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Categories
Samsung Instinct Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Instinct is Sprint's newest iPhone competitor, and it brings a lot to the table. We found the large display and responsive touch screen were easy to use, and the interface sacrifices extra functions for ease of use, which isn't a bad thing at all. Email mavens will appreciate the Exchange support and the music and video software is good, but slow to load. There's also GPS on board, a good web browser and with Sