New Flip Phone! Samsung Gusto 2 from Verizon Wireless

New Flip Phone! Samsung Gusto 2 from Verizon Wireless

Samsung Gusto 2 An replace to the Samsung Gusto (3 stars), the Samsung Gusto 2 does little or no to alter the method established by the unique.  In fact, apart from a minor replace to the camera, and a rather new look, the remainder of the adjustments are nearly inconceivable to identify.  In a sense, that's  thing—the Gusto 2 stays a really easy cell phone, with good name quality, for anybody that's solely  in making voice names.  On the opposite hand, there's no new purpose to advocate the Gusto 2 to anybody else, and nothing has been performed to justify the $69. ninety nine value tag for a cellphone that ought to be free.  Here's Samsung Gusto 2 review.

Samsung Gusto 2 Design and name Quality

The Gusto 2 measures three. eight by 1. 9 by 0. eight inches (HWD) and weighs three. 9 ounces.  It's made fully of grey matte plastic on the outside, accented by a evenly textured black plastic band that extends to the within if you flip it open.  The look is both smooth and minimal, or chilly and drab, relying on the way you see it.  the interior 2-inch liquid crystal display gives simply 160-by-128-pixel resolution, which is standard, however unimpressive.  There's additionally a 1. 1-inch passive-matrix exterior show with 96-by-96-pixel decision.  It appears a bit washed out and cramped, however provides up the time, battery life, reception, and some different helpful indicators.  The numeric keypad options large, easy-to-press keys, a 5-way management pad, and eight operate keys—up from 5 on the unique.  Now there are devoted keys for messaging, voicemail, and emergency contacts.  Dialing quantitys and texting felt fine, because of the big quantity buttons.

The Gusto 2 is a dual-band 1xRTT (850/1900 MHz) gadget with no Wi-Fi.  Voice high quality is above common.  Voices sound moderately clear and full within the phone's earpiece, although they distort simply a bit at high quantity.  Transmissions by the microphone sound excellent, full and natural, with excellent noise cancellation.  There's additionally a touch of aspect tone, which is the sound of your personal voice that forestalls you from yelling.  The speakerphone additionally sounds good, and is loud sufficient to make use of outside.  Calls have been clear over a Jawbone period Bluetooth headset ($129, four. 5 stars), and the Nuance-powered voice dialing labored fantastic.  Battery life was good, at 6 hours and fifty seven minutes of discuss time.

Samsung Gusto 2 Apps, Multimedia, and Conclusions

The first time you switch on the phone, you're offered with a lot of personalization options, together with name sounds, clocks, show themes, font size, and menu format.  that is a pleasant touch, and one which clues you into the Gusto 2's supposed audience: somebody wanting for a cellcellphone which's simple and straightforward to make use of.  Apps and multimedia are highlighted below, and people are not this phone's sturdy swimsuit.  This isn't an excellent telephone to browse the net with, for instance.  The entry NetFront three. 0 browser is slow, solely handles WAP pages, and the screen's low decision enables you to learn by means of simply a number of strains of jagged textual content at a time.

There's no IM, however e mail entry is included for AOL, Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Verizon. net, and home windows stay accounts.  however it's an excessive amount of work to kind messages with out a keyboard, and except you have a $10 75MB knowledge plan, you need to pay a month-to-month subscription charge.

VZ Navigator four. 5. three is included for voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS instructions and real-time traffic, although it prices $2. ninety nine per day, $4. ninety nine per week, or $9. ninety nine month-to-month in the event you don't signal up for that $10 month-to-month information plan.  it really works well, however that's a excessive worth to pay contemplating you are able to get an identical service at no cost from utilizing an Android smartphone (though you'll additionally be paying a good pricier month-to-month information plan in that case).

Multimedia is fairly a lot out.  There's a non-standard 2. 5mm headphone jack, which solely works with mono headphones.  There's no music or video player, and simply a scant 24MB of accessible inside reminiscence.  That's good for about one hundred fifty photos.

