Samsung SGH-A167 - pay as you go (AT&T)

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 8 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 6 stars

  great basic phone for budget conscious consumers.

  by krankhaftengel on December 13, 2009

  Pros: -great battery life.
  -solid construction
  -good keypad design for the most part

  Cons: -self preservation mode
  -one major flaw in keypad design
  -no video record

  Summary: i prefer more expensive phones, but i currently have very little income so i needed a budget friendly phone. a camera was a must. this was att's cheapest camera ...

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  Summary: i prefer more expensive phones, but i currently have very little income so i needed a budget friendly phone. a camera was a must. this was att's cheapest camera phone so i bought it.
  
  i've had this phone for a few months now, so i've come back to write a review, seeing as i always come here for reviews.
  
  the phone is a good basic phone. it has a camera and all the basics like alarm, calendar, calculator. it doesn't have bluetooth, but i don't use it for anything so it didn't make a difference to me.
  
  i've dropped the phone several times and it works fine and is still sturdy, just has scratches.
  
  the camera is just a VGA camera, which is 0.32 mp, which pretty much blows, but it's better than no camera at all. it has no video recording capabilities, which blows.
  
  the battery life is great. i can go four or five days if i charge it completely. the downside, however, is that for some reason, att's samsung phones go into what i call self preservation mode when the battery is low. the screen dims and only stays on for like 2 seconds, the keypad doesn't light up, it won't let you use the camera, it won't allow mms... it's terrible.
  
  all in all, it's a good, reliable phone for people who want prepaid and don't need anything fancy.
  
  Updated on Dec 13, 2009

  the phone is a good basic phone. it has a camera and all the basics like alarm, calendar, calculator. it doesn't have bluetooth, but i don't use it so it didn't make a difference to me.
  
  
  the camera is just a VGA camera, which pretty much blows, but it's better than no camera at all. it has no video recording capabilities, which blows.
  
  the battery life is great. i can go four or five days if i charge it completely, however, att's samsung phones go into what i call self preservation mode when the battery is low. the screen dims and only stays on for like 2 seconds, the keypad doesn't light up, it won't let you use the camera, it won't allow mms... it's terrible.
  
  the navigation d pad is designed poorly. it is bigger than it appears, and the clear/back key underneath it is cut short, so you often accidentally push down instead of clear/back
  
  all in all, it's a good, reliable phone for people who want prepaid and don't need anything fancy.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Decent basic phone for the money.

  by pat_thomas on December 2, 2009

  Pros: Decent construction - feels solid
  Acceptable audio
  Decent battery life (so far)
  Easily programmable / customizable
  Well lit keypad which isn't too big or too small
  Nice tactile feel

  Cons: Slow response, lower end color screen.
  No Bluetooth
  Charging socket is on the side instead of the bottom. Nothing major but I'd rather it had been located to the bottom.

  Summary: The following I can only vouch for concerning my phone. Your mileage may vary.
  
  I needed just a simple phone to replace my LG CU-500 (dead battery). Nothing else. I ...

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  Summary: The following I can only vouch for concerning my phone. Your mileage may vary.
  
  I needed just a simple phone to replace my LG CU-500 (dead battery). Nothing else. I don't care about a camera. I don't care about custom ring tones. I don't care if it doesn't pack all the functionality of an iPod. If that's what you need or want this isn't the phone for you.
  
  Audio quality seems to be decent in both directions on both the "normal" and speaker phone modes. Easy to program and customize. The phone is very easy to flip open and dial with one hand. I know that probably doesn't sound like much to some but you'd be surprised just how convenient that actually is.
  
  The reviewer's statement that the external screen will not illuminate while closed if you press a side button is untrue. It will... HOWEVER you must push and HOLD the side button one to two seconds. The display will then illuminate without having to open the phone. Apparently this is to prevent accidental pushes from draining the battery although I would imagine that in most cases this would be negligible.
  
  In many respects this phone reminds me of my old Moto V60i which I loved dearly.
  
