Ah, there's nothing better than a good, old fashioned unboxing, right? Thanks to our favorite parcel carrier, we're able to get our grubby paws on Samsung's latest stab at the music player / cellphone combo -- the
Juke -- for Verizon Wireless. It's a compact flip that's a throwback to Motorola's V70 and Kyocera's Koi that features a CDMA 800 / 1900 MHz radio (sorry, EV-DO and OTA music downloads aren't supported), Bluetooth with A2DP, a VGA camera, and 2GB of memory dedicated just to
music. It doesn't sound too shabby for a penny under $100 after contracts, now does it? Anyone willing to stop by their local retail store, sound-off in comments about your experience.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark @ Oct 19th 2007 1:17PM
Looks good, if a little fat.
The only thing I would have changed, aside from the stupid interface, is the headphone jack. Why oh why couldn't they do a standard 3.5mm jack?
Matt @ Oct 19th 2007 1:43PM
That's mostly true... the individual companies do make the phones, but VZW tells them what to make... ie. the Voyager!
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:21PM
It's babysteps, Mark. This is one of the first U.S. phones that does not have Samsung's proprietary adapter for headphones. Rather this has the mini-jack which is at least a little more standard. A lot of the European phones use the standard 3.5mm jacks, so it is only time before the conversion happens over here.
--Travis Hudson, MWW Group on behalf of Samsung
Mark @ Oct 30th 2007 1:40PM
thudson, the A900/A900m had a 2.5mm jack.
PPCMan @ Oct 19th 2007 1:24PM
help me out here. Whats the difference between this phone and the env with a 2gb card? I will tell you what the difference, how about the env (the older phone) has a 2mp camera while this one only has 1.3. So does the i760. Why would verizon take a step backwards?
The D Train @ Oct 19th 2007 1:32PM
Verizon didnt take a step backwards, samsung did. Verizon Wireless doesnt make phones, manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and LG make phones. Verizon just sells them.
Mark @ Oct 19th 2007 4:03PM
The difference between this phone and the EnV? Well, this is made to be cheap and a music player, for one. Its a totally different formfactor, its smaller and its lighter. Where the EnV launched for $250 or something, this is $100 now and will likely be cheaper before the holidays.
Enough differences?
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:21PM
I really don't think any company took a step backwards. The enV is dominantly a messaging phone, as apparent with the QWERTY keyboard. The Juke is a style and music phone. They are in two different categories and not fit for direct comparison.
Omie @ Oct 19th 2007 1:32PM
The phone is HUGE, well thick. I dont like it one bit.
I picked up a few for $100 each and I have now sold for $255 each :). I love pricing mistakes.
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:21PM
It's actually not as thick as the pictures make it seem. Go check out some of the hands-on videos on Youtube and the like.
Also, the sale price IS $100 with a Verizon contract.
Omie @ Oct 19th 2007 1:34PM
BTW, the camera is VGA not 1.3MP
Michael Caputo @ Oct 19th 2007 2:04PM
Omie -
Thanks for the clarification and it has been corrected.
Mike
Cinderbloke @ Oct 19th 2007 2:59PM
I like this little music phone - the concept behind it is good and the size is great.
The music player function is well thought out and is a breeze to use - with the phone closed! Has most of the audio options I look for (scroll wheel, plenty of volume, equalizer and 3D sound settings, composing and editing playlists, 2GB memory built in, simple drag/drop and WMP management from a PC with the included USB cable).
It even functions very well as a phone ;-), good reception and sensitivity. Speakerphone is just OK, it could use a little more volume for in-car use.
Although the display is tiny, it's quite bright with good contrast. It's a little skinny for reading though the contact list, but enough of the name usually shows to guess it correctly - and the scroll wheel works there too. TXTing works fine (and you can read new messages without opening the phone first), but again the skinny display is somewhat limiting.
I agree that the camera is disappointing - it should either have been 2MP like its GSM cousin, or just removed from the phone altogether. I'd rather have had expandable memory (microSD) than that VGA camera.
For the $100 price it should do very well. After the initial buying binge it should also be a very popular as a Christmas stocking stuffer. Kids will love its music capabilities and their parents will also like that its Chaperone capable.
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:22PM
Thanks for the nice mini-review of the Juke Cinderbloke.
Doug @ Oct 19th 2007 2:59PM
I just Received it in my store. not a bad little phone. the down side is no MicroSD So you have to get the music kit from Verizon. The price Dose make up for it $50 After Rebate For new and upgrades contracts plans and $279 out right. Personally I would wait for The LG Voyager.
PPCMan @ Oct 19th 2007 3:03PM
So when is the xv6800 coming to your store? Thats what im waiting for.........maybe.
Doug @ Oct 19th 2007 3:07PM
Oh Yeah, No Word on Price or Release Date yet.
Ezmo @ Oct 19th 2007 3:20PM
No Music Kit needed. comes with data cable download it straight from your computer
der00 @ Oct 19th 2007 5:51PM
Sorry About That I didn't look through the whole box, It's Still not a bad little phone.
D @ Oct 19th 2007 3:20PM
Is that a 2.5mm headset jack?
Ezmo @ Oct 19th 2007 3:28PM
Yes... comes with streo headset in box
sgt_easton @ Oct 19th 2007 5:08PM
I just paid my bill at Verizon, so I thought I'd play with this for a few minutes.
- It's not nearly as long when opened as I thought it was, but it is still a little too long for my preference.
- The buttons are slick and shiny; I don't like how they feel.
- I wish Verizon wouldn't have a zip-tie around the thing for security - it really destroys the feel of the opening and closing of the phone, as I thought this was one of the selling features.
- All in all, it is interesting and different, but I'm still holding my NE2 for the Pearl or Voyager.
Cauterized @ Oct 19th 2007 5:39PM
I got mine in red on Wednesday and its a nice little phone. Its not a feature packed phone and the lack of EvDO is disappointing but its a great phone for the price, size, and target market.
med1320 @ Oct 19th 2007 6:40PM
This is one retarded looking phone. Verizon you are a bunch of bloody wankers!
The D Train @ Oct 19th 2007 7:03PM
Once again to reiterate: "Verizon Wireless doesnt make phones, manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and LG make phones. Verizon just sells them"
Samsung made this phone, Verizon Wireless the carrier, is selling it.
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:21PM
You may think it is retarded, but the target audience (teens and tweens) really enjoys stylish phones like this.
Samsung makes phones to cater to the needs of ALL consumers, not just the tech-heavy crowd that readily reads and comments on Engadget Mobile.
Miguel @ Oct 19th 2007 7:24PM
how about a pic of the keypad?
elgee02 @ Oct 19th 2007 8:41PM
Been playing with those phone all day... it's pretty sweet. Nothing revolutionary, but if all you want is music player + phone and thats it... this thing is hard to beat.
togetsome @ Oct 19th 2007 11:42PM
the target market is tweens (up to 16 yrs old) although many outside that age bracket will look into this phone.
someone mentioned the i760 which has a 1.3 MP camera not 2 MP
if you are looking for a sideloading MP3 player and basic phone with basic features, this is a great device. or if you carry a PDA or BlackBerry for data features and need a basic phone for voice consider this unit. It should be popular with kids for the holidays
Pamela @ Oct 20th 2007 1:26AM
I can't believe you get headphones and a data cable with this, prehaps Verizon is finally going to start including things with their phones from now on like they last did years ago.
Noah Kravitz @ Oct 20th 2007 1:36PM
Video hands-on ... it's a neat little phone if you like the look and form-factor: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JMJ4N1kL5RA
thudson @ Oct 25th 2007 1:21PM
Nice hands-on review Noah. Thanks!
r Walsh @ Oct 22nd 2007 5:53PM
O.K., so I'm a technopeasant. Is it possible to use songs that I've loaded into the juke's music library as my ringtone? Can't find anything in the instructions....
Scott @ Oct 29th 2007 8:01PM
Got one this past weekend.
Likes:
+ Small (and not much thicker than my Palm Zire 72 PDA)
+ Fits well in hand
+ Sound quality seems good (at least to my aging ears).
+ Comes with a nice wired combo headset/stereo headphones for listening to music and for handsfree phone use.
+ The MP3 player functions appear good and easy to use.
+ I like that I don't have to get an SD card just to have good (or any) storage capacity for MP3s. The other MP3 player offerings I saw all needed one of those "Music Essentials" kits for a substantial additional investment. This one gives you everything you need to have a functioning MP3 player right out of the box.
+ I like that it doesn't have that goofy Verizon music download system. I like my MP3s "the old fashion way": plain (without digital rights encumbrances) and straight off a CD rip. I know music download is the way of the future, but I still struggle with spending money for a "virtual product" that then has limitations on where and how I can use it. I like to have something tangible in hand (a CD) when I buy music.
+ I like that I can sync MP3s to the phone over the provided cable using Windows Mediaplayer 10. No drivers, special kits to purchase, or special software to download: everything you need for hardware is in the box and for software is already there on my Windows PC.
+ Was completely free under Verizon's "New Every Two" upgrade offer.
+ No rebates needed to get it free (when ordering it online).
+ I ordered it Thursday through the Verizon website and it was Fedex delivered the next day for free.
Dislikes:
- The camera is useless. Low quality VGA images and you can't directly download them to the computer using the included USB cable. You have to pay 25 cents each just to send crappy VGA quality images to yourself. They should have left the camera off. I knew going in that it wasn't going to be very useful and wasn't buying the device for the camera anyway, but I didn't realize it was going to be utterly useless. I agree with the reviewer who said it would have been better to delete the camera and give us more memory instead.
