Samsung SGH-A177 (AT&T)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: 3730224
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- If you can live with its variable call quality, the Samsung SGH-A177 is a functional and easy-to-use texting phone. It's affordable and it doesn't require a contract.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Authorized store |  | In stock Free Shipping! | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 11/07/2009 |
  | ||||
CNET editors' review
Samsung SGH-A177 (AT&T) price range: $99.99
- Reviewed by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 06/11/2009
The good: The Samsung SGH-A177 offers a simple design with a comfortable keyboard. Its practical feature set centers on texting.
The bad: The Samsung SGH-A177's call volume is low. Speakerphone quality is unimpressive.
The bottom line: If you can live with its variable call quality, the Samsung SGH-A177 is a functional and easy-to-use texting phone. It's affordable and it doesn't require a contract.
In case you haven't noticed, messaging phones are in. Once the domain of high-end smartphones, full alphabetic keyboards have trickled down over the past year into a broad variety of basic, midrange handsets. These messaging phones are built primarily for texting--POP3 e-mail is offered as an afterthought only and Outlook syncing is unavailable. But as communication devices, they let you tap out long messages relatively quickly.
In the past year, messaging phones have arrived at all carriers and have come down in price. And with the new Samsung SGH-A177 for AT&T's Go Phone service, they're now available for prepaid customers. The A177 isn't anything special, and call quality is variable, but it offers functional features, a simple design, and a comfortable keyboard. The camera is unimpressive. The A177 is $99.99, but keep in mind that you don't need a contract.
Design
The rectangular A177 doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is, and that's a good thing. It doesn't hide its keyboard behind a flip or slider design; rather, it's out in front for all to see. But what it lacks in high-end styling, it makes up in usability. The plastic shell probably won't withstand a lot of bruises, but the A177 has a comfortable feel in the hand. The phones measures 4.29 inches tall by 2.32 inches wide by 0.47 inch deep and weighs 3.09 ounces. It travels well and fits comfortably into a pocket.
The 2.2-inch display takes up almost half of the phone's real estate. Though its color support (64,000 hues) and pixel resolution (220x176) are rather low by current standards, the display serves its purpose. Graphics and photos won't look great, but the screen is bright. You can change the backlight time, the brightness, and the dialing-font size and color. The easy-to-use menus come in grid and list styles.
The navigation array is spacious and intuitive. The large toggle and central OK button are raised above the surface of the phone, so we had no issues cruising through the menus. The OK button opens the Web browser when in standby mode, but you can use the toggle as a shortcut to more features. Surrounding the toggle are two soft keys, the Talk and End/power keys, a messaging shortcut, and a back/clear button. Though these controls are flush, their large sizes makes them easy to use.
Other buttons include back and return controls, shift and symbol keys, a handset-locking switch, and shortcuts for IM applications, the camera, and the games and applications menu. The space bar is conveniently located in the center of the bottom row.
The remaining exterior features include a volume rocker on the left spine and a charger port/headset jack on the right spine. The combined port means that you can use only one peripheral at a time and the proprietary connection forces you to get an adapter if you want to use your own headset. The camera lens and self-portrait mirror are located on the A177's rear face.
Features
The SGH-A177 has a 500-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail address, and notes. You can save callers and pair them with a photo and one of 10 polyphonic, 64-chord ringtones. Alternatively, you can use your own audio recordings as ringtones. The SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts.
Essential features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a notepad, a calculator, a tip calculator, a currency and unit converter, a timer, a stopwatch, and a world clock. You'll also find instant messaging, a voice recorder, and Bluetooth.
The VGA camera takes pictures in three resolutions (640x480, 320x240 and 220x165 pixels). Other options include a self-timer, four white balance settings, four color effects, adjustable brightness, a night mode, and metering exposure. Photo quality is just average, even for a VGA camera. The SGH-A177 has about 14MB of shared memory, but it does not record video.
The SGH-A177 offers demo versions of several games and applications. They include AT&T Mobile e-mail, JuiceCaster, Mobile Banking, GraffitiWriter, WikiMobile Bubble Bash, Diner Dash 2, Guitar Hero III, and Bejeweled. You can personalize the handset with a variety of wallpaper, themes, background colors, and greetings. More options are available from AT&T using the WAP 2.0 browser.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/19000) world phone in San Francisco using AT&T service. Call quality had its high and low points. Though the signal was generally strong and free of static, some voices sounded a tad garbled. It didn't happen constantly, but when it was there, it was noticeable. Also, the volume level was insufficient if we were speaking in a noisy place.
