Alltel customers have another respectable choice in the crowded-but-popular midrange clamshell segment. The
SCH-U520 from Samsung (known by Alltel simply as the "u520") does EV-DO, Bluetooth, speakerphone, and a 1.3 megapixel cam with video recording, but perhaps more importantly, it's the very first Alltel handset with A2DP on board for a little wireless stereo action. The internal antenna lends some decent looks, too -- though at a very un-Samsung 24.9 millimeters thick, we all need to slip it into our pocket before passing final judgment on the phone's goodness. Look for it now on Alltel's website for $100 on contract with rebates.
[Via
MobileTechReview]
Update: Alltel might be confused about the dimensions of their own handset. While the carrier's website reports the SCH-U520's thickness to be a rather chunky 0.98 inches (24.9 millimeters),
Samsung's site shows a far more reasonable 0.66, which works out to about 16.8 millimeters. We prefer to believe the latter. [Thanks, Max]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ashton Tibbitt @ Dec 10th 2006 12:30AM
I dont think this is Alltel's first phone with A2DP, I believe Alltel already had a phone with A2DP. I can't remember but I think it was either the KRZR k1m or the RAZR V3m. I'm not sure on this, I've been stuck on a PPC 6700 for a little while now. I'm thinking about getting a new phone for Christmas. I dont really use all the features of my phone that much. All I really do is listen to music, text, and surf the mobile web(and of course, TALK TO PEOPLE!).
Max @ Dec 10th 2006 1:19AM
#1 -- the k1m does not have A2DP either does alltel's v3m, that was just a rumor.
and to engadget -- alltel made a mistake on their website with the thickness. it's not .98" but rather .66", .01" thinner than the k1m. direct from samsung: http://samsung.com/Products/MobilePhones/RegionalCarriers/Alltel/SCH_U520ZNAATL.asp?page=size_contents
Ryan @ Dec 10th 2006 2:20PM
Can anyone gimme a link to a review of the Samsung U520? I can't seem to find one :(. *sigh* I know it just came out on Thursday but SOMEONE has to have already reviewed it! Thanks!
Max @ Dec 10th 2006 5:39PM
#3 -- go to the alltel section of howardforums, people have been posting their feelings.
Ann @ Dec 12th 2006 12:14PM
Alltel did have an A2DP phone before this one it was the Nokia 6255i.. An it work.. Bad phone if u drop your phone cause the case was so cheaply made.. but all in all was a good feature rich phone.. I am now useing the Motorola E815.. But I was wanting to get the new Samsung U520 can anyone tell me if the signal is good, fair, or poor..Along with what they think of the phone? Thanks
Paul_in_NC @ Dec 12th 2006 1:47PM
I actually chose the u520 over the Moto KRZR K1m and have been very pleased
with it so far.
These notes apply to the Alltel version (CDMA) of the Samsung SCH-u520 and
it's particular software interface.
Some pros:
* Very small, bot not so small you loose it.
* Great battery life, though I will probably be purchasing the extended
battery soon.
* Less expensive then the KRZR by ~$149 (after Alltel rebates). My u520 was
only $99 after the rebate, the KRZR would have been $249 after rebates
* Great reception..nearly as good at my old-skool 5100 series Nokia with its
whip antenna
* The volume on the handset can be as soft or LOUD as you need it to be
* The 1.3MP camera (1280x960 max resolution) produces very clean images for
this resolution.
* The
* Tons of settings for the camera and video camera...nearly like having a
real digi-cam in your hand.
* GPS! It really works! It found me and presented a 3D-ish road map of
precisely where I was when I enabled it.
* EVDO... need I say more?
* The display screen is very well made and is easy on the eyes. Great
graphics...like looking at an LCD television.
* The slot for the microSD card is externally located...easy to swap out
cards.
* The u520 comes with 64MB internal memory that can be used to store pics,
video, messages and music.
* The controls are on the outside of the phone just under the mini display.
And unlike the KRZR, they are actual buttons, not a touch sensitive buttons
that are under the shell.
* You can answer the phone without opening it up by using the "hands free"
button located on the side of the phone.
* You can control how long the main screen and keypad stay lit up: 7
seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, always (literally) on and always
(literally) off.
Some cons
* There doesn't seem to be a way to give a given contact more than two email
addresses.
* There doesn't seem to be a way to record misc. information (like street
addresses, birthdays, etc) in the form of simple text notes for each
contact.
