Do not choose this free Verizon phone.

My old sturdy Verizon Motorola gave up the ghost and I'm not eligible under the "new every two" plan until September, but the clerk at the Verizon store said that I could get this phone for free under my husband's number. It looked nice and slim and fit in my pocket well. It doesn't have many of the newer features like video, but is compatible with BlueTooth. I really only need and want a basic phone that works with a headset, has voice dialing, and tells time. A camera is nice but not necessary so this phone seemed to fit the bill.
I disliked this phone from the time I got it home. Specifically:
1. Even with the volume at the maximum level, I could not hear the phone ring while it was in my pocket. I missed a few important calls this way.
2. The phone does not beep periodically to let you know there is a new voice message. Don't know about most people, but I do not constantly open my phone to see if there is a message. Again, I had messages sit that should have been answered in a more timely manner.
3. The voice dial feature leaves much to be desired. It cannot be accessed without opening the phone. Two out of three times the software did not recognize my commands and I ended up going into my contacts manually.
4. The call volume, when set at the maximum level, allowed me to hear most, but not all conversations. I do not have a hearing loss but I found that when I used a headset I had to struggle to hear conversation.
5. Although the time can show through a window with the phone closed, the light does not stay on and cannot be set to stay on. Apparently most phones no longer keep the time showing, but there is a button that can be pushed to show the time without opening it. Not so on the Samsung u410, I had to flip the phone open to see the time, which is not a subtle maneuver in a group of people.
Verizon usually offers a few choices of entry level phones, do not go with the Samsung SCH U410.