Controls

The SGH-E715 has interconnected keys, which might be inconvenient when you try to dial by feeling. Keys on the same row become difficult to differentiate since they are all joined. Other than that, the keypad is fine.

The SGH-E715 is also equipped with a 4 direction keypad. Navigation through the menu options is fairly simple and straightforward. Softkeys are also present on the side of the SGH-E715 for adjusting earpiece volume, scrolling through phonebook entries, and additional navigation and shortcuts.

Battery and Charger

A lithium ion 900mAh battery is used with the SGH-E715. Samsung claims the battery will work for 4 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby, however those numbers are maximum times. Realistically the times are much lower.

Minimum Rated Standby Time: 220 hours
Minimum Rated Talk Time: 200 minutes

When reading our reviews, you should view the test results of mobile-phone battery talk time and standby time as relative information only. Many variables, including carrier signal strength at your location, signal consistency (including incoming and outgoing calls), display and ringer settings, and battery charging methods and history, will affect performance.

When handset manufacturers and mobile phone carriers list talk-time and standby-time ratings, they usually include disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Some quote expected battery life ranges, and in this case you're probably safe to assume you'll experience at least the minimum rated range.

Note that manufacturers of dual-mode digital and analog handsets publish battery-life rates for both digital and analog modes, as analog mode consumes much more power than digital mode.

Connections

The SGH-E715 comes with an infrared port. Use Samsung's EasyGPRS software to transfer graphics and ring tones to and from the PC and the phone. Also send and save pictures taken from the camera onto the PC. There are limited synchronization capabilities too. Import or export to Outlook and CSV. Although it isn't streamlined yet, it saves time from retyping a lot of information.

Bluetooth is noticeably absent. Most people are either one of two extremes on their opinions on Bluetooth. They either must have it or don't care about it. Without it, Bluetooth headsets, adapters, and accessories cannot be added. Additionally, Apple's iSync requires Bluetooth as well.

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