* The four way circular button that surrounds the OK button is small for my
fingers...maybe I just need to practice more :-)
* When texting, the button that allows you to insert "spaces" between words
has been moved from being associated with the 0 (bottom row, center column
on the keypad) to being associated with the # symbol (bottom row, right
column). I am too accustomed to it being center-bottom, and I keep
accidentally inserting "0" instead of spaces between words. Doh!
* So far as I have been able to find out, the size limit for micro SD cards
is 1GB.
Other notes:
* The u520s camera has a self timer, though I don't know how you would use
it since there is no way to set this phone up on a tripod or set it up in
some way to steady it.
I hope this helps you out!
Ryan @ Dec 12th 2006 6:10PM
Thanks for the recommendation! I will certainly check it out. ^-^
Ann @ Dec 12th 2006 11:39PM
Thanks for all the info I will be sure an get this phone an take the trial run on it... It sounds like a very likeable phone.. I had one other question... Does the bluetooth headset let the music play through it?? This will make my final decision.. Thanks
Ann @ Dec 16th 2006 1:42AM
I got this phone an I kept it for about 20 mins.. I hated it.. It didn't work with my bluetooth headset for the music for one an for two U couldn't transfer the mp3 files that I made as ringtones from the SD card.. If ya want a cute phone with no good opptions this is the phone for u but if u want a feature rich phone this isn't the one.. The only thing I found good about this phone was the color an the signal.. other then that it had nothing going for it.. I went to the Motorola K1m I love this phone.. now everything it says it does it does.. Thanks
Chris @ Jan 5th 2007 12:01AM
Got the phone about 5 days ago and......Battery life is good, signal seems to be descent although voice does cut in an out sometimes even with full signal, earpiece and speaker sound are sufficient but not the best sounding, expandable memory is nice but you cannot use mp3s for ringers which is a little disappointing, bluetooth works well with it, havent tried a stereo BT for mp3s the mono BT headsets arent supposed to work, theres alot of convenient features like conversions and tip calculator, you can use videos for wallpapers which is kinda cool. My only 2 complaints are about the mp3 ringtones and sound cutting out during phone calls almost like static. Its not excessive but when you miss a couple word every mow amd then its annoying.
ryan @ Jan 5th 2007 8:21PM
I Just purchased this phone today, and i was having trouble trying to find out how to put my songs from my lapton onto the phone (if possible), I'm running out of ideas on how to be able to have songs (MP3s) on my phone. plz help
thnx
Matt @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:53PM
so are you saying that u cannot upload any songs with out the memory card. the alltel person said there was another way but it cost money. how do u do it in the other way?
Emma @ Jan 22nd 2007 7:30PM
Anyone having trouble downloading songs to the phone? i am i recently bought the memory card (SD) and i bought a card reader so i could transfer music onto my phone. I downloaded the songs on the card (Music was loaded sucessfully) and i put the card in my phone yet it wont load the music file i put on there.... it tells me the card does not have any mp3 files on the card when in fact i know it does cuz my computer loaded them on the computer. Does anyone know why? if so please let me know ive looked everywhere to come up with an answer and i havent found one! I dont know if the memory card is defected or what...
Thanks Emma
captain_frys @ Jun 22nd 2007 1:06AM
What kind of files are they? Make sure they are MP3 files and not encrypted or encoded Mpeg4 files or anything like that. All the songs I have downloaded from iTunes wont work because they are encoded.
Miggins @ Jun 25th 2007 8:53PM
I Had the same problem, whole albums or files containing multiple songs cannot be loaded. Each file/song has to be loaded seperate
Hansbo @ Jan 23rd 2007 6:04PM
Emma,
You have to put the card in your phone before you copy files to it and select SETTINGS : MEMORY INFO : CARD MEMORY : FORMAT CARD and format the card. This will create 3 directories on the card... MY_IMAGES,MY_MUSIC and MY_VIDEOS. Then put the card in your PC and copy your mp3s to the MY_MUSIC directory.
sarah @ Jan 24th 2007 12:49AM
I have a couple questions about the Samsung u520. First, how do you teach the phone a new word when texting? And also, I can't figure out how to add music to my phone from my computer. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Renee @ Jan 28th 2007 11:41PM
This is in correlation with Emma and Hansbo's reply. I formated the card as Hansbo said. I then went to my pc to copy my files on there and it states "Cannot create .... The disk is write-protected. Remove the write protection or use another disk." Please help...I would like to listen to music!!
Thanks!!
Renee
ryan collins @ Jan 29th 2007 2:49PM
If anyone knows how to download the A2DP profile software to the alltel Moto KRZR K1M, please let me know air_collins@hotmail.com THanks. ryan
Liana @ Jan 30th 2007 2:42PM
I just got my u520 earlier this week and i love it, but i have a few questions. First, I have not bought the memory card yet, and before I do, will I be able to upload my itunes songs on it, or is it not itunes-compatible? Second, when I listen to music, how long will it take for the battery to run down?
