Review: Samsung E390

Samsung E390 Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The E390 takes the extremely popular slider design that Samsung have virtually perfected now, and provides all of the most popular features that users expect from a phone in 2007 - a decent camera, an MP3 player, Bluetooth wireless connectivity and an expandable memory. It's very lightweight and compact (although not ultraslim) and is priced very competitively. If you like Samsung's slide design and are in the market for a mid-range phone, then this is the one.

Review: June 2007.

The E390 is the follow-up to the very successful E370. This mid-priced range of slider phones from Samsung just keeps on getting better. Each Summer, Samsung introduces a new one with the same basic design but enhanced features. The E350 was the first in 2005, followed by the E370 in 2006, and now in summer 2007 comes the E390. The E350 was rated 5 stars by our users and the E370 was rated 4 stars, although we rated it 5 stars ourselves. So you can see that everything bodes well for the E390, and it doesn't disappoint.

The E390 is a classic slide design phone. Samsung have really cornered the market in sliders and have had plenty of time to perfect the design. The E390 glides smoothly up and down, and is a perfect example of why the slide design is so successful: 1) it's great fun; 2) it makes for a very compact phone with a large screen; and 3) it's just so easy to use, since you can unlock the keypad or answer a call just by flicking the phone open. The E390 is perhaps perfectly sized too - it's not ultrathin, but is a good size to hold in your palm, and is not as wide as the ultra-slim range, so it's much easier to hold. It's extremely lightweight too (just 84g) and has a lovely ergonomic keypad.

The display is an improvement over the E370. It's a bright TFT screen that's easy to read. It doesn't offer the 262k colours or high-resolution of the more expensive Samsungs, but for the price it's acceptable. The camera is also definitely not a high-end device, offering 1.3 megapixels with a digital zoom but no autofocus. It takes pictures that are good enough for viewing on the phone or maybe for printing if you've got good lighting conditions and a steady hand, but it won't replace a dedicated digital camera. It can also take reasonable quality video clips.

The E390 has a music player that is quite well featured, with support for playlists. Once again, we have to point out that this is not up to iPod standards, and audio quality through the speakers is a bit tinny, but with a pair of stereo headphones audio quality is good enough. A wireless Bluetooth stereo headset is available as an optional accessory. One of the key improvements over the E370 is that the E390 supports MicroSD™ memory cards, so you can expand the phone's memory to enable storage of 100's of songs if you like. Memory cards are pretty cheap - a 1 Gybte card costs under a tenner.

The E390 offers most other features that a typical user might want, e.g. mp3 ringtones, Java games, a speakerphone, fast EDGE internet access, multimedia messaging, email, flight mode and quadband. Battery life is good too. There's really nothing not to like about the E390.

We recommend the Samsung E390 if you like the slide design and are looking to spend under £150 on a phone. Before buying you should also consider the Sony Ericsson K550i, which is a conventionally-shaped phone but offers more for your money.

Features of the Samsung E390 include:

• 1.3 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
• Video camera
• Display: TFT LCD, 65,536 colours, 176 x 220 pixels
• Music player (MP3, ACC, ACC+ formats)
• 64-voice polyphonic ringtones / MP3 ringtones
• Speakerphone
• Voice memo recorder
• Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email (POP3 / SMTP / IMAP4)
• Java games
• Personal organiser functions
• Phonebook (,000 Phone book entries)
• Caller ID (Text/Photo)
• WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10, EDGE
• Memory: 12 Mbytes plus MicroSD™ memory card slot
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0, USB 1.1
• Flight mode
• Quadband
• Size: 94 x 47 x 16.8 mm
• Weight: 84g
• Talk time: 6 hours
• Battery standby: 395 hours

Samsung E390 Consumer Reviews

Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

Average rating from 45 reviews:

Reviewed by noob from not telling on 27th Jan 2010
i love this phone it is simple but does every thing you want it to do.the memory is good enough without the memory card (unless you like to get loads of music) it looks cool aswell
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Reviewed by Austin 316 from England on 25th Mar 2009
This Phone is The Great the only bad thing is it forgets that there is a memory card in it you have to restart and then you will find your things there again. ha ha ha
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Reviewed by Craig from UK on 11th Oct 2008
Well designed, well made phone other than one problem with the firmware. The memory card can be read and written to, but only for the first 30 seconds of the phone being turned on, however it will know the memory card is there after that thirty seconds, and the only way to put files onto the card is to transfer them using a pc card reader. There is a work around for the MP3 player, but being the lazy bum i am, i cba to type it out Firmware update please samsung???
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Reviewed by brian from yemen on 11th Jul 2008
WHY CAN I NOT TAKE THE BACK OFF MY PHONE!!!!!!! ITS TOO DIFFICULT!
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Reviewed by gwyneth from wales on 5th May 2008
not very impressed with this phone. when I try to set up incoming caller ringtone all it ever gives is the message 'memory full' even though I have a memory card which I had to pay extra for. Keeps displaying message limited service for no good reason as far as I or any of my friends can work out. No help available in the book either. Photos not too good and when I have taken one have to move it to memory card before I can think of taking another. Problems playing games on it. Not impressed.All in all a rubbish purchase. Will never purchase another samsung!!
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Reviewed by ANNOYMOUS from IRELAND on 9th Mar 2008
I THINK THE PHONE IS GOOD, CAMERA OK BATTERY VERY GOOD. LOOKS GORGEOUS. I HAVE HAD IT FOR A YEAR AND NO PROBLEMS. COOL GAMES. BUY IT
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Reviewed by Andrew from Austalia on 11th Feb 2008
This fone is da bomb buy this
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Reviewed by TREVOR from UK on 5th Feb 2008
I like my new phone but the only problem is getting new ring tones for e.mail messages.(Still not found how to down load any new tones for in comming messages) Camera very good great pictures. But there was no cable with the phone to down load them on to computer. BUT OTHER THEN THAT A VERY GOOD PHONE.
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Reviewed by Anon from UK on 28th Jan 2008
I dont really like this phone its not for me the camera quality is quite bad as i have a family member who ones this and its not great she can only fir 3 songs on the phone at a time and thats WITH THE MEMORY card dont buy it
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Reviewed by Ivan from Greece on 18th Jan 2008
I went to the store last week with desire to buy an under 100E phone for basic needs,like sms and calls.I was looking for a second phone (for dirty works:)).It took me like a second to decide taking it.Now it is going to be the main phone i'll use.For it's prise it have very good camera and mp3 player.And the design is something.Put more stars on site.Five is not enough.
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Reviewed by joshua from northern ireland on 12th Jan 2008
i hav had this phone for 4 months and i hav liked the features on it. It is a slim phone that does not stick out off ur pocket. The thing i dont like about it is that the music does not play in the background wen ur doin something else. The camera has been reasonably good but it takes ages for it to zoom in and wen u take a picture u cant view them fullscreen. I hav been happy with this phone and if i was changing it i would get another samsung.
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Reviewed by anna from wolverhampton on 24th Dec 2007
i like this phone
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Reviewed by Soph from Wolves, England on 5th Dec 2007
I've had this phone since around June-ish, & I must say It is absolutly phenominal, really! Bought it and expected something abit rubbish cause It's cheap and that, something I'd get bored of after a few weeks but no, definatly not Must be the first phone i actually haven't got bored of, hahaha. Seriously though, go and buy one, they're mint. Oh and don't buy one from Argos, they'm too expensive, go to an Orange shop and they're getting cheaper + cheaper! x
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Reviewed by joseph miguel from Philippines on 2nd Dec 2007
I had dis phone since sept and so far i am not having any problems with it..As a matter of fact i already dropped it 2 twice but still.. its still workin well..I think this phone is good and tough on its class..Its also sleek and its black color is nice on its class too..My first slide up phone and i rate it good as it is..Features is excellent..actually i bought 2 gig card and tried on it and it worked..U try it urself my friend..im sure u will enjoy it as i am enjoying it now..tThanx samsung..U did a good job on this phone unit..I salute u samsung guys..More power..!!!!
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Reviewed by Dule Zasev from Macedonia on 23rd Nov 2007
cool
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Reviewed by Jill from UK on 14th Nov 2007
Have this for a month now. It's a nice compact phone with good features for the price. One thing i dont like is that the mp3 player does not work in the background or if it does i havent been able to work it out. Also you cannot view pictures fullscreen after you have taken them with the camera. Shame though cos otherwise it would have been perfect.
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Reviewed by Michael from Ireland on 4th Nov 2007
