Samsung SGH-E316 / SGH-E317 Specs, Features & Reviews

After two years with the e317, I'm parting ways for a new contract and device. I've literally had the e317 from the beginning; the Cingular store I purchased it from hadn't even put them on display the day I bought it.

Point is: 24+ months, no problems.

At this point, it's an old phone. But I'm posting here in case anyone's going backward.

PROs:
-nice external display/caller ID
-small, sturdy antenna
-form is tiny (for the time it was released) and more of a nice "round" design than anything else
-bright displays
-camera image appears on external display without opening the phone
-menu is easy to use after a little playing around with it
-durable (I've dropped it on the ground in parking lots more than a handful of times; plenty of scratches, but still works perfectly)
-great clock on the external display
-light-weight... really light for its size
-solid battery life, even after two years

CONs:
-after about a year of use, started to freeze from time to time
-no vibrate + ring
-LED flashes just below external display; bright in a dark room
-audio from the handset isn't loud enough
-odd proprietary headset connection
-no real data apps.

BOTTOM LINE:
If at this point (10/2006) you're considering this phone, you've a couple of years behind the game. But that said, I don't really have many complaints about the whole package. Really good phone.

I think this phone is developing a bad rap not based on its own faults, but on those of its carriers. Complaints about "crappy ringtunes", dropped calls and poor reception are network issues, not phone issues.

On the Roger's network, I have experienced no problems personally with this phone, nor have I had any complaints from customers.

PROS
Small, lightweight design.
Crisp, bright screen.
Decent camera quality.
A wide variety of ringtunes come included.
Easy navigation.

CONS
Possibly too small for some people.
Not Bluetooth enabled.
No speakerphone.
Not quad-band.

If you're looking for a nice, easy-to-use camera phone for use in North America, then this is the phone to get. Reliable, cute, and compact.

I recently got the e-317 which is the upgrade to the e-316. in a whole the phone is fine...i have had no problems with it and unfortunately "in" my house no cell phone or cell phone provider can get any signal.... i have no clue why.

PROS:
small design
light weight
dual color screen
EASY navigation
camera is better than i have seen on most phones
-camera options for customizing is great
-good signal (cingular, minnesota market)
-ringtones for the phone are great
-charger plugs in and you have to push a button to get it out which secures you phone (times when you plug your phone in at night and wake up and your kid or dog has unplugged it so it is half charged kind of thing)
-sturdy flip
-antenna is sturdy

CONS:
-phone mic in horrible spot
-ear piece and speaker volume not loud enough
-you have to send the pictures you take to your self in order to use them as a wallpaper (otherwise the picture auto fits to the screen and your wallpaper looks stupid)

All in all i give this phone a 4.5 because i love it.. there are somethings that you have to get used to............like......
-the flashing light on the outside (you can turn it off though)
-the whole wallpaper thing
it's not a bad phone, but like everything else it has it's flaws... if you have any kind of patience with cell phones (for the poor cell phone lovers) than i would recommend this phone.....it's nice, convenient, and affordable....... otherwise get a siemens sx6605.... then you would have everything you need and want......

I have had the e317 for just over a week and it is a nice looking and light phone but there are things about it that irritate the heck out of me.

Pros:
Ascetically pleasing
Bright screen
Decent Camera
Light weight

Cons:
-New Headset jack makes headsets harder to find and more expensive.

-Side key adjusts key volume instead of ringer, which is utterly useless.
-You have to hold the # key just to put the phone on vibrate.

-There is no ring and vibrate together.

-*** If you have the phone on vibrate and it is on the charger it still vibrates IT DOESNT RING. If the phone is charging, obviously it is not on your person, how ridiculously basic of a feature? And it is missing. I have missed many many calls this way. ****

- Phone book does not allow you to easily flip from someones home to mobile number, nor does the redial list tell you which one it is without a few extra clicks.

- No video

Basically this phone has level features wrapped in a mid grade phone body. I used to have a Sanyo 5500 so maybe I was just spoiled but there are a few things I just expect out of any decent phone, especially a camera phone. Most notibaly the ringing on the charger.

If only Cingular offered any other decent phones for a decent price, I would have exchaged by now.

I just purchased this phone today. I started a new Go Phone account with AT&T and purchased the phone at the full retail price, $319.99. I must say, it was worth the money.

I like just about everything about the phone. Its compact size, its sturdy antenna, its streamlined menu...they are all great. The phone also gets awesome reception. I still have a Sprint account that I am waiting to terminate. Here is a little comparison: in my bedroom, my Sprint Sanyo 8100 gets one or two bars for service and the e316 gets four or five. The camera has great resolution too. Lastly, the ringer has a good range; it can be very loud if you need it to be, or very quiet.