Paul_in_NC @ Jan 31st 2007 6:28PM
I am really hoping that someone here can help me with this one: I purchased my u520 with the intent of using it for it's DAP features. After several reassurances from two Alltel level 2 tech support types telling me that the u520 did in fact support 2GB microSD cards, I went ahead and purchased an A-DATA brand card from Newegg (since the 2GB cards that are for sale in the Alltel stores are a bit pricey). A week later the card arrived and when I popped the card into the phone and attempted to format it, the card only formatted 1GB (of the 2GB space). "Hmmmm" I though. so I took the card out of the phone and put it into my PC's card reader. All windows could tell me is that the card was formatted in RAW format. So I decided to format the card from within Windows and see what happened. So Windows formats the card out to 2GB, not the 1GB that the u520 did. "Hmmmm" I says. So I pop the card back into the u520 and reformat the card using the phone. Well guess what happens? Yep, the card formats only to 1GB. "OK" I says, "Let's call Alltel and see what they have to say". So I call Alltel tech support and get another level 2 tech support type and I explian to her what has been going on. After some Q&A back and forth she tells me: 1) Yes, the u520 does support 2GB microSD cards, 2) Since I did not purchase the card from an Alltel store, that they cannot support it or really even help me with it and 3) Had I purchased an "officially supported card" from an Alltel store and had this same problem with it that I could have taken it back to said Alltel store and they would have gottem me another card, tried to make it work , or given me a refund for the card.
Does anyone in the forums have any ideas as to where I should go with this? Has anyone in the forums had any problems like this with cards not wanting to format to their proper size? Is the u520 so finicky that it has to have a certain grade of memory card?
Any advice is welcome and looked forward to!
Thank you,
Paul_in_NC
loosemonkey @ Jan 31st 2007 10:12PM
I can't get my phone to send images or connect to the web. Is this something i have to go to alltel for to have fixed or is there a way to access it on my phone. It's the SAMSUNG/U520. Any feedback would be great. thanks.
Paul_in_NC @ Feb 1st 2007 7:53AM
loosemonkey, You should really try calling 1-800-ALLTEL1 first in getting help with that one. The tech support they have there really seem to know what they are doing and have helped me out numerous times with internet access and sending pictures. Also, be sure when you call Alltel that you don't call from your own cell phone, but instead from a land line. It makes things a lot easier when you are working with your phone (with tech support on the other line).
hagle4 @ Feb 1st 2007 9:42PM
I'm new @ the whole bluetooth thing. My husband & i both have the same Samsung U520 phone & we each have each other on our devices. The problem is I was going to send him a ringtone (which i was told i could do). The problem is however, when i select his phone, it tells me he has no supportive devices. What does this mean & why won't it work!?? Also, can anyone tell me where the best place to download new ringtones are. I got a good one from the SonyBox but it was a little more expensive than i expected. thanks for your help.
Herman @ Feb 4th 2007 12:11AM
HELP! I tried to download my MP3's onto a 1GB micro SD and it didn't work. When I found this site I went back and formatted the card and tried again. I'm still getting a message that says "No MP3s found on My_Music On Card". The PC says the songs are there, they're synchronized, and they are in MP3 format. Now what?
Tracie @ Feb 9th 2007 8:25AM
Can anyone help? I just got the new U520 and I'm trying to download music onto it. I formatted the card and have some songs dowloaded to it, but some songs I have purchased from Walmart.com will not copy onto the card. My computer shows they copy successfully, but when I insert the card back into the phone, they don't show up on the list. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance! Have a good one!
Steve @ Feb 9th 2007 8:39AM
Any chance of Samsung upgrading the phones software so you can copy the mp3 to the phone for ringtones?
Not sure how often a company upgrades phone software.
Thanks...Steve
sting32 @ Feb 10th 2007 3:17PM
Ryan,
As I have in comments abov you and elsewhere it looks like you have to load the mp3's onto the flash memory (Micro s-dcard, sold seperately) using a reader (also seperate purchase). Looks like it wont play MP3's as ringtones, dummys at samsung disabled that. Unsure as to mp3's will play via bluetooth either.
Loretta @ Feb 10th 2007 5:48PM
I have purchased the Samsung U520. I read a comment that you can answer the phone without opening phone. What key on the outside of phone do you use?
I put pictures on San Disk micro SD/Transflash card 2GB) from my PC. I cannot get the pictures under My Images from the Card Memory. How do I do this?
All help is appreciated. Thanks.
Nick B @ Feb 17th 2007 12:49AM
Wow...im 16 and I can solve just about every problem in here. Alltel disabled bluetooth connections from phone to phone so people wont send ringtones. That is why it says (unsupported service). The guy at alltel said only the RAZR can bluetooth with other phones but they both have to be RAZRS. Go and buy a sandisk mircoSD transflash card less than 1 gb and buy the sandisk card reader. I got a 256mb card and I got like 70 songs that all play with no problem. The phone obviously does not support 2gb cards.
IF YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO PUT MUSIC ON UR PHONE....READ THIS............................
DOWNLOAD A SONG YOU WANT OR PICK ONE YOU ALREADY GOT.....THEN YOU SHOULD PLUG UP YOUR USB AND PUT THE CARD IN IT.......THEN GO TO MY COMPUTER AND copy THE MP3'S YOU WANT TO THE CARD. (COPY THE FILES TO My Music)........this should solve half of ur problems......We all made the mistake of buying the phone early when it had all it glitches...
"get money"
_NiCk_"B"_
annette @ Feb 7th 2008 7:25PM
Went by alltel and they told me that I had to put the songs from the computer into a mp3 format how do I do this
Chris Westerman @ Feb 21st 2007 1:54PM
Anyway at all, via bluetooth or web or text message to get an MP3 that you have made onto the Alltel u520 and use it as a ringtone???
Step @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:56PM
Um i got one question so if you so have a memory card u can't set the music files as ringtones? If not where can i find cheaper ringtones for this phone?
Glenn Sprague @ Feb 23rd 2007 6:38PM
I just got a MYBat USB Data Cable for my sch-u520 and was hoping to transfer pictures, music, and videos to my laptop with it. But all it does is charge my phone! I downloaded the Samsung PC Studio but it does not recognize my phone when installing. What gives??? I want to be able to transfer stuff without having to take out my memory card every time.
BRAN @ Feb 25th 2007 4:32PM
I'm having the same problem as many other...i'm trying to download music to my phone but have been unable to. I formated the card as recommended but when I try to download my music it says the disk is write protected...it says remove the write protection or get another disc! How do I remove the write protection???
Please Help
Thanks
Nick B @ Feb 26th 2007 8:45PM
I forgot....you can get someone from another network (preferably cingular) who has mp3 ringtones and ask them to text message the song you want. It will be saved in My Sounds, and you can set it as a ringtone.
fleeps @ Feb 27th 2007 10:40AM
Well to add to the confusion. First of all this phone DOES support 2GB microSD cards. I bought a brand called "TOPRAM" off ebay for like nothing $25 maybe $30 popped it in the phone out of the package tried to read it and it said no my music directory: creating one. Then I tried to access it again it said no songs. So I popped it out, and popped it into the free USB card reader that came with it. Grabbed 3 random songs and put them in the my music folder it created. And everything worked perfectly. One of the songs the volume was low but it was probably a poor copy. The only way you can be guaranteed perfect mp3 compatibility for this phone , is to create your own mp3s at a perfect setting for this phone whatever that may be I have no idea..... also we need to work together and start complaining to alltel daily that we cant share mp3s or files with other phones via blue tooth, that we cant save new words in T9 text messaging(if you dont use this learn it please you will never look back), and that you cant access mp3s for ringtones. I just pray every day that my update software button will work. Anyone out there know of a good normal forum with extended discussion on this phone?
Nick B @ Feb 28th 2007 5:58PM
I know a way if you really want your own mp3's on your phone....I'll tell you if your that desperate
Elena @ Feb 28th 2007 11:17PM
I like the phone, but the inability to create my own ringtones really bugs me! I just took it for granted I'd be able to do at least what I did with my old motorola! I wrote an email to alltel about it, as you suggested. Is there anyway aroud this that you guys know?
Elena
tom @ Mar 1st 2007 12:33AM
hey nick how can i add my mp3 on my phone
Martin @ Mar 1st 2007 6:55PM
I have a 2.0 GB microSD with music on it,but my phone is saying "no MP3 Files found in My_Music On Card", so then i removed all the music and then put it back in my phone tried to format it on my phone, but it comes up saying "Format Failed"; does the phone even support 2 GB?
Martin @ Mar 1st 2007 11:33PM
Do i need a card reader for my 2GB? PLZ HELP!(adding to comment #38 [i cut myself off])
Dennis E. Severson @ Mar 3rd 2007 10:37AM
This question may have been answered earlier, but I would like to know if there is a way I can take my photos off of my phone and put them in my PC. Is there someway to use the memory card to do this. I will admit I am not real literate on this stuff, but I got the phone hoping to be able to put the photos on my computer.