The 1. 3-megapixel digicam is a step up from the original's VGA shooter.  photographs are nothing special, however they're okay for the occasional fast shot.  There's no microSD card slot, though, so you'll want to email, ship an image message, or transmit the picture by way of Bluetooth so as to get it off of your telephone.

Ultimately, the Gusto 2 shares the identical actual strengths and weaknesses with its predecessor.  It stays an excellent alternative for Verizon customers trying for an easy voice telephone.  however at $69. 99, it's overpriced.  you are able to get extra to your cash with the free LG Extravert or the LG Cosmos 2 (3 stars).  each of these telephones characteristic keyboards for higher messaging capabilities, in addition to much extra multimedia characteristics than the Gusto 2, although they aren't as easy to make use of.  So if you're wanting to maintain it simple, the Samsung Gusto 2 is a strong bet, alongside with the LG Revere ($79. 99, three. 5 stars) which has the same worth and design.

Benchmarks

Continuous discuss time: 6 hours fifty seven minutes

Samsung Gusto 2 price when released is $69.99

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Take a look for Samsung Galaxy S Aviator from U.S. Cellular

Take a look for Samsung Galaxy S Aviator from U.S. Cellular

Samsung Galaxy S Aviator U. S.  Cellular's 4G LTE community might be model new, however the $99. ninety nine Samsung Galaxy S Aviator seems and feels an terrible lot like final year's Samsung Droid cost ($ninety nine. 99, four stars) for Verizon wi-fi.  That's not a nasty thing: the Aviator has a sharp, stunning display, good name quality, and an important digital camera and camcorder.  It's additionally the one smartphone out there to faucet into U. S.  Cellular's 4G LTE community.  It's  selection for those who reside in an LTE protection space and need in proper now, however the provider gives higher choices for those who keep on with 3G. Here's more about Samsung Galaxy S Aviator.

Samsung Galaxy S Aviator bodily Design and name Quality

As beforehand mentioned, the Aviator bears an in depth resemblance to the Samsung Droid cost .  just like the Charge, it measures 5. 1 by 2. 6 by . 5 inches (HWD) and weighs 5 ounces.  the world beneath the show dips down right into a rather pointed chin shape, and options 4 bodily perform keys.  The show itself is one other beautiful four. 3-inch tremendous AMOLED Plus display from Samsung.  At 800-by-480-pixels, it is decrease decision than the 960-by-540 show on the Motorola Electrify ($129. 99, four. 5 stars), however the colours on tremendous AMOLED Plus are richer.  Typing on the on-screen QWERTY keyboard feels advantageous in each portrait and panorama modes, and dialing cellphone numbers is quick.

The Aviator is a dual-band EV-DO Rev A (800/1900 MHz) and 4G LTE gadget with 802. 11b /g/n Wi-Fi.  Voice high quality is a robust level.  Reception is solid, and calls sound clear and full within the phone's earpiece.  The speakerphone additionally sounds good and is simply loud sufficient to make use of open air.  Calls made with the cellphone sound clear and simple to understand, with respectable noise cancellation.  Calls additionally sounded good and voice dialing labored nicely over a Jawbone period Bluetooth headset ($129, four. 5 stars).  Battery life over 3G was average, at 6 hours and 28 minutes of discuss time.

Samsung Galaxy S Aviator 4G LTE

U. S.  mobile was the winner for buyer satisfaction in our most up-to-date Readers' alternative survey, and is the seventh-largest service within the nation, with about six million buyers in 26 states.  The service roams on Verizon and Sprint, providing nationwide 3G protection when outdoors of its native protection space.

The carrier's new LTE community at present covers six regions: Madison-Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Lawton-Wichita Falls, Texas/Oklahoma; Bangor-Portland and Presque Isle-Houlton, Maine; rural jap North Carolina; and metropolitan Iowa.  whereas it's the one LTE service in Maine proper now, a minimum of half of all of these different areas are lined by Verizon's 4G LTE.  The service plans to increase all through 2012 and 2013.