On their end, callers could understand us. Landline and cell phone users reported some voice distortion, but again it wasn't universal. Also, some of our friends had to strain to understand us if we were speaking on a busy street or in a large store with announcements over the public address system. Similarly, automated calling systems could understand us, but it was best if we were in a quiet room. Speakerphone calls were disappointing. Though we had enough volume, the distortion effect was magnified,
The SGH-A177 has a rated battery life of 5 hours talk time and 10.5 days standby time. Our tests showed a talk time of 5 hours and 10 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-A177 has a digital SAR rating of 0.724 watts per kilogram.
User reviews
-
-
great phone and great price!!!
by Nae83 on September 11, 2009
Pros: texting is great. light weight and slim
Cons: taking a little longer to figure all the controls
Summary: this phone is a great phone its such a step up from the phone I had before. not all that fancy but i wasnt looking for a fancy phone. the ...
Summary: this phone is a great phone its such a step up from the phone I had before. not all that fancy but i wasnt looking for a fancy phone. the only problem I keep having is how to change the middle button from conecting to the internet i haven't figured out how to change it (but then again ive only had it for one day) with time i know i will figure it out. this phone has the apperence to be high tech but its pretty simple. I recomend it to anyone who wants something sleek affordable and easy.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
The worst phone AT&T is offering...
Pros: Nothing...(the Pros that I have are for AT&T itself...and not this phone....again I can't stress...It's the WORST!!!
Cons: Keys are too small, camera takes the worst pictures, and phone calls are the worst(clarity is not good at all)
Summary: If I had to reccomend a phone to any of my friends this particular product offered by AT&T would not be the one for me to discuss. I ...
Summary: If I had to reccomend a phone to any of my friends this particular product offered by AT&T would not be the one for me to discuss. I plan on getting rid of this as soon as possible.
-
Samsung: SGH a177 from AT&T wireless
by Duuude41 on September 12, 2009
Pros: new features (at least to me) auto adjusts to lighting when taking photographs, larger screen then the phone that I used previously. Can check email wherever you are. AIM for those who have aol as an email / internet provider make you own ringtones.
Cons: drowns out who you're talking to in loud enviroments, not enough ringtones, no flash, brightly lit areas can make screen viewing non-effective. not loud enough when a call takes place. only demos to play for games. still have problems downloading.
Summary: This phone is far better then the old Pentech flip phone that I used before this one ( I had the smalled phone ever produced) more features, nice QWERTY keyboard so ...
Summary: This phone is far better then the old Pentech flip phone that I used before this one ( I had the smalled phone ever produced) more features, nice QWERTY keyboard so I don't have to press the same key multiple times I can make my own ringtones. shortcut to voice mail and other files on it. The downside is that natural daylight still blanks out the screen, and when I am in a loud enviroment I can't hear who I am talking to and tell them to call me back later when I am in a less noisy room. Upside is that I can record and make notes whenever I can. Similar to the Samsung Magnet (SGH a257) only minor cosmetic differences). Comes with $50 in airtime for those who wish to use the cellphone immediately.
-
I highly dislike this phone!
by DJ4257 on August 30, 2009
Pros: The only pros are (for me personally) that it was cheap. Most people dont realize that this phone can be used for prepaid or plan just put your sim in. I need a quick replacement and something cheap so my husband bought me this one. Its only 100.00
Cons: 1.Very poorly made, back feels likeit will always come off
2. Terrible signal I am in the city with 2 miles from the ATT store
3. LG shine was much better because you do have internet on this phone if its in your plan but it doesnt work most timesSummary: More of the cons . . .
Speaking of the internet, I have had full signal and its taken my phone 10 minutes to sign in to the email. There are alot of ...Summary: More of the cons . . .
Speaking of the internet, I have had full signal and its taken my phone 10 minutes to sign in to the email. There are alot of apps out there that will work on most phones but this one wont allow you to use any of them. There are alot of pre-installed apps and things on this phone that it wont allow you to delete so you have a memory thats not great when you have apps that you need to use on a daily basis.
The keyboard is the only great thing about this phone and it just makes text messaging as easy as it is on any smartphone. Its pretty simple and basic to use as well. If you have big fingers (like most men) then this is right for you. My husband can barely use it.
I dropped it one time without the cover on it and it cracked and this was on the carpeted floor from a height of above 2 feet.
If you have prepaid and you dont mind the cost of this phone and are just looking for an easier way to text then if you are careful with it its right for you! If you are buying it for your older or teenage child with prepaid they may also like this phone just protect it or you will be a loss of 100.00
If you have a plan you can use this phone no matter what the ATT guys tell you but you either but another 100.00 or two with this cost and just buy the one that you need out right because by the time you go thru all the terrible that I have with this phone then you would be doing yourself a favor. Again if you only text it will work great for you but I run my own small business so it doesnt work for me.
IF you have a plan and something happens to your phone and you have to have when ASAP with very little cash on hand then yeah you could get this phone but while you are using this one then you should be in the market for another one because I am not sure how long that this will last.
I gave it this rating just because I cant do anything with but send text messages. I cannot check my email and use the internet. And most times if I am inside of any building I cant even recieve a phone call. My other phone started to have issues with the internet so I was in the market for one that I could get very cheap and fast without going to the ATT store and waiting in line to go thru the whole process. I buy alot of cell phones that are all ATT or unlocked but have been used for either a plan or prepaid and I just put my sim card into it this was my plan as I have always done. It was a cheap 100.00 and I walked in bought it and brought it back out popped my card into it and started using it right away. I cannot compare it to any phones since I am not sure what ones will work worse. Also if you plan to take pics with this phone the camera is terrible can barely make out the photo. Also most people dont know that if you have internet service on your phone and a good screen resolution then you can go to most websites even youtube and google maps but this phone will allow basically only facebook and myspace and few other useless websites.
Depending on your needs is how you should make your judgement on whether or not this phone is right for you! -
Good deal, nice interface, mediocre options
by agorton on August 20, 2009
Pros: Qwerty keyboard, cheap price,
Cons: Can't remove junk applications from factory, focuses on selling you more applications from online store, not able to adjust permissions for advanced options -- such as allowing trusted applications for using imap (gmail), impossible to configure OS
Summary: If you have no interest in doing advanced things with your phone and live a generic life ... then this is just fine.
Summary: If you have no interest in doing advanced things with your phone and live a generic life ... then this is just fine.
-
Perfect if you need a no-contract, easy-to-text phone.
by ameyer1995 on August 5, 2009
Pros: Full keyboard, simple and easy-to-use design, no contract required.
Cons: Only VGA (0.3 megapixels) camera. (Phones similar to this one typically have 1.3 or 2 MP)
Summary: I got this phone as a replacement for my lost phone on my AT&T postpaid plan. The $99 price tag is really not that bad considering the cost ...
Summary: I got this phone as a replacement for my lost phone on my AT&T postpaid plan. The $99 price tag is really not that bad considering the cost of other phone options while you are in the middle of a contract. The phone's call quality is sufficient, and tapping out messages on the keyboard is very quick, but takes some adjusting to. The phone is also very lightweight. Overall, this phone is excellent for anyone who needs a good texting phone w/o a contract, as it is one of the very few options. My only disappointment is the low-quality VGA (0.3 megapixels) camera. Overall, I would definitely reccomend this phone.
-
Preforms wonderfully as advertised
by Presnum2 on July 13, 2009
Pros: Having grown up watching the tech world grow by leaps and bounds (when I was I kid I listened to music on LP's) I like the 177. It does what I felt it would; talk, text, email.
Cons: Limited ability to customize ring tones and incoming SMS tones
Summary: For me, I have never felt the need for a plan, texting, IM and etc. However I realize that in the current age of information, I needed to become much ...
Summary: For me, I have never felt the need for a plan, texting, IM and etc. However I realize that in the current age of information, I needed to become much more current. As most of my contacts and personnel that I interact with day to day are younger than I and very savvy with instant communication, it makes sense for me to be able to do so.
My old cell phone drove me nuts when I would try answer a text msg. Since I touch type it only took me about a day to get used to the keyboard, now I can text faster than my daughter. Not to mention I can use full sentences and not OMG.
I would say for someone such as myself - do not like 'plans - bazillion dollar commitments - phones applications and stuff you will never use.' This phone fits the bill.
Point of reference - the first cell phone I had was in my car, the modem was in the trunk and weighed five pounds and the hand set was the size of a "brick." There was no 'plan' it simply cost 100 buck a month and 2 buck a minute.
The things that I really like about the phone.
Very straight forward
Not difficult to understand -
decent smartphone wannabe
by dwizzle2dot0 on July 12, 2009
Pros: Decent smartphone-ish features. Receives and sends mail to three accounts, Live, Yahoo, AOL, AIM, and a few ISP's like Earthlink, Juno, NetZero. Does three Im's with Yahoo, Live, AIM. Has web capabilities. day's of standby time on batt.
Cons: No bluetooth pairing except with headsets. No way to easily move data to-from phone besides Samsung USB data cable that you can only find on Samsung's website (didn't find a one in my local area). 3G drains the battery fast.
Summary: Don't buy it as a mobile-solution type device, you'll save money by going to a contract plan with a "real" smartphone. For example if you use it with ...
Summary: Don't buy it as a mobile-solution type device, you'll save money by going to a contract plan with a "real" smartphone. For example if you use it with AT&T's unlimited usage plan ($3 flat access fee only on day's you use your phone) and you receive a email a day you'll be paying $90 a month to keep receiving those email's. That's around the same amount as a contract only smartphone on a unlimited plan with a lot better phone quality as in features. This candy-bar is durable as a rock as I've dropped it a few times without the signature explosion of parts my buddies HTC Keiser has (battery and back cover go flying).
-
nice keyboard design, but thats about it.
by alanephoto on June 19, 2009
Pros: Lots of features , QWERTY keyboard
Cons: Really tiny keys, feels very cheap
Summary: While it may be loaded with features, the tiny keys will have you retyping (unless you have really small fingers or long fingernails). And the plastic construction felt more like ...
Summary: While it may be loaded with features, the tiny keys will have you retyping (unless you have really small fingers or long fingernails). And the plastic construction felt more like a $20 prepaid than a $100 one. maybe I just expect too much.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: 3730224
- Bottom Line: If you can live with its variable call quality, the Samsung SGH-A177 is a functional and easy-to-use texting phone. It's affordable and it doesn't require a contract.
General
- Product Type Cellular phone With digital camera
- Service Provider AT&T
- Bundled Service Pay As You Go
- Width 2.3 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Height 4.3 in
- Weight 3.1 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology GSM
- Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband)
- Phone Design Candy bar
- Antenna Internal
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Call Timer Yes
- Conference Call Capability Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth 2.0
- Additional Features QWERTY keyboard layout
Phone Memory
- Phone Book Capacity 500 names & numbers
Messaging & Data Services
- Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
- Messaging Services Yahoo! Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM), Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger)
- Mobile Email Yes
- Internet Browser Yes
- Messaging / Data Features Text messages, Instant message, E-Mail, WAP Push
Ring Tones
- Polyphonic Ring Tone Voice Qty 64
Multimedia Features
- Downloadable Content Games, Ring tones, Wallpapers, Audio files, Video files, Screensavers
Digital Camera
- Sensor Resolution 0.3 megapixels
- Still Image Resolutions 320 x 240, 640 x 480
- Digital Zoom 4
Organizer
- Alarm Clock Yes
- Calendar Yes
- Calculator Basic
- Conversion Currency
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 176 x 220 pixels
- Color Support Color
- Color Depth 16-bit (65000 colors)
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Battery, desktop charger
Power
- Type Power adapter
Battery
- Capacity 800 mAh
- Talk Time 300 min
- Standby Time 250 h
Accessories
- Samsung SBH700 (33107518)39.99 - 64.99
- Samsung WEP700 (33035964)23.79 - 59.00
- Samsung Ultra-Slim WEP350 Bluetooth Headset (platinum red) (33016910)39.99
- Motorola Rokr S9 HD - black (33418013)59.00 - 103.24
- Motorola S9-HD Stereo Bluetooth Headset (32815321)65.53 - 149.99
- Samsung pouch for cellular phone (33639000)6.99 - 9.66
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
%20-%20Compare%20prices,%20reviews,%20user%20opinions%20-%20Shopper.com&srcUrl=http://shopper.cnet.com/cell-phones/samsung-sgh-a177-at/4014-6454_9-33647661.html){kind=small}