Category: Cell Phone Talk
Hi, all. I am curious if anyone here owns the Samsung Haven phone? If so, what do you think of it, and what have been your experiences with it? I have already heard the podcast that tours it, and have been to my local Verizon store and seen the phone itself. From all I know, I think I want to get it when my upgrade becomes available here in two months. However, I'd still be interested to hear from people who actually own the thing and use it on a daily basis. Thanks.
I bought one, not for myself, but for my mom whose sighted. SHe is not very technical and absolutely loves this phone. I used it for a few days before I gave it to her, and truthfully it's probably one of the most complete devices as a non-smart phone that has ever been available. There is another phone that VZW offers and I'm digging through my email now to see if I can find the name of it for you. GOt it! It's called the gusto! I've not tried it, but from everyone I've spoken to, it does everything that the haven does but with a different form factor.
I was able to set appointments, send text dig through all the menus ETC.
The Gusto? Who makes that one? I mean, I get that VZW is the carrier, but do you know what company makes it?
Yes, it is by samsung as well model is 360, while the haven is 320. If you want to get one without a new contract, you can buy them on ebay for $29 or so for a gusto and $40 for a haven. I just purchased a gusto this morning just to have for a line that I recently converted from a 3g line to a regular phone line. It seemed like a simple way to have an accessible phone for that line which will likely not hardly get used for a cheap price! From what I can read the gusto is similar to the haven, but includes a camera.
*Smile,* I'm glad I found this topic. I've been curious about the Haven, and now the gusto.
When I read about the haven, it sounded like it reads out the text msgs letter by letter, not word by word like normal. Is that accurate?
Also is the phone sluggish at all? I've used the lg phones, like the 4500 and 8300, and env2, none of those felt sluggish.
Thanks, for all the info. Occasionally, I have this desire to get rid of all the fanciness off my vzw plan. *smile*
All the info I have comes from the Podcast I listened to, that tours the Haven. In that, it read the text message all as one whole thing, not letter by letter. I know when you reply, you can go through letter by letter, though.
The phone did not seem sluggish on the Podcast when they were displaying its features, but of course podcasts can be edited to cut out pauses and other unwanted silences, so I don't know how accurate that is. When I saw the Haven at my local Verizon store, it did not seem sluggish, either, but of course there are only so many features you can play with on a display model.
Hope that helps a bit, and if anyone else has info, please write in.
Been using the gusto a bit on the line that I purchased it for, and have noticed no sluggishness at all. It reads messages as text as one would imagine. I turned on the speech last night on my wife's ENV2 and it doesn't even compare.
Glad I found this board. I'm looking into getting the Haven too, as we just don't have the money for a smart phone right now. I think I've heard the same podcast as SisterDawn, and I'm pretty much sold. Would the haven be cheaper if I bought it through EBay? Would anyone know of a podcast that tours the Gusto? If it's cheaper, and just as accessible, I'd definitely be willing to change my mind.
never heard of the Gusto until this board, and I don't know of a podcast about it yet. If I hear about one, I'll post here. Also never bought phones off of Ebay before, only through Verizon itself. I have my upgrade coming soon, so the Haven will only cost me 10 bucks. Yay!
to post 8, you can buy a haven off ebay in perfect condition for around $30. Advantage to this method as opposed to using the verizon discount, if you wish to upgrade to a newer phone a year from now, you're not under a contract that doesn't allow you to upgrade at a discounted price, moreover you're not under any type of contract so if for some unknown reason you want to jump ship to another carrier there is no ETF.
I refuse to sign a contract with a carrier unless I absolutely have too.
i am looking for the podcasts if any of you guys have it please put it here
Very true, Big Dog. However, I don't mind contracting with Verizon. I've had nothing but good experiences with them ever since 2003, so I have no problem using my upgrade and signing on for another two years. But, I can see why a lot of people are not cool with contracting with a provider, and for them, your suggestion is exactly the thing.
Hmmm, will have to figure out where to find that Podcast again. I listened to it, then deleted it. I'll go looking for it again.
Hmmm, if I contracted with Verizon, is that all it would cost me? $10? The haven, I mean.
I'm not sure how much it would be with a brand new contract. I've been with Verizon since 2003, and you get an upgrade every two years. That's what I'd be using here. You'd have to ask them about how much it would cost with a new contract.
I've seen it for free recently on the VZW site for new 2 year contracts.
i'd suggest against this phone for one reason, i hear it's battery life is really bad. Someone i know has had to charge theirs like 3 times in one day compared to other phones that hold charge for at least a day or more.
Your friend must have the phone to there ear constently for the battery to be charged that much, or the battery is bad in the first place.
I have a Haven and have no problems what so ever.
I've heard the battery has a lousy life because the reception isn't that good. Therefore the battery is constnatly working to keep the phone getting signal, and it drains faster.
that can be a major killer of battery, i'm having that very issue with my touchPro 2 right now, can lose a fully charged battery in under 4 hours due to trying to keep cell connections
for what its worth:
Overall, I like the Haven. Its definitely accessible to a blind user. I mean, not just partially accessible, but fully accessible. You can get to every menu and change every function. You can send texts, receive texts, and schedule dates in the calendar.
Drawbacks: the battery life sucks! it is also kind of sluggish, but overally, a very good phone right out of the box.
Big Dog, how are you finding the battery life and reception of the Gusto?
Also, what do you mean the speech doesn't compare to the env2? The Gusto is better in some way? *smile*
I'll be very interested in this, because I used the env2 for a year.
Right now I use the enV3, and from what I know, the speech on that and the enV2 is identical. I'd say the Haven has worse speech then the enV phones. I don't think it's nearly as clear. the trade-off, of course, is that everything on the Haven is accessible.