We haven't but examined U. S.  Cellular's 4G network, and the service isn't quoting speeds publicly.  We're anticipating quick LTE speeds just like those we've seen on Verizon, versus the more-like-3G speeds on MetroPCS, as a result of of U. S.  Cellular's snug spectrum place.  that may imply common obtain speeds round 9. 5Mbps, like we noticed in our quickest cell Networks exams. 

4G plans for the Aviator value the identical as 3G plans for U. S.  Cellular's different devices; that's a great factor.  you may get 450 minutes of voice calls, limitless texting, and 5GB of 4G knowledge for $79. ninety nine per 30 days.  that very similar plan on Verizon prices $89. ninety nine per month, and also you simply get 2GB of information (or 4GB, for a restricted time).  an extra $25 per 30 days permits you to make use of the Aviator as a cell hotspot, and share its 4G reference to different devices, like a laptop computer or tablet, although you're pooling from the identical 5GB of knowledge.

Samsung Galaxy S Aviator Processor and Apps

The Galaxy S Aviator is powered by the identical 1GHz Cortex A8-based Hummingbird processor because the Droid Charge, alongside with half a dozen different unique Galaxy S handsets, now virtually two years previous.  That's a far cry from the 1. 2GHz dual-core Exynos processor discovered within the Galaxy S II ($229. 99, four stars).  The Aviator benchmarked accordingly—at about half the efficiency stage of the Galaxy S II, or different dual-core units just like the Motorola Electrify.  It ought to nonetheless have the ability to run a lot of the 450,000+ apps within the Google Play retailer with out a problem, however even navigating round the UI feels noticeably slower than on a dual-core system.

The telephone is working Android 2. three. 6 (Gingerbread), alongside with Samsung's TouchWiz UI extensions.  There's no phrase but on whether or not the machine will obtain an improve to Android four. 0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).  The cellphone comes preloaded with a good share of bloatware, none of which is deletable.  And the Aviator lacks a few of the cooler preinstalled software program you get on the Galaxy S II, like Kies Air, in addition to that phone's motion-activated UI controls.

Samsung Galaxy S Aviator Multimedia and Conclusions

The Aviator comes with 1. 4GB of free inside storage, alongside with a preloaded 16GB microSD card; our 32 and 64GB SanDisk playing cards labored high quality as properly.  All of our music check information performed again with out a hitch, and sound high quality was wonderful over each wired three. 5mm headphones in addition to Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headphones ($99. 99, three. 5 stars).  Our take a look at movies performed again effective as well, at resolutions as much as 720p, although audio was off sync over Bluetooth.

One profit of the Aviator over the Galaxy S II is the HDMI out port on the phone's proper edge.  It permits you to simply join the cellphone to an HDTV, and mirrors every little thing you do—from navigating by way of menus to watching films on Netflix.

as well as to wonderful multimedia support, the Aviator does double obligation as  digital digital camera.  Shutter lag is comparatively short, at . 6 second.  The digicam has an 8-megapixel sensor, and pictures captured with it have sturdy element and accurate, vibrant colour.  The digicam additionally data sharp 720p movies at 30 frames per second each indoors and out.  There's additionally a 1. 3-megapixel front-facing digital camera for self portraits and video chat.

If it had a sooner processor, the Samsung Galaxy S Aviator could be a shoo-in for our Editors' selection award on U. S.  mobile.  however because it stands, the Aviator is your greatest selection solely if you're trying for entry to the carrier's 4G LTE network, which may be very restricted proper now; it's additionally a superb choice if you're trying to make use of the tethering choice to get different units on-line with 4G LTE.  however if you're wanting for sheer smartphone power, you're higher off with each the Samsung Galaxy S II or the Motorola Electrify, each of which characteristic dual-core processors for sooner total efficiency than the Aviator.  however in the event you don't need to compromise on both community pace or processing power, you could need to attend a number of months to see if U. S.  mobile unveils a tool that options each 4G LTE assist and a dual-core processor.