I bought the E390 after deciding that a) I only needed a phone to do the basis: talk and text, no fancy stuff, and b) I didn't want to spend over ¤100. I suppose the two are closely linked, although you can get S/E phones with bundles of features for cheap, I wanted something that with a flip/slide action. I was able to select my spiderman ringtone (sad, i know) in minutes after installing the phone software and bluetoothing it from my laptop. It txts and calls ppl just fine, though as mentioned by others, the keypad is tricky to use one-handed. Other negatives include its use of cheap plastics and awkward sliding mechanism, but for a budget-priced phone you can't really complain.
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Reviewed by jackie jobling from england on 22nd Oct 2007
I absolutely looooooooove my 390. My friends joke about me never being without it. And I am always saying "I love my phone" (sad or what!) but there is nothing about it I dont like.... its wonderful.
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Reviewed by wasim from pakistan on 19th Oct 2007
very ugly phone i dont like it
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Reviewed by silviu from italy on 18th Oct 2007
bad cell. i can't instal the games.
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Reviewed by Alex from Scotland on 1st Oct 2007
Got one on the strength of this review. Had it over the weekend and so far am impressed. Bit awkward to send texts with the 8, 9, 0 and # keys awkward for big thumbs and the method for selecting a recipient is long (there may be a shorter way but I haven't found it yet). So far so good...
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Reviewed by ed from uk on 30th Sep 2007
Got this just a week ago. Have to say i'm very impressed with it so far. Could be cos i wasn't expecting much for £70 but the camera takes clear pictures, the music player is easy to use, it has bluetooth and card slot and most of all, calls are very clear and get good reception. Nice one samsung.
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Reviewed by Jess from Uk on 12th Sep 2007
Awsome phone! Had NO probablems so far! Great Phone!
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Reviewed by matthew from uk on 8th Sep 2007
I love this phone it is the best mobile i ever had
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Reviewed by mathew from zambia on 2nd Sep 2007
i love all mobile phones on this site.in general i like the sumsung E390.my review is totaly positive.I FEEL THIS PHONE MEN
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Reviewed by wayneisere from england on 23rd Aug 2007
its a good phone.easy to use my last phone was a motarola but this one blits that one by miles only gripe i have is it doesnot come with leads for puter conextions
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Reviewed by ass from africa on 21st Aug 2007
REALLY BAD PHONE !! dnt get it
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Reviewed by BETTY from SOUTH AFRICA on 2nd Aug 2007
AOWSOME PHONE I LOVE IT
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Reviewed by muhamed from iraqe on 1st Aug 2007
brilliant lov it its my first phone and i lov it to bits its so easi to use!!
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Reviewed by nathan o'hare from england on 31st Jul 2007
iv recently bought this model phone an i think it is an amazing phone so do buy it youll b suprised
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Reviewed by Edward from uk on 31st Jul 2007
Good phone but wouldnt sujest it ti the younger teenages very boring!
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Reviewed by mayanka from india on 27th Jul 2007
its ok
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Reviewed by Conor F from Ireland on 21st Jul 2007
I am very impressed with this phone, build quality is very high, with a great amount of features, well done Samsung full marks.
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Reviewed by James from Iraq on 19th Jul 2007
Bad Phone, it broke when i tryed to slide it, it came of the brackets
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Reviewed by thomas from uk on 17th Jul 2007
its a bit naff wud not recomend u to buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by ickle e from U.K on 16th Jul 2007
This the first phone that I have ever bought, and I have to say that I am really disappointed with it. Yes, it looks very stylish and is very small and compact but that's about as far as it goes. It has a very limited selection of ringtones and messages tones. BE AWARE you can download new tunes for ringtones, BUT you cannot use these for message tones. This is very naughty as it doesn't say this!!!! I will be ditching this phone as soon as I possible can.
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Reviewed by hattie from uk on 12th Jul 2007
my friend has one and she says the camera could be better... i like the design though
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Reviewed by Jamie from UK on 11th Jul 2007
I just got this phone today and I have to say that it was more than I expected. Outstanding
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Reviewed by Agness from ZAMBIA on 11th Jul 2007
I trust samsung products. MY television is samsung,my fridge is also samsung. I can proudly say i have had no problems with any samsung products.i have the phone now and must say its a wonderful product.good job.
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Reviewed by sam from uk on 5th Jul 2007
this phone is exellent as it is stylish and easy to use. I would reccomend to others in considering buying this phone
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Reviewed by Fiona from Lithuania on 4th Jul 2007
Bad phone. Ugly too. Broke after 1 day. GRR.
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Reviewed by wagwan from uk on 1st Jul 2007
its a gud fone, but it wud b better wiv a beta camera mayb a 2mp one
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Reviewed by sara from england on 24th Jun 2007
this phones ok but the camera could be a bit better
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Reviewed by alexandra from montenegro on 18th Jun 2007
This phone is small and nice.It is easy to use and just one thing isn't good-its camera.Camera has 1.3 megapixel,but if she has 2 or 3 megapixel this phone will be perfect.
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Reviewed by conor from Ireland on 11th Jun 2007
I lurve this fone its so stylish easy to use and smart and it did not cost me a fortune buy it now
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Samsung E390 Links