Agree with your last post, Alicia. the Haven's battery sucks!
I dont have a problem. My battery lasts pretty long. of course i am not constantly on my phone and live in a fifteen story building
I like it
the haven can be sluggish but it beats no accessibility
I got my phone for forty bucks with a two year contract.
the speech could be better
i wish i could read through texts i receive word by word letter by letter even but hey
its fully accessible it does what i need so i am happy
This is one of the phones discussed in the cell phone training online class mentioned in my post on online cell phone training.
How do you turn on the speech in the haven? my friend has one but no one turned on the speech for him, I couldn't find the option for him, I didn't have much time to look through the menu at the time.
Hey was wonderin 'bout this phone, so did a little research.
Thinkin this is the podcast you want.
http://www.serotalk.com/2010/09/14/serotalk-podcast-50-39-fully-accessible-cell-phone-omoby-photo-identification-for-the-iphone-and-accessible-online-uno/
Mike barber starts the review about 27:29 into the file.
John
Ahhh, different podcast from the one I have, but this sounds interesting. Will have to take a look. thanks!
eh. would like to hear your podcast. maybe you can find it and link it here?
by the way, i only heard of this phone by readin this post on the boards.
John
I haven't listened yet, but I imagine the podcast you linked to is far more superior the the one I have. The people who do the podcast I have are...not the greatest. Still, I'll find the link to the one I've heard, or if not that, upload it for you, and put the link here.
If you can't find it, I'll upload it to dropbox. THe original link that I received was a Sendspace one, and it is not active anymore.
Tim! I'm guessing you go into the settings, but don't quote me on that. I was able to set the text message settings. To make it easy for you, hit the left soft key, and then 6 to go to settings.
I have the samsong haven phone. I love it. I can't deal with the tuch screen either- like most of us who have the haven, tried out an IPhone on 3 different occations, and it was a nightmare for me! Wow that's interesting that you can read through texts letter by letter before sending them. Cause the problem I have, that I was able to do with my Nokia 86 with talks- when that still worked, was preview my texts, and now I have to have a sighted person make sure the text is correct. I'll have to check out that podcast link, and see if I can find an answer to my question. Hmmm, the gusto? Never heard of that one. Is there a differents between that and the haven? I don't have a problem with the battery either. (I am not constently on the phone either so that could be part of it) but it keeps telling me that I have entered a service area and leaving a service area- all the time! I tried to turn that off, but if I turn off read out, it'll turn everything off- IE I won't be able to access texts or anything like that. But otherwise, I love the phone!! I love the 911 feature and the ICE contacts in case of emergency contacts. That definitely is a +. Overall, it's a pretty good phone! (although I do sometimes think the speech can be improoved, but I think that's cause I'm still used to my phone with talks on it lol!) but all in all awesome phone, and I'd definitely recommend it!
Amber
Okay, to turn on the speech, press 6, 1, 5, and 6. Then arrow down and there ya go.
I love this phone so far! Although I might have gotten the Gusto had I known there was a phone exactly like the Haven but with a camera. I was a new contract and the phone was $39.99. My friend said hers was far more expensive, though.
The battery life isn't so great, only because speech programs take so many resources. I asked for the extended battery, but I think the lady just sent me a duplicant of the original. Going to have to call someone about this Monday morning. But there are extended batteries for sure.
A friend of mine has the Haven and hates it. Apparently it will read texts from people who have different carriers, but not texts sent by other Verizon customers. He, too, has the problem of it constantly saying that he is going in and out of service areas. He also says that the phone is very sluggish and that the voice always sounds irritated.
That the voice sounds irritated is a humorous but fairly accurate observation. Sluggishness, I've noticed, is also a bit of an issue, but not too much of one. I guess we're all just used to lightning-fast technology. As far as the errors he's getting with other Verizon users, I find that strange. I've been texting back and forth with three others all day and never had a problem. Does your friend have the latest software upgrade for the device? That might be something to look into. I just got my phone, so I know mine's the latest version.
Okay, stupid question, what do you do after you arrow down? To turn on the speech I mean, a friend of mine has one and I don't know if anyone has turned on the speech for him yet.
I think that's all you do. It should start talking automatically. If not, press the OK button. I will check the podcast I had and post again a little later.
Yup, 6, 1, 5, 6, down, OK. Sorry it took me so long! Stupid school lol.
Oh, thanks so much, I will pass that along to my friend.
Hmmm, I didn't realize you could do a software upgrade to that type of phone. I think my friend has had his Haven since early spring. Has there been a software upgrade since then?
There has; I remember the guy on the podcast I have saying that. I don't know how to get it upgraded, though. Your friend might call her/his carrier and ask about it.
Hey guys, I feel really dumb. But how might I mute my phone while, say, on a conference call? I've pressed buttons but can't figure it out. On my old Motorola Quantico, it toggled with just the OK button.
I think to update the software on your phone, you use *228 and then press one instead of 2, which updates your roaming capabilities.
On another note, which is why I broke this in to 2 posts, apparently Samsung is coming out with a new phone to somewhat replace the Haven in tMay called the gusto 2. Hopefully, it'll be less sluggish and have better reception than the Haven.
Oh shit! So the upgrade thing doesn't cost, does it? This is amazing advice, thank you! And do you know if the Gusto 2 will be a valid upgrade fr the Haven? I'm not getting it till I know someone else has used it...had two friends with the Haven and that was why I made the switch.
Hey KC, I did the *228 thing, it's actually option 2. What does updating roaming capabilities do anyways?