Benchmarks

Continuous discuss time: 6 hours 28 minutes

That's our Samsung Galaxy S Aviator review.

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Its so Shiny! Samsung Brightside from Verizon Wireless

Its so Shiny! Samsung Brightside from Verizon Wireless

Upon first glance, the Samsung Brightside  appears to be like rather a lot like a midrange, keyboarded smartphone.  At $99. 99, it's priced like one too.  however the Brightside is definitely simply an excessively bold characteristic cellphone.  It pairs a pleasant slide-out keyboard with a responsive contact display screen and first rate name high quality.  That's the brilliant aspect.  Unfortunately, the phone's show appears to be like horrible from any angle different than straight on, the digicam is poor, the video digicam is worse, and multimedia help is spotty.  whereas it might be an honest alternative for some, you'll in all probability be happier with both an easier telephone or a smarttelephone. Here's review for Samsung Brightside.

Samsung Brightside Design and name Quality

The Brightside measures four. four by 2. four by 0. 6 inches (HWD) and weighs four. three ounces.  It's made fully of black plastic, with a coarsely textured again panel.  There's a quantity rocker on the higher left aspect of the phone, in addition to lock and digital camera buttons on the best aspect.  apart from those, there are 4 perform keys situated beneath the phone's display.  At first, the three. 1-inch, 320-by-240-pixel capacitive show seems to be first rate.  It's an excellent size, and feels good and responsive.  however flip the telephone even barely and the colours look different, otherwise you can't see something in any respect.  until you're trying straight at it, the display is virtually ineffective.  That's a giant disappointment.  The display additionally doesn't shift orientation except you open the keyboard.  meaning you wish to slip the telephone open fairly a lot anytime you wish to kind anything, until you're keen to cope with typing on the on-screen quantity pad.

The telephone slides open to disclose a spacious four-row QWERTY keyboard.  The keys are barely raised plastic bubbles, and that i had no bother utilizing the Brightside to kind out lengthy messages.  however almost each time I flipped open the keyboard, I by accident pressed the phone's digicam button or activated the voicemail.  you may in all probability get round that with apply.

The Samsung Brightside is a dual-band EV-DO Rev 0 (850/1900 MHz) machine with no Wi-Fi.  Voice high quality is fairly good.  Voices sound clear and really loud within the phone's earpiece, although they lack depth and richness.  On the opposite end, calls made with the telephone sound a little bit robotic however clear and have common noise cancellation.  The speakerphone sounds superb and is simply loud sufficient for outside use.  Calls additionally sounded superb by way of a Jawbone period Bluetooth headset ($129, four. 5 stars), and the Nuance-powered voice dialing labored effectively over Bluetooth.  Battery life was common at 5 hours and 25 minutes of speak time.

Samsung Brightside Interface and Apps

The Brightside has a simple, clear interface, although it may profit from some customizability.  the house display consists of 12 icons, with a launchpad on the underside of the display on your contacts, quantity dialer, latest calls, and voicemail.  whereas I like this layout, it's restricted.  To hear to music or watch a video, for instance, you wish to faucet by to the Media Center, then select photos and Video, then select movies.  should you watch lots of movies, it would've been good to have the choice of changing an icon on the house display with a shortcut to the movies menu.

apart from the bodily digital camera button on the precise aspect of the phone, if you happen to want to take a photographgraph you first want to decide on My Pictures, after which discover the small digicam button buried within the precise nook of the display.  the choice to position a digicam button on the house display screen would've been a lot simpler.  or even I'm simply reviewing too many smartphones recently.  That grievance aside, i discovered the Brightside comparatively straightforward to navigate.

