Samsung Galaxy A71 Mobile Phone; Sim Free Smartphone - Prism Crush Black, (UK Version)

First impression: It's a bit on the large side. If you just wanted a phone for making actual phone calls then something smaller will likely suit you better. This is no going to fit in a normal trouser pocket.But I hardly ever make calls. Messaging apps, video calls with family & friends that thanks to Covid I don't get to see face-to-face any more, it's perfect for. Mounted on a bike (in a waterproof pouch) it makes a great satnav with the OSMand app for cross-country rides - with a screen big enough to easily see where I'm going / should have gone. I also have the ususal work apps installed (which are mostly disabled cos weekends and evening belong to me no matter what the boss might think) and again the screen is big enough to make all of them easy to use.App response time is generally good. It takes 2 SIMS with both numbers active at the same time although it takes a few seconds to switch the mobile data between them. And still got loads of storage left and there's a dedicated slot for a MicroSD if you need more. The fingerprint reader works fine although it doesn't like my thumb for some reason.The built-in mail client works nicely with the ancient mail & calendar server I run (well overdue for replacement) although there's a bunch of stuff that I'll probably never use (AR? Google / Bixby voice things? Why?). The Bixby Routines lets you set the phone to trigger some standard modes eg tap a button on screen to turn on bluetooth and mobile data then launch car satnav but is still rather limited to be honest. It's certainly no match for Tasker yet. The bluetooth stack just works (unlike my previous phone) and a lot the frustrations I used to get with my old phone have gone away.Battery life is good - screen on full brightness while being used at a satnav for a few hours has been no problem, it normally gets charged every few days.So if this was to have an unfortunate accident would i buy again? I guess the answer is probably yes. For all the things I use it for, it's ideal. If the whole thing could be squeezed into a smaller size I'd be very tempted for that, but isn't that what they've done with the A51? And no doubt I'd complain that the screen is too small.

I remember when I was a child that there was nothing worse at Christmas time than getting a present and then finding you could not play with it because there was something missing like an accessary; or someone had forgot to buy some batteries for my gift. So, when my A71 arrived last week I left it in its box until I had everything together before I opened the box. This meant phoning my network and asking them to send a nano sim card out, it also meant buying a screen protector and it also meant doing my homework and buying a mobile phone case I would be happy with. This is not as easy as it sounds because usually I end up buying more than one case when I have a new mobile and then deciding which is more to my liking. I have found that the new generation of mobile phones can easily fall out of your hands and I will usually buy something which is tough and rugged in my hands and is not likely to damage my mobile if I accidently dropped it. After scanning a lot of the A71 mobile cases on the Amazon website I decided on the Foluu Galaxy A71 case which was a hybrid armour aluminium metal shockproof bumper frame case case with a silicone rubber covering.Well, the big day arrived and I had everything together. When I opened the Samsung A71 box everything was neatly packed. As well as the phone, in the box was a Quick Start leaflet, a 3 pin plug (USB plug) and connecting cable to re-charge the phone, some earphones and what Samsung call an ejection pin...something which you should not lose. The first thing to do was put my Tesco nano sim card into the phone. On past mobile phones I have had to open the back of the phone which sometimes could scratch the new phone if you were not very careful. Anyway, with the new A71, Samsung have gone for something new in that you put the sim card into the mobile via a little tray which pops out on your left. What you are supposed to do is put the little widget into the needle like hole and the tray pops out. On the tray there is room for two nano sim cards and a memory card. The media card goes on the left of the tray while the primary sim card goes in the middle and the secondary card fits on the right hand side of the tray. When you are finished you just push the tray back into the mobile. Keep an eye on the sim card (while on the tray) because at the first attempt my sim card fell off and I did not notice until I stood up later on to find my sim card on the carpet. Before I move on I should empathise that you should put the Ejection Pin Samsung include in the box in a safe place when you have finished inserting your sim and media cards. You are not likely to need the ejection pin any time soon but if you want to change networks, need a new memory card or you just buy a new phone so you want to retreive the cards in the A71 you will need the little widget. Personally I have put the ejection key for my phone back in the box with the 3 pin plug and the USB cable for re-charging where it should be safe and sound.I found that the A71 comes fully charged which makes a change from my previous mobile phones I have bought which have needed a full charge (usually two hours at least) before you can do anything with the phone. So as it was fully charged the next thing I did was to put the phone into the Foluu case. The Foluu A71 Galaxy case cost me £23.99 which might seem a lot for a mobile phone case but the Foluu is made of metal and comes with a screwdriver, a set of screws (and spares) and an Allan Key. I still do not know what the Allan Key is for but I have found the £23.99 well spent as the case is very robust and it does not feel like metal because the case has a silicone rubber covering which gives you a firm grip of your mobile when in your hands. It only took a few minutes to screw the top of the mobile case to the base and all I would say is that because the screws are Philips screws do not screw them too tight or you might not be able to un-screw them if you need your mobile out of the case for any reason.In the past I have always put the screen protector on the mobile before I have put the phone in the case. However I have found that if you put the mobile phone into the case, then use the case itself as a guide to were the screen protector should sit on the screen is a lot easier. I bought the Smartect Glass Screen Protector which is 9H tempered glass and is made especially for the A71. The pack is very professional as it comes with a dust cloth and lens wipe before you start the procedure of putting the screen protector onto the mobile. In the past I have found putting a screen protector onto a new mobile a bit "hit and miss" with the sight of air bubbles but by putting the mobile into the case and then using the case as a guide for the screen protector I did it one go!!! NO AIR BUBBLES!!I switched ON the A71 in the usual manner (on the right hand side) but until you become familiar with your phone you might press the two volume buttons which are above the on/off button. That is it really. I did find a few teething problems which I had to sort out in the settings which I was not happy with.One of the most annoying things I had found was that if you try to closed down the phone with the On button it will take you to Bixby instead. Now Bixby is something like Alexa by Amazon which you can talk to and in theory you can just ask Bixby to close down the phone. I might be old fashioned but I would sooner turn the phone off myself rather than talk to a machine so if you are like me you will have to go into the security settings on the phone.When you initially set up the phone you have to decide on how much security you want to open the phone. On the new A71 it has a fingerprint and biometric feature as well as password protection or if you are more laissez faire no security at all. I read some other reviews that the fingerprint feature is not 100% and you can end up locked out of your phone so I decided on a password with capitals, small letters, numbers and signs which I have found easy to remember.Something a lot of people will find annoying (me included) was that when you first get the phone that the phone will go to sleep if you do not touch the screen for 5 seconds. I had to go into the settings and change this to 2 minutes which I have found more satisfactory.I hope anyone reading this review useful.