DES
daless14 @ Jul 16th 2007 6:59AM
Dennis, about putting your pictures from your phone onto your computer. First of all you need a micro sd card (according to the comments above you probably shouldnt get one over 1gb in size. mine is a kingston 1 gb that i got off ebay for $13 bucks and it works wonderfully). when you have the micro sd card in your phone, [1] go to "My Images" to view all your photos. [2] go to the image that you want to put on your computer. [3] select "options" by clicking the top right button on your phone. [4] then select "Move". [5] when asked whether or not you want to move the file to your card, select "Yes". After this just pop out your card and insert it into a card reader and put the card reader into your computers usb port or SD card reader if it has one. when your computer recognizes it, go to "My Computer" and there should be a "Removable Disk" drive that shows up. double click that and double click on "My Images" and there you have it!
Note: once you have moved the image onto your Micro SD card, it is no longer on your phone and will have to be moved back onto your phone from the card (same process) in order to have it on your phone once again.
Hope this helps!
daless14
Dennis E. Severson @ Mar 3rd 2007 10:45AM
Alltel offers Celltop on this phone. Does it cost extra to use? Or any of it's features?
DES
Dennis E. Severson @ Mar 5th 2007 1:58PM
Alltel offers Celltop on this phone. Does it cost extra to use? Or any of it's features?
DES
Nick B @ Mar 6th 2007 5:13PM
MP3's as RINGTONES
CAUTION: I take no responsibility if this doesn't work as well for you as it did for me!!
Having said that, it worked brilliantly for me
First you should record a sound in "my sounds", just to confirm the directory is correct.
Obviously you need a cable. I used a susteen one (samsung cable 3, though it's not listed as being compatible with the u520, that's just because their software doesn't support it yet) and drivers for it (mine came with the susteen kit I bought a while back).
You need bitpim. Set it for 'other phone', set your com port to whatever your driver created and turn on the file system
In the file system you'll see a "brew" folder, then "mod" folder, then "18067" folder
In that 18067 folder, there should be whatever file you recorded earlier, plus an "Msinfo.db" file.
Copy your MP3 ringtone into this folder *NOTE* - My mp3's were renamed as .mid files a while back when I had an audiovox cdm8910 that required this; I don't know if you NEED to rename them or not, but mine already were. I don't think you do, though.
Once the file is copied, reboot the phone. This MUST be done before the next step, because the phone checks for new files and creates entries in the Msinfo.db file then.
Now, save the Msinfo.db file and open it with *WORDPAD* - that's important. Notepad won't read CR's as end of line (it expects CR/LF, so all you'll see is a funky box) - and other programs may add their own characters.
You'll see each of your files listed as such:
/ff/brew/mod/file|0|5
/ff/brew/mod/file.mp3|0|0
The last character is the key: the '5' somehow tells the phone that it is valid as a 'my sounds' file, where the '0' does not. So, change it. Change *ONLY* that character, and only change it to a '5'; I don't know what changing other characters will do...
anyway, overwrite that file on the phone with the edited version, then the file should appear in "My Sounds", where you can set it as a ringtone
Brad @ Aug 6th 2007 9:41PM
This method also works on the new Alltel Hue (Samsung SCH-R500), for the most part. I was able to link with the phone over Bluetooth using Bitpim to transfer the files, no data cable needed. Oh, and that number you change in the msinfo.db file appears to be 7 on this phone, not 5.
At first I loaded a full-length HQ mp3 (almost 7MB) and left it with the mp3 extension. When I tried to play it, the phone instantly powered off without a proper shutdown. Next I tried a shorter clip (about 1:30) at 128kbps, which came to about 1.5MB, and I renamed it to .mid, just for kicks. The phone plays it quite nicely. Now I just wish it would let me use it as an alarm tone as well as a ring tone.
Nelson @ Oct 28th 2007 7:00PM
I have the samsung R500 and can't get bitpim to recognize my phone. is there something i'm doing wrong or do i need a special cable? I currently have the basic data cable that alltel sells and a 1GB memory card. I've also downloaded samsung pc studio without any luck as well, still saying that my phone was not detected. PLEASE HELP.
Kari @ Jan 5th 2008 1:46PM
I have the samsung U520 phone and i am trying to get ringtones on my phone. I am following you directions and i am stuck.
What do you mean by "the file system" I cant find the file system, or how to turn it on. Can you help me please!