The telephone has an electronic mail app with entry to Gmail, Hotmail, Microsoft Exchange, Verizon. net, home windows Live, and Yahoo accounts, however it requires that you just have both a minimal information plan of $9. ninety nine per month, or pay a $5 month-to-month subscription payment.  for the reason that complete function of a characteristic cellphone is to save lots of money, these costs are a bummer.  The Opera Mini 5. 0 browser does a pleasant job of delivering clear WAP and HTML pages, however requires you buy a month-to-month knowledge plan.  Likewise, VZ Navigator 6 is obtainable for clear, voice-enabled GPS instructions for $9. ninety nine monthly additional.  Between that, the browser, and email, you're extra than half of the method in which in direction of paying for a smartphone information plan, which will get you a heck of so much extra.  The Brightside additionally contains all the usual apps, like an alarm clock, calculator, calendar, notepad, and stopwatch.

Samsung Brightside Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions

For multimedia, you get 78MB of free inner memory, alongside with an empty microSD card slot.  My 32 and 64GB SanDisk playing cards labored high-quality.  so as in your media to be recognized, though, it should be positioned in particular folders the Brightside creates whenever you insert your card.  The telephone is in a position to play AAC, MP3, and WMA music recordsdata which sounded advantageous via each wired earbuds and Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headtelephones ($129. 99, three. 5 stars).  The headphone match is a bit off, though—the final quarter of the three. 5mm plug was left protruding of the jack.  The Brightside additionally performs H. 264 and MPEG4 videos, however solely as a lot as QVGA (320-by-240) resolution, so that you almost certainly won't be watching a lot video.

The Brightside's three. 2-megapixel digital camera lacks an LED flash and auto-focus.  Shutter speeds are fast, at simply . 2 second to snap a photo, however the pictures don't look good.  The digicam captures common coloration element at best, and actually misses out on any high quality element.  Video is even worse.  The digital camera can file thimble-size movies at 176-by-144-pixel decision at 15 frames per second.  They're so small and grainy that it simply isn't price it.

The Samsung Brightside will get factors for the bodily keyboard and responsive contact screen, however loses virtually all of its stars with that horrible show and weak digital camera.  Most customers will most likely be higher off with the LG Extravert ($79. 99).  We haven't examined it yet, however it seems to be related to the Brightside, although hopefully with a greater display.  The LG Cosmos 2 (Free, three stars) is one other higher choice: a solid, inexpensive possibility for Verizon customers that wish to textual content however need to avoid wasting cash.  although it requires a month-to-month knowledge plan, the Motorola Droid Bionic ($99. 99, four. 5 stars) is a robust Android smartphone that will get you a large, stunning display, 4G LTE knowledge speeds, and entry to tons of of thousands of apps.  The Brightside tries too exhausting to appear to be a smartphone, however with out offering smartphone energy.

Benchmarks

Continuous discuss time: 5 hours 25 minutes

Samsung Brightside Price when released is $99.99

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Lets Talk about Samsung Galaxy S II from U.S. Cellular

Lets Talk about Samsung Galaxy S II from U.S. Cellular

Samsung Galaxy S II, There's little question about it: almost a 12 months after we reviewed the initial, unlocked version, the Samsung Galaxy S II stays considered one of many high Android telephones out there.  In a market that sees a brand new scorching smartphone come and go each few weeks, that's a formidable feat.  The Samsung Galaxy S II has already taken the main carriers by storm, so it's good to see it make its method over to U. S.  mobile.  And the Galaxy S II stays simply as potent as ever—it's each bit as quick and exquisite as earlier than.  however U. S.  mobile will quickly be launching a 4G LTE network, and the Galaxy S II isn't a 4G telephone. Here's more about Samsung Galaxy S II.