However, every phone has its negative points. Mostly these are just nit-picky, but I feel I should point them out. First, the clamshell part of the phone feels a little flimsy. The top half has a little give when you push it left and right, but nothing major. Just a little disheartening. Also, when people said the ring tones were cheesy, I thought I would not care because I usually just use a normal, boring ring. But this phone does not come with any 'normal' rings! That was a major downer. Finally, the buttons are located sort of close together and are a bit small. For me, it is ok, but I think anyone with slightly larger hands/fingers might find it troublesome.

All in all, a great phone, with some subtle faults for certain people.

this is the first flip phone that i have ever owned and operated. i've operated quite a few in my time, but not extensively to the point where i'd carried it around for weeks and seen all it has to offer.

i'm accustomed to nokia's, it's all i've ever had. so this was a small change, although samsung's user interface somewhat mirrors that of nokia's.

it's easy to use and the screen is bright and colorful, but in the sun it is impossible to see the screen.

the phone has a nice sleek design and although some think it girly, i find it sharp.

i live in the philadelphia market, and signal quality has not been an issue. however when i was at the borgata hotel & casino i was getting no service there, but i was with my nokia 6820.

for what it's worth, it should at least have a speakerphone. bluetooth would be nice as well, but i can deal without it.

there's nothing really honestly bad with the phone, for what it is.

the battery life is nice, i've never had it die out with me, through some grueling nights, but the battery meter does seem to be messed up. it'll show 3 bars, drop down to 1 for a couple hours then shoot back up. i think so, at least.

all in all it's a good phone. the camera has a decent image quality, and the effects are cool. this is the only phone i've ever seen that has a black and white effect on the camera, and it truly is a great effect. everything looks good in black and white.

but that's all that i can really think to say about this phone. it doesn't go too far feature wise but it hits the spot when it comes down to usability and enjoyability.

thank you samsung.

I bought the E316 a week ago, exactly. I personally like it a lot. This phone has better reception than any other phone i had with AT&T. I am very happy with this choice. Camara works good (zoom + -, brightness...they help) I had no problems with the phone but one thing is that my battery life isnt all that good but thats my fault, i was playing with it while it was charging, so im gonna be getting a new one soon but still lasts quite a while. Sound quality is also perfect, could hear clearly and they can hear me also. LCD screen in front is good, could see perfectly. As far as the ringtones that everybody seems to be complaining about, there are websites where u can download ring tones, dont hold it against the phone because they arent that bad!

PROs:
good reception
LCD screen good
Carama works good
Ringtones good
Sound quality

CONs:
Battery life (my fault thou) hehe

ENJOY ur Phone!!!!!!!!!

pros-
looks pretty
camera
has an outside caller id

cons-
no video recording
no speakerphone
no music player
low memory
has stupid features like a dedicated 'key volume' key instead of useful ones

had this phone for a few months a couple years ago ,before returning it. not because of hardware problems, but lack of features.
its basicaly empty inside. it has very few of the features todays phones have. if you might get it sometime soon. i wouldnt recommend it unless your going to be making calls only. this phone is outdated and there are many other different choices.

I have to admit that I always thought that the samsungs were generally to small to be a good phone for me and my fat hands. Surprisingly I really love this phone. The buttons come out almost perfectly. Very easy to hit without bumping another. I first started with a Sony Ericson but the picture quality of its screen was horrid compared to this one. My wife had it and I had to have it too.

Pros
*Excellent screen quality
*Camera is pretty good
*Size
*External Display
*Battery Life
*Great reception everywhere (might be cingular but together they rock)
*Sound quality is good
*Pic caller ID
*Easy to navigate software

Cons
*Headset jack does make headsets hard to find
*No Speakerphone
*Side button is only for button volume... not ringer or sound while on the phone.
*Cannot download other pics for external display. Only has 4 preloaded and I cannot use one that I downloaded for it.

I have had this phone for about 2 weeks and I must say I like it alot. I will just list the Pros and Cons

+Camera quality is very good when viewed on the computer (better than alot of camera phones)
+Screen is beautiful and VERY bright
+External screen is wonderful
+Very easy to use
+Size is so small you might forget you have something in your pocket (fold a bill in half and thats how tall it is without the antenae)
+Video recording is very cool
+Call quality
+Reception

-Can't view images full screen on phone (maybe firmware upgrade will help)
-Can't hear the sound in the video (have to put it up to your ear)
-Sometimes it gets fuzzy in the background of a call
-no speakerphone or bluetooth

Very cool phone!