Samsung Blast for T-Mobile Cell Phone Review - Tour & Design
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Mark Brezinski Published on August 30, 2007 Comment on this |
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Front Closed
The front of the Samsung Blast has the phone's directional pad, which is surrounded by no less than seven buttons. The top row consists of soft keys. The next row down has the "T-zone" (browser) button on the left, and the "shortcut" key on the right. The shortcut key allows you to switch out of an application without closing it, for easy multitasking. The bottom row has the send and end keys, separated by a cancel/clear button.
Front Open
Opening the phone reveals the SureType keypad, which is a bit different than the normal 12-key array. It's basically a more condensed version of a QWERTY keyboard, with a 4 x 4 array of keys, most of which contain two letters.
Left
The left side of the phone contains the volume rocker and the Micro SD card slot. As is typical of Samsung devices, the Micro SD slot's cover is a plastic panel tethered by a small piece of rubber.
Top
On the top is the seam where the phone slides open.
Bottom
The one feature on the Blast's bottom is the hole over the microphone.
Right
The right view of the phone has the proprietary USB/charging port and the camera shortcut key.
Back
The top two-thirds of the back of the phone is the battery cover. This shot shows it in the open position, which exposes the camera at the top. To the right of the camera is the small self-portrait mirror.
Back Open
When slid open, the 1.3-megapixel camera is exposed, along with the sliding mechanism's spring. Anyone with a source of light and a bit of curiosity can also see some of the phone's internal components, including the spring that holds the phone in either the open or closed position.
Battery Out
Once the battery cover is off, you'll find a SIM card port blocked in by the battery. There isn't anything of note underneath the battery.
In the Box (1.0)
Other than manuals, wall charger, and phone itself, you'll find a mono headset. Perhaps we're old-fashioned, but we thought a music-oriented phone could better benefit from stereo headphones, as they would allow both ears to listen to music; but Samsung got confused, thought they were an old BlackBerry, and included just a mono headset. You can buy a Samsung stereo headset for $24.99, but inexplicably, there is no adapter available that allows a standard set of 3.5mm headphones or 2.5mm headset to be used with the Blast.
Handling (2.5)
The Blast felt really light in our hands, and the plastic felt like it looked: cheap. We didn't test this, but it felt like it would break if we dropped it. On the plus side, it didn't feel slick at all, so it isn't likely to slip out of the hand. It has rounded edges that won't irritate your palms. We found that our middle finger fell comfortably on the volume rocker when we held it for a call. We also found the sliding mechanism to work really well, and opened and closed the phone sharply and crisply. The exposed spring seems as though it could snag hair easily, however, so users with long locks should be careful.
Portability (9.0)
The Blast is extremely portable. It's very thin (at just over 0.5 inches thick) and light (at just 0.80 grams), and we could see conversations lasting for hours without your arm feeling bogged down. Its size also means it will fit easily into any pocket, purse, or bag.
Aesthetics (3.0)
The Blast's case looks as if it was made from melted down plastic Easter eggs. It looks more like a toy than an actual phone, which we found detracted from our user experience. Also, when opened up, peering down below the camera offers an eyeful of the spring that holds the front in place. Though it will only peek its head out slightly from a perpendicular view of the open back, it's just not something that screams quality or even finished product. All in all, while we're sure the design knocked consumer cost down considerably, it doesn't fill us with confidence.
Durability (2.0)
The Blast is one of the most poorly constructed phones we've reviewed to date. The problems begin with the plastic used for its case. It certainly doesn't look or feel as though it could survive many trips to the ground without cracking. It also creaked a lot when we gave it a stress test; we really got the sense we could break the phone without much effort if we wanted to. Of course, moving parts, such as those involved in sliding the phone open and shut, are more susceptible to wear and tear. The Blast's sliding parts have bonus durability detriments, however, since opening the Blast exposes the interior of the phone. The gaping chasm revealed in the open position will undoubtedly allow dirt, sand, keys, and all manner of other things to wind up in the Blast's belly. We were able to get a dime stuck inside fairly easily. It was a pain to get out, requiring us to remove the sliding mechanism's spring. The exposed spring itself is also cause for concern, as it can be easily removed, bent, or otherwise broken.
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