Helio Fin (Samsung SPH-a513) Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls
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Alfredo Padilla Published on August 29, 2007 Comment on this |
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Dialing Speed (5.49)
To test how easy it is to dial a number on the Helio Fin we timed how long it took to dial each one of five different test numbers. We started with the phone closed and unlocked and took the average time for our score. The Fin took an average of 3.64 seconds to dial a number in our test. This is slower than we would have liked. As you can see from the chart below, it's slower than most of the comparison phones. We found dialing on the Fin was made difficult by the fact that there are no dividers between any of the keys or buttons on the phone. This mean we needed to be looking at the keypad to make sure we were dialing correctly, and if our finger slipped a little there was nothing to keep us from mistakenly hitting another key.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Helio Fin | 3.64 | 5.49 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 3.76 | 5.32 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2.96 | 6.76 |
| Nokia N75 | 3.34 | 5.99 |
| Nokia N73 | 3.26 | 6.13 |
| Sprint Upstage | 3.38 | 5.92 |
Talk and End Buttons (3.0)
The talk and end buttons on the Fin are located above the keypad and below the directional pad, flanking the back key. The buttons are large, however we found these keys suffer from the same problem as every other key on the Fin. There is nothing that differentiates the keys from the surrounding ones. This can lead to a lot of errors, especially if you try to use the keys without looking. We also found there was very little tactile feedback or play when the buttons were pressed. We prefer the send and end keys on phones like the LG Chocolate or Upstage, which provide much better differentiation from surrounding keys.
Call Management (5.0)
The call management features on the Helio Fin are a little lacking. Hitting the call key from the home screen will take show your entire history, which includes text messages and calls. Using the left and right buttons allow you to switch between views, including missed calls, ignored calls, and messages. It's a little strange that there's no option to only view missed, incoming, or outgoing calls, as this is fairly standard on phones. You can call a number from the list by hitting the send key when it is highlighted, you can also delete individual records or all of them. Hitting the center select button when an item is highlighted will show you the time, date, and duration of the call. You can also access a call history by going into the contact application and selecting call log from the menu. Here you can see incoming, outgoing, and missed calls, as well as a call timer. Unfortunately there is no data tracker available, although as Helio only offers unlimited data plans this probably isn't necessary. We found the presence of multiple call history locations to be a little annoying.
During a call the top of the screen displays the time the call was placed and ongoing call duration. The right soft key allows you to mute the call, while the left soft key opens a menu. This menu allows you to make your microphone louder and turn the speaker phone on, amongst other options. Although the ability to turn up your microphone is a nice feature we haven't seen on other phones, there's nothing else particularly special here.
Startup to Call (3.55)
To test how quickly it takes the phone to start up and make a call we time this process for the same five test numbers we used pin earlier tests. The Fin took an average of 28.18 seconds to start up and make a call. This is not a great time, slower than the Katana DLX and Chocolate VX8550. It is, however, faster than the N73 and N75, both of which are smart phones and thus generally take longer to start up then phones like the Fin.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Helio Fin | 28.18 | 3.55 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 24.26 | 4.12 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 22.37 | 4.47 |
| Nokia N75 | 40.56 | 2.47 |
| Nokia N73 | 36.7 | 2.72 |
| Sprint Upstage | 28.9 | 3.46 |
Ring Volume (8.56)
To test ring volume we set the phone's volume to maximum and measure the loudest ringtone using a sound pressure meter from about four inches away. The Fin's ring volume measures 85.6 decibels, which as you can see from the chart below is about the same as most of our comparison handsets. In practice the Helio's ring volume is plenty loud, and a large selection of built-in ringtones that range from modest to obnoxious ensures you will be able to find a ringtone that fits your needs.
| Cell Phone | Volume (decibels) | Score |
| Helio Fin | 85.6 | 8.56 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 85.7 | 8.57 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 85.4 | 8.54 |
| Nokia N75 | 85.3 | 8.53 |
| Nokia N73 | 85.3 | 8.53 |
| Sprint Upstage | 81.0 | 8.10 |
Ringtone Customizability (0.0)
Unfortunately, the Helio Fin does not allow you to use your own music files as ring tones. Instead, you will have to purchase new ringtones directly from them.
Non Audio Alerts (4.0)
The Helio Fin has a vibrate alert that can be used instead of or in conjunction with a ringtone to alert you of incoming calls. Unfortunately, the vibrate alert on the Fin is not very good; we were barely able to feel it in a pocket and chances are it will go missed in a jacket or bag. You should not depend on the vibrate alert if you're waiting for an important call. The external screen also displays information about incoming calls, but given how small the screen is this can also be easy to miss.
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