  Again, certainly not a top of the line phone with all the fancy bells and whistles but it does serve its purpose for me which is to place and answer calls without any extra fluff.
  
  PT

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  I'm shocked-it's a good phone

  by Lynda99 on October 3, 2009

  Pros: Good sound quality, decent camera, more features than you'd expect, and cute as a button. I dropped it HARD the first day, and no chips.

  Cons: It's a basic phone, but I haven't found anything wrong with it.

  Summary: I bought this go-phone in a store when my phone broke, just to have an extra, and to use until I got a new phone.Six weeks later, I'm ...

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  Summary: I bought this go-phone in a store when my phone broke, just to have an extra, and to use until I got a new phone.Six weeks later, I'm still using it. Go figure.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Great simple phone with low SAR and nice speakerphone.

  by elmerpec on September 22, 2009

  Pros: I love the low price, low SAR value, and speakerphone that can be activated before the call is made. Good simple, well-made phone for basic use.

  Cons: Picture quality not great, but I don't use the camera much anyway, most important to me is call quality, speakerphone, and low SAR value.

  Summary: I really like this phone and would recommend it to anyone who wants a basic phone with a good speakerphone that can be activated before call is made and a ...

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  Summary: I really like this phone and would recommend it to anyone who wants a basic phone with a good speakerphone that can be activated before call is made and a phone with good call quality and a low SAR value. It may not have all of the bells and whistles, but for someone who just wants a good solid basic phone, this is it. The price is also right.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Great Simple Phone

  by reveille01 on August 16, 2009

  Pros: Speakerphone, internal antenna, call quality (was worried from CNET review that call quality would be mediocre, but it was perfectly clear), low SAR value, external screen

  Cons: pictures taken with camera are blurry, but my old phone didn't even have a camera, so I doubt I'll use it that much.

  Summary: Needed a phone to replace my ancient one that was about 4 years old. If you are looking for something simple that has great call quality this is the phone. ...

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  Summary: Needed a phone to replace my ancient one that was about 4 years old. If you are looking for something simple that has great call quality this is the phone. I researched low SAR (absorbed radiation) and this was the cheapest most simple phone available. My other phone was ancient, so this feels like a huge step up. Love the speakerphone, internal antenna. The camera doesn't take super clear pictures, but my other phone didn't have a camera at all - so still a step up. Overall pleased with how it functions and quality of calls.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  A good, inexpensive no-contract phone

  by ikata on June 9, 2011

  Pros: Price - got mine for about $40 at Best Buy! Also, It's pretty durable--It has been dropped, thrown etc. and still functions. Battery life is great! My SGH-A167 is over a year old, and the battery will last me up to a week if i am not constantly using it.

  Cons: Not Much memory, constantly have to delete texts, photos etc. Pictures were not great quality, but i didn't mind, that is, until the camera stopped working completely after owning the phone about 9 months. Also have had a couple problems with the alarm re

• 10 stars

  Great phone, that's why I bought it!!

  by Pks297333 on April 18, 2010

  Pros: Great size and excellent sound and signal in N.Y. area. Great call quality and reception !!

  Cons: Nothing diliked. I wanted a inexpensive phone that work well and thats exactly what I got!!

  Summary: As I stated in the 'pros and cons' it's a great phone, the web works fine also when I am away from my computer. Excellent call quality (I'm ...

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  Summary: As I stated in the 'pros and cons' it's a great phone, the web works fine also when I am away from my computer. Excellent call quality (I'm hearing impaired and it works and sounds great), great reception and a nice design. The camera works just like any other 'phone camera' with 'good quality shots. Remember, I wanted a phone (this one work fantasic) not a camera no a computer!!

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• 4 stars

  Better options

  by acesup12 on February 28, 2010

  Pros: It does the basic functions pretty well and the price is alright but there are other options out there.

  Cons: The ATT coverage is spotty, a cheap option with no contract is straight talk which is on the verizon network so definitely has better service.

  0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

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