3390 from fido. Horrible batter life that was.

Oh Another thing I didnt like about the a680 was that when you charge it the Ext and Int LCD's dont shut off or at least I cant figure out how to do it. Any suggestions? hehe.

Posted by: dirtyjeffer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gquie

The phone itself I find has poor battery life. I find myself charging this everyday. This could be due to the fact that I text like crazy and talk on the phone a lot...

i don't think it really does...with the weak reception you are getting, and the fact that texting consumes huge amounts of battery life as the displays are being used, plus the fact you mentioned you talk a lot on it, all amounts to heavy consumption of the battery power.