- Holding the phone in a "normal" fashion that puts your thumb where you can press the camera shutter button also results in your forefinger being over the lens. Ergronomically stupid and another reason why noone should buy this phone if the camera feature is important to them.
- The display, which perfectly adequate for phone and MP3 player functions, is too small to let you determine if the photo you just took is sharp, or blurred because your hand (or the subject) moved when you took the picture. My very first attempt at left me paying 25 cents to email a picture to my computer that was so blurry it was useless. Another reason why noone who cares about a camera feature in a cell phone should buy this phone.
- Bought the soft belt pouch ($20) and the snap broke within three hours. Hopefully I just got a bad one and the replacement will be durable.
- The documentation is plentiful, but poor. I get the impression that this phone has many features that I will never get to benefit from simply because the documentation is either too weak or non-existant.
- When the phone swivels open, it doesn't stay firmly in the open position. I find it tries to swivel shut again a bit as I hold it to my ear to talk. I think they did this so that you could have the "cool factor" of opening the thing with a flick of the finger like a switchblade knife (as seen in the TV ads), but I would have prefered one that opened more deliberately and firmly stayed open, like a lockblade knife.
Bottom line: I like it as a phone and MP3 player and am pleased with it because that's all I bought it for.
Forget about using it as a camera.
vballer @ Oct 30th 2007 12:37AM
i got this fone 2 days ago in a nice shiny teal color, and im just a freshmen so all i really need is a fone/mp3 player, with my upgrade i got this for $100 after rebate, cool for a fone/mp3 and its 2GB just for music! its awesome.the camera is clear but small, but all i care is that its clear, i dont really rely on it for anything and it came with a USB and earfones :] perfect, no usic kits needed, as a teen i like my stuff easy and simple. and the way it opens just keeps me entertained. the size is just great, i acn bring it to skool without it being a drag, i bought the soft pouch for it, i keep it latched and snapped onto my belt works fine, and yea, its shiny :] i like shiny :]
voyager1713 @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:17AM
Anyone know how long the battery last if you use the player?
jukefan @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:53PM
The camera is VGA which is the same as 0.3MP, so sad that Samsung put such an out of date camera quality on such a new phone. What were they thinking???
jukefan @ Nov 3rd 2007 10:20AM
The camera is VGA which is the same as 0.3MP, so sad that Samsung put
such an out of date camera quality on such a new phone. What were they
thinking???
H @ Nov 15th 2007 7:39PM
I am considering buying this phone. I don't really care about the camera and I care more about the mp3 player. What worries me is whether I can sync music with my apple laptop. The verizon VCast works only with a PC and I don't know if one can use the bluetooth to download music. Does anyone know more about this.
Kyle @ Nov 15th 2007 3:43PM
well see the juke doesnt use vcast. i have a pc so im not sure about apple, but all you have to do is put the usb cord into both ports and sync.
although i do have a question and i LOVE my new juke.
question: any one know how to make some of my music that is on my juke as a ringtone? i have been trying to figure that out for days...
i saw another guy had that question too but was unanswered.
please help me out
Erika Baker @ Nov 17th 2007 10:59AM
Can someone help me make my music as a ringtone and, or a ringback tone?
Pete @ Nov 19th 2007 11:55AM
I agree, can someone please tell us if you can make "real" ringtones from the music on the phone memory!? I want to buy this phone, but being able to have "real" ringtones if kinda a big thing in my criteria.
Ray @ Dec 1st 2007 9:53PM
How is the volume and sound quality of the mp3 player? I'm looking to replace my iRiver ifp-799... What do you think?
Ian @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:50PM
Dammit! Where's the FM radio???
bugsy @ Dec 9th 2007 7:23PM
2.5 mm jack requires clumsy adapter sticking out sideways for any decent headphones you've already spent money on. Jack cover is flimsy plastic, would break quickly.
No special software needed to mount or copy files, though it has annoying habit of disconnecting the mount (in Windows XP) after each copy. Even mounts on Linux!
I copied over a directory from an audio book, track files beginning with 01, 02, etc... It got the sort order wrong (something my ancient USB 1.0 iRiver gets right...), so you have to create a playlist. Playlist can only be created on the device, and it's a very tiresome and tedious interface to sort the tracks out, moving one track 'up' or 'down' in the playlist at a time. I checked out the playlist 'tfs' file via the Linux mount (Windows XP wouldn't let me view the file, feh!), and it's a binary format. Not unhackable, for creating a playlist without the device, but why bother with all this trouble?
Returned it after one day. Now I see why Verizon Wireless was offering 'buy one, get one free.' What a lemon! Why can't anyone make a useful and usable device? It's not that hard!