The Total Samsung SCH-u740 Guide Thread
Information up-to-date as of 23 February 2007
****NOTICE: This is a thread to help out those who will buy or have bought the phone. I will try my best to address every single question that everyone has asked throughout the several u740 posts to make this a quick one-stop thread. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, this is not a thread to ask more questions or talk about your phone or whatever, go to the OFFICAL THREAD for that. If it needs to be added to here, it will. With that being said, if you know something and its missing, by all means, post it in here. Any other reason, please don’t post. This thread NEEDS to remain simple and free of clutter so everyone can get their info without having to post and post and post the same question. Information will change, so keep in mind, this info, in this post, is as current as of 23 FEBRUARY 07| 18:30.
My thanks to EVERYONE who posted tips/tricks/knowledge about this phone. Without them, this guide wouldn’t be possible (To all my HoFo peeps 
).
GENERAL
• Compatible with Wireless Sync and Backup Assistant.
• NOT mini-usb. The cables are proprietary. If you have a data cable from the a970, it will work however.
• As of 23 February, this phone is NOT officially supported for Bitpim. However, this will change so just make sure to check out their website (
www.bitpim.org) for the latest software.
• This phone is NOT QVGA.
• The speakers and speakerphone is STEREO.
• The usual Bluetooth Profiles for Verizon (NO OBEX).
o Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Capable are advertised, however, this phone doesn’t seem to work well with the profile (no AD2P as far as we can tell). We’re hoping a software update will fix this if the profile REALLY is there, but just disabled.
• Flash UI Themes: Amoeba, My Desk.
• Non-Flash UI Themes: Rainbow, Business (VZW Standard), Tropical.
• MANNER MODE: Press AND hold the # key to activate VIBRATE. Press AND hold again to go back to NORMAL settings.
• The backlights of the keys are WHITE. NOT BLUE. You cannot change this. The flash on cameras when taking the picture of this phone can make it look a different color.
• MP3 ringtones can be individually assigned to your contacts. However, you can not individually assign a message tone with your contacts.
• Swivel is very sturdy in either direction (PORTRAIT or LANDSCAPE) however; there is a little play when in either mode. But nothing to be seriously concerned about.
• Battery Life is pretty good. 13 phone calls (avg 5 mins), 2 1 hour phone calls, 3 hours of straight mp3 play, and an hour of camera play, and I’m down to 2 bars.
• Alerts, Calendar, Call Sounds can have VIBRATE. However, ALARM CLOCK, and CALENDAR cannot do vibrate AND ring.
• Speakers are very loud but on certain songs or ringers, it can start to crack/pop.
• MP3’s and Mobile Web are only viewable in LANDSCAPE mode.
• Startup: 14.6 seconds
Shutdown: 5.9 seconds
• Keyboard is not ideal for big fingered people. But after awhile, it does get easier to use.
• Size is very thin, comparable to the LG 8600 and RAZR.
• QWERTY is very responsive. No noticeable delay with key presses.
MP3/WMA’s
• The phone is capable of playing mp3s both on the phone and on a SD card. The internal memory on the phone is only 60MB, so it is recommended you use a SD card.
• Phone is capable of up to 2GB MICRO/TRANSFLASH SD CARDS.
• No equalizer as of yet to fine tune your listening pleasure. We are hoping this will change with software upgrades.
• Putting MP3s on your SD Card:
o If this is the first time you are using your new TransFlash card, FORMAT IT! Easiest way:
Insert TransFlash card into phone
Go to SETTINGS & TOOLS --> MEMORY (8) -->CARD MEMORY (3) --> “OPTIONS” (right option button) --> FORMAT CARD
This will ensure that your card is ready to go and that it has the correct folders in it already created (i.e. my_mp3’s, etc.)
o Take the Transflash card, insert it into the SD Adaptor and place the adaptor into a memory card reader on your computer for SD cards. (FASTEST)
Filenames can ONLY be a max of 36.3 characters (36 + . + mp3).
You can also plug in your data cable, put ur card in your phone, and use the Music Essential Kit’s (MEK) software if you dont have a card reader.
• NOTE: YOU MUST INSTALL THE PHONE DRIVERS FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you don’t have the drivers, but have the phone and data cable, try:
http://www.vzam.net/vcastmusic/Step2.aspx, this will install the drivers AND VZW Music Manager.