Samsung Galaxy S II bodily Design, name Quality, and Network

 

Slim, sleek, and nonetheless tremendous gorgeous, the Galaxy S II measures 5. 1 by 2. 7 by . four inches (HWD) and weighs four. eight ounces.  It's a big black slab, made fully of plastic with a calmly textured again panel, which feels stable and properly constructed.  The teletelephone is comfy to carry, however beware: With my medium-sized mitts, the teletelephone is just too giant for me to carry in a single hand and drag down the notifications bar with my thumb.  Most of that measurement is put to good use within the beautiful, four. 52-inch, 800-by-480 tremendous AMOLED Plus show.  that is decrease decision than the 960-by-540 show on the Motorola Electrify ($129. 99, four. 5 stars), however tremendous AMOLED Plus seems to be richer, and lacks the PenTile structure that makes the Electrify seem considerably fuzzy.

The Galaxy S II is an effective voice cellphone on U. S.  mobile.  Reception is solid, and calls sound terrific within the phone's earpiece—full, clear, and natural, with lots of punch and quantity.  The speakerphone additionally sounds good and is simply loud sufficient to make use of outside.  Calls made with the telephone sound clear, although voices can have a rather muted, robotic high quality within the earpiece.  I had no bother connecting to a Jawbone period Bluetooth headset ($129, four. 5 stars) and calls sounded nice.  Samsung makes use of the highly effective Vlingo app for voice dialing right here as an alternative of the same old Android choice.  It permits you to dictate texts messages and problem different instructions by voice, although it generally had hassle connecting me to the names in my handle guide.  Battery life was good, at 6 hours and forty nine minutes of discuss time.

The cellphone is a dual-band EV-DO Rev.  A (850/1900 MHz) machine with 802. eleven a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.  There's no 4G LTE support, which is smart proper now, since U. S.  mobile has but to formally launch its 4G community.  however LTE is coming, possible in some unspecified time in the future inside the subsequent month, and we count on it to be considerably sooner than the carrier's present 3G community.

Samsung Galaxy S II Processor and Apps

The Galaxy S II is powered by Samsung's 1. 2GHz dual-core Exynos processor, which makes for very quick efficiency.  The cellphone simply bested the benchmark scores set by the Motorola Electrify, U. S.  Cellular's different dual-core option, though the Electrify has a better display decision.  Still, the Galaxy S II ought to have no downside working any app or sport you may suppose of.

Android 2. three. 6 (Gingerbread) is the OS at present on board here, alongside with Samsung's signature TouchWiz extensions.  Samsung has promised an replace to Android four. 0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), however hasn't dedicated to a timeline.  as well as to TouchWiz, the Galaxy S II comes preloaded with numerous helpful apps, like Kies Air, which helps you to view your phone's contacts, messages, and media by means of a PC's internet browser.  Media Hub is a downloadable music and video store, and Social Hub is a mixture Facebook/Twitter consumer.  in contrast to with the opposite Galaxy S II's, there's a refreshing dearth of carrier-branded, undeletable bloatware.  The cellphone ought to additionally be suitable with the 450,000+ apps obtainable within the Google Play retailer.

Samsung has added a few, nifty motion-activated controls to the UI.  a few of them are useful, just like the flexibility to flip over the telephone to mute the ringer.  Others, like tilting the telephone whereas touching the display to zoom in on the browser or on images, are questionable.  Samsung has additionally added a tiny strip on the underside of the house and app screens that permits you to slide by pages simply by dragging a finger over every one.

Samsung Galaxy S II Multimedia and Conclusions

The Galaxy S II has thirteen. 4GB of free inside storage, alongside with an empty microSD card slot beneath the again cowl that takes playing cards as much as 32GB.  Our 32GB SanDisk card labored fine, in addition to a 64GB SanDisk extremely microSDXC card.  All of our music take a look at recordsdata performed again with out a hitch, and sound high quality was glorious over each wired three. 5mm headphones in addition to Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headphones ($99. 99, three. 5 stars).  Our take a look at movies performed again easily as well, at resolutions as much as 1080p, although audio stuttered on a DivX file.