• This way is a good safe way to transfer your mp3’s. It will automatically RENAME your files to fit the 36.3 character limit on file names.
Drag and drop the files you want into you’re my_mp3’s folder.
• Bluetooth Stereo……….unfortunately this feature does not work well with the phone although Samsung has advertised it with this feature ("capable" was the wording). Once again, our hope is that the hardware profile is there and that a software upgrade will enable this feature.
• You can play your MP3s with the phone closed.
o You will need to light up the front screen (phone closed). Press AND hold the HOLD button or UP/DOWN VOLUME till the front screen lights up.
o Press AND hold the PLAY/PAUSE button. A message will appear asking you to PRESS play again to start the player. PRESS PLAY. Your MP3’s will start in PLAY ALL mode. To stop the player and return to normal operation, press AND hold PLAY/PAUSE again.
• Answering a Call/Text
o Unlike the chocolate (8500 and its bro the 8600), this phone will not continue to play music while you do other functions. In addition, it will NOT resume play when you take a call or answer a text message. HOWEVER, if you have the MEK’s stereo headphones, you can resume ONLY if you open the phone in NORMAL or LANDSCAPE to take the call or text message. After you send it, a message will pop up asking you to RESUME GET IT NOW. You cannot answer this message with the phone closed, and if you try to open the phone when this message comes up, it will close it and stop your music player.
• Album Art
o Available with purchased MP3s through Verizon.
• HOLD Button
o Press AND hold and it will lock all the media and side keys while playing your music. If not playing your music, you can use this button to activate the front screen (checking time, etc.). Press and hold it again after screen has been activated, and it will lock all keys except the HOLD key.
• The adaptor included with the phone is for 2.5mm jacks. This is not the size of normal stereo headphones. Visit your local store for an adaptor.
TEXT MESSAGING
• Viewing on the outer LCD:
o MESSAGING --> SETTINGS --> TXT MESSAGE (2) --> AUTO VIEW (1) --> Turn this feature on, and it will display the text message without opening the phone.
• Dictate To Text: Activated when tying a text message. It can be found in the ENTRY MODE (left option button) menu when writing the text, called VoiceMode. You will be asked to train it before the first use. Then all you do is press AND hold the voice button and talk into the phone. If you mess up, dont stop. It will ATTEMPT to correct itself after its done. Once you're done, release the button. Once it corrects the words by itself, and if the word(s) are still not right, then you can change the word(s) manually.
• BLOCK/UNBLOCK feature can block phone numbers from sending you text messages. Nice if you have annoying forwards all the time.
• Samsung ONLY features: Postcard and Sketch
o Sketch: Draw or write something down on a piece of paper. Go to send a NEW MESSAGE, but select SKETCH MESSAGE. The camera will turn on. Take a picture of what you just drew or wrote and the phone will superimpose it on the screen to be sent as a picture.
o Postcard: Select NEW MESSAGE and POSTCARD MESSAGE. Your picture album will pop up. Select the picture you want as a BACKGROUND. Next the camera will start. See SKETCH to see how this part works. After you take the picture, the SKETCH will go over the picture in GREEN font. Great way to customize some pictures on your phone.
• To insert a . , ? ! – etc. in LANDSCAPE, hold down the button that has the symbol/number you want. Another way is to change the ENTRY MODE using the left option key or press the NUM LOCK key.
• When in PORTRAIT mode and you want to use the QWERTY instead of the t9/ABC, you CAN close the flip and open in LANDSCAPE without losing your message (but not vice versa). The default is 3 seconds. This can be changed in the SETTINGS & TOOLS --> PHONE SETTINGS --> FLIP DURATION (3) to 3 or 6 secs.
RINGERS
• BitPim is the easiest way, however, until the software supports the phone there are several methods.
o EMAIL:
From your computer, send an email to
[email protected] (X = phone #) with the ringer attached (MP3 ringers are supported). NOTICE: Not all ringers are going to sound great using this way. Some will crackle, some will sound muffled while others will sound GREAT! If you use BitPim to create the ringer (does not require the phone to be connected) using the a970, Chocolate, V, or enV settings, it works well, but still flawed. Your ringer will be stored in BitPims RINGER folder (usually in the BitPim folder in MY DOCUMENTS).
If your ringer EXCEEDS 200k, don’t be surprised if it takes almost an hour or more to get your ringer sent to your phone. It will eventually make it to your phone, just the bigger the size, the longer it takes. If your ringer exceeds 300k, your ringer will start to sound like crap (unless it’s non-music) via this method. Not all, but most. I had one ringer that was 384k. It took almost 2 hours to get to my phone via email.
Keep the filenames SIMPLE and short.
When you receive your email, open it, OPTIONS Save As Ringtone (5). It will be saved. You will be asked if you want to SET IT NOW? If you want this as your main ringer, select yes, if not, select no.
If using BitPim to make your ringers, the following settings work really well with MOST mp3s:
• Type: MP3
• Channels: 2
• Sample Rate: 32000
• Bit Rate: 64
• Time: under 30 seconds
• Feel free to up the settings for sound quality, keep in mind, with a higher bit rate, you’re ringers may get this annoying squelching sound every so often throughout the ringer. Also, the longer the time, the bigger the file size.
o HEX EDIT:
If you don’t know what your doing, DON’T DO IT THIS WAY! For those of you that are ok with it, please refer to the following thread:
HIDDEN MENU
• SETTINGS & TOOLS --> STAR KEY --> Enter all zeroes as the password
• Debug Screen
Test calls
Voice SO
Port Map
Force Mode
Pref Mode
Clear Session
Throughout Test
Bluetooth
SATS Mode
Graphics
Trouble Shooting
PHONE CALLING
• Phone calls are pretty clear and crisp. A couple people have had an issue with a metallic-like sound, but seem to be isolated. You will NOT hear yourself while talking in this phone.
• Multi-Directional microphone.
• Speakerphone is activated automatically when opening LANDSCAPE mode.
o NOTE: When you close the flip, and its on speakerphone, this will NOT end the call!! So be careful if you decide to talk about the person after the phone call.
• In NORMAL (PORTRAIT) mode, press and hold the SPEAKERPHONE button to activate.
• With the phone closed, pressing and holding the SPEAKERPHONE button will answer the call with speakerphone on without opening the phone. Press and hold SPEAKERPHONE to hang-up.
• If you have speakerphone activated and don’t de-activate it, it will automatically turn off after a couple minutes. You’ll hear a couple beeps when it happens.
• In SETTINGS & TOOLS --> DIAL FONTS (6) you can display the way your phone shows the dialing of the numbers (Normal, Rainbow, Quill Pen, Post-It Notes).
• Voice Dialing: Call <Name or #>, Send <Msg Type>, Lookup <Name>, Go To <Menu>, Check <Item>, My Account, Help Guide
o Make sure you do the tutorials and adaptation of your voice activated settings before using to make it easier.
CAMERA/PICTURES
• 1.3MP
• Camera Start Time: 3.8 seconds
• Two ways the phone takes shots (and your pictures will be affected):
o LANDSCAPE: Full shot. Everything seen on the screen shows.
o PORTRAIT (NORMAL MODE): Sides are cut-off and picture is longer.
o These two ways are like describing WIDESCREEN (LANDSCAPE) to FULL SCREEN (PORTRAIT) with movies, (only way I can describe it).
• FLASH: Auto, Off, Always On, Only This Shot
o ~5 feet distance (approx) in 0 lux.
• Color Effects, White Balance, Metering.
• Self Timer: 2, 5, 10 seconds
• Quality: Fine, Normal, Economy
• Resolution: 1280x960, 640x480, 320x240, 160x120, Picture ID
• Multi-Shot: Series, Divided, Auto/Manual
• NO MACRO on this camera. So up close shots, especially involving screen shots, will be a little blurry.
• Outside shots, very well for this type of camera. Low-light settings are still a little bit of a challenge however.
• In your photo album, you can select one of your pictures and edit it with the following options: Effects, Decorate, Revision (Brightness, Sharpness, Blur, Saturation), Merge, Copy & Paste, Resize, Rotate/Flip.
VIDEO
• Plays .3gp and .3g2
• Can be used for your MAIN wallpaper, regardless of length (so far).
• In Super (movie converter application,
http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html), use the standard 3gp. (nokia/nec/seimens) settings. (h.263 and AMR audio).