The Galaxy S II additionally doubles as a stable digital digicam.  The 8-megapixel shooter snaps images quickly, in about . four seconds.  images characteristic sharp element and accurate, vibrant colour.  The digital camera additionally information 1080p movies at 24 frames per second indoors and 30 frames per second outdoors, and 720p movies at 30 frames per second each indoors and out.  There's additionally a 2-megapixel front-facing digicam for self portraits and video chat.

The cellphone makes use of an MHL port to attach to TVs, which requires a hard-to-find adapter.  It additionally lacks the entire docking choices obtainable on the Electrify, which lets you use the cellphone as a desktop or laptop computer laptop with the right equipment.

a couple of months ago, the Samsung Galaxy S II would've been a simple choose for Editors' selection on U. S.  mobile.  It's nonetheless a strong buy, however it faces stiff competitors from the Motorola Electrify, with its decrease value and secure of progressive equipment.  earlier than you purchase both of these phones, though, I'd advocate you sit tight and look ahead to extra particulars concerning the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S Aviator, which can be the primary gadget to help U. S.  Cellular's 4G LTE community.  particulars are scarce, however it appears terrible comparable to the Samsung Droid cost ($99. 99, four stars) on Verizon.  The Galaxy S II's different closest competitor, the HTC Hero S ($99. 99, three. 5 stars), isn't very shut at all—it has a sharp, beautiful display, however falls far behind the Galaxy S II when it comes to name high quality and processing energy.

Benchmarks

Continuous speak time: 6 hours forty nine minutes

Samsung Galaxy S II Price when release is $229.99

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Hot Release! Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G from T-Mobile

Hot Release! Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G from T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G review. possibilities are you've already heard of the Samsung Galaxy S II ($229. 99, four. 5 stars), as it's half of the world's hottest line of Android smartphones.  however whereas the Galaxy S II stays our Editors' Choice, it is admittedly gigantic, and never probably the most snug smartphone for customers with smaller arms.  Enter the $149. ninety nine Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G.  It's just rather much incostly than the Galaxy S II, however each bit as quick.  It shrinks issues right down to a way extra manageable size, whereas retaining a lot of the necessary options.  We favor the Galaxy S II overall, however the Blaze is a superbly good different if you're wanting for one thing smaller. Here's more about Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G.

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G bodily Design, name Quality, and HSPA+ 42

The Blaze lacks the quick wow issue of the Galaxy S II, however it's nonetheless a good-looking system.  The telephone is made totally of black plastic, with a calmly textured, rubberized again.  however the place the Galaxy S II is a 2. 71-inch-wide hand stretcher, the Blaze is barely thicker however a lot extra comfy to carry at four. eight by 2. 5 by . 5 inches (HWD) and four. 5 ounces.  Naturally, this lower in measurement means a smaller display.  The Blaze fourG has a four-inch, 800-by-four80 tremendous AMOLED show relatively than the four. 5-inch display screen on the Galaxy S II.  whereas colours look wealthy and vibrant on the Blaze, the PenTile pixel format could make the display screen look stippled.  The panel seems to be unbelievable from a distance, however held inside a couple of foot of your face, it's noticeable.  The onscreen keyboard is a bit of small, however I didn't have a lot hassle typing on it; built-in Swype software program helps.

The Galaxy S Blaze is a mean voice phone, not fairly nearly as good because the Galaxy S II.  Reception is solid, and calls sound good within the phone's earpiece—voices are loud and rich, however simply a contact grainy.  The speakerphone additionally sounds good however doesn't get loud sufficient to make use of outside.  Calls made with the cellphone sound somewhat muffled, and noise cancellation is simply mediocre.

I had no hassle connecting to a Jawbone period Bluetooth headset ($129. 99, four. 5 stars) and calls sounded fine, however voice dialing was iffy.  whereas Samsung has traded the standard Android voice dialing for the extra highly effective Vlingo app, I had some hassle getting it to acknowledge just a few of the names in my deal with e book.  Still, it ought to permit you to dictate textual content messages and situation different instructions by voice should you may get a very good deal with on it.