• Other known settings to work:
o 3G2, codec mpeg4, 176 x 144, fps 15, bitrate 160 or 190, audio aac, 56k stereo 22050 sampling.
o 3GP/3G2, 176 x 144 at 12.5fps & 15 fps, 240K bit rate
o 128 x 96 at 12.5fps & 15 fps
o It won't play files encoded 200 x 176
o QCIF (1/4 CIF ) is 176*144,
QVGA ( 1/4 VGA ) is 320*240
CIF is 352*288
VGA is 640*480
WALLPAPER
• Can be stored on your memory card, however, as of now, if you remove your memory card it will forget to re-assign the wallpaper. Photo-ID for your contacts remains in tact however.
• The u740 will automatically adjust pictures over 320x240 to fit the PORTRAIT and LANDSCAPE modes. In LANDSCAPE, it will slightly zoom and/or stretch the picture to make it fit. This is not true for VIDEO WALLPAPER. They will not stretch or zoom to fit the screen when in LANDSCAPE.
• Viewable wallpaper size for full screen is 176x184, wide screen is 220x140.
o Best way for wallpaper, make an image 220x184 and you just have to have the right type of image to make it work in both orientations. the focal point has to be no more than 140px tall and 176 wide center focus otherwise you’ll get it cropped.
o If you have any picture bigger than 640x480, it will fit the screen just fine in LANDSCAPE but slightly crop in PORTRAIT.
• PHOTO IDs: Resolutions that will take up the full screen on the outer LCD:
176x146, 158x160, 176x160, 176x136
• For additional information and clarification, please refer to:
• Also see the following for wallpaper ideas:
DUN
• Please see the following thread:
• No free WAP settings as of yet. However, as this phone becomes older on this forum, I’m sure someone will find it out. Look in this thread for a proven method later on.
BitPim, CALENDAR & CONTACTS
• Can be connected via BitPim to link the u740 to OUTLOOK for calendar and contacts.
• Until an officially supported version of BitPim is released for this phone, use the Samsung a950 profile to connect. Be forewarned, as mentioned, BitPim does not officially support this phone yet, so use at your OWN RISK.
• Connecting with BitPim is described below (thanks to TheMopedwhiz):
o MEK is the best way to get a cable & the phone drivers
if you have BT on your PC you don't need the cable but you do need BitPim.
NOTICE: The phone doesn't sync with 'outlook' as far as I know but outlook 'exports' files that BitPim can import. So you export the list using outlook to a file (I think the extension is CSV). Then with BitPim you import the file, then send the file to the phone.
I never use outlook, but yahoo exports contacts in the same format so you can import them to outlook or vise-versa, and I did do the export import thing a few times with BitPim and a different phone.
Most people want to use BitPim with the 'previous' phone to save a contacts list, then using BitPim with the u740 to import that list and send it to the phone.
NOTE: it doesn't matter if you have an LG 8100, choco, V, enV, a sammy 950 990 or the u740.
BitPim, being free ware, is always a version behind on the phones with full support, but many things ( menu wise ) work the same way on all versions of BitPim with all phones.
The BitPim GUI/menus/windows do their work in the BitPim cache NOT directly on the phone.
Import a contacts file from your PC, then you check it, change it if needed, or accept as is, but its NOT on the phone until you SEND the data to the phone.
Same thing for pictures & ringers, but those functions are not yet supported in the GUI menus because we are using the support for the a950.
The contacts / phone book has been in a std format for several years, across most models of Verizon phones, which is why this function works with the NEW u740.
NOTE: if you shut down BitPim and unplug the phone, without/before sending the data to the phone, then the contacts list will not be on the phone. If you delete a name or change a number , but don't send the data back to the phone there will be NO changes on the phone same goes for delete wallpapers or ringers, (once the support is added).
The exception to this rule is 'file system mode' this reads and writes directly to the phone, directly into the directory tree.
NOTE: Put the wrong file in the wrong place and you can BRICK your phone, but IF your careful, it can be very handy.
Right now the file system tree is the only way to add custom ringers to this phone (via BitPim), it can't be done thru the BitPim GUI until the support as been added to BitPim GUI for this model.
Reply With Quote
Peace out yo!
Originally Posted by mgs1417
review and user guide
Bookmarks