T-Mobile doesn't have LTE like AT&T or Verizon, however the carrier's HSPA+ forty two community is no slouch.  The Blaze hooks into HSPA+ forty two community and 802. eleven a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.  it may additionally be used as a tethered modem or Wi-Fi hotspot with the best service plan.  obtain speeds on T-Mobile's community had been wonderful.  The cellphone averaged 12Mbps down, with a excessive of 14. 2Mbps.  We'd name that 4G high quality.  add speeds weren't as impressive, at a median of 1. 5Mbps up.  Still, these outcomes are proper in keeping with what we noticed on the Galaxy S II and may be loads quick for many customers.  Battery life was common at 6 hours sixteen minutes of steady discuss time.

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Processor and Apps

The telephone is powered by the identical dual-core 1. 5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor because the Galaxy S II, which suggests it turned in equally terrific benchmark scores.  The Blaze shouldn't have bother powering any app or recreation you may throw at it, which incorporates the 450,000+ apps obtainable from the Google Play retailer.

Android 2. three. 6 (Gingerbread) is on board, alongside with Samsung's signature TouchWiz extensions.  whereas Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S II will obtain an replace to Android four. 0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), there's no phrase but concerning the Blaze.  Android aside, Samsung has preinstalled quite a lot of helpful add-on apps, together with Kies Air, which helps you to view your phone's contacts, messages, and media by a PC's internet browser; Media Hub, a downloadable music and video store; picture and video editors; and Social Hub, a mixture Facebook/Twitter shopper.  There's some bloatware from T-Mobile too, together with a T-Mobile app store, T-Mobile identify ID, and T-Mobile TV, none of that are deletable.

The Blaze 4G shares some motion-activated controls with the Galaxy S II, similar to the flexibility to flip over the telephone to mute the ringer or andifferent sounds which might be taking part in.  There's additionally a tiny strip on the underside of the house and app screens that permits you slide by pages by dragging a finger over it, which is helpful.

Multimedia and Conclusions

The Galaxy S Blaze comes with 2. 44GB of free inside storage, alongside with a 4GB microSD card preinstalled within the side-mounted slot.  My 32GB SanDisk card labored fine, in addition to a 64GB SanDisk extremely microSDXC card.  The telephone was ready to play AAC, MPthree, OGG, WAV, and WMA music files, however not FLAC, and sound high quality was wonderful over each wired three. 5mm headphones in addition to Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headphones ($99. 99, three. 5 stars).  All of our check movies performed again with out a hitch, at resolutions as much as 1080p.

The 5-megapixel digicam is fairly good.  Shutter delay is a bit long, at 1. 15 seconds.  however pictures look nice, with common shade and element for a 5MP sensor.  The video digital camera takes 720p video at 30 frames per second each indoors and out, which appears to be like sharp.  There's additionally a 1. 3-megapixel entrance going through digicam for self portraits and video chat.  in contrast to the Galaxy S II, which requires an MHL adapter to attach to TVs, there is no approach to attach an HDMI cable to the Galaxy Blaze.

The Galaxy S II is greater and higher than the Galaxy S Blaze 4G in lots of ways, however dimension issues.  an enormous handset simply like the Galaxy S II simply isn't comfy for everybody.  And the placeas the Blaze lags behind the Galaxy S II in a number of areas, it matches the place it counts the most: processor and community velocity.  That, mixed with a smaller, extra snug type factor, makes it an incredible selection for T-Mobile customers with out king-size mitts.  The HTC Amaze 4G ($229. 99, four stars) additionally has a quick dual-core processor and quick HSPA+ four2 speeds, however is way bigger and heavier than the Blaze fourG.  If you're trying for one thing in a comparable measurement to the Blaze, take a look on the older T-Mobile G2x ($99. 99, four. 5 stars), although it has a much less highly effective 1GHz dual-core processor and slower HSPA+ 14. four speeds.

Benchmarks

Continuous speak time: 6 hours sixteen minutes

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Price when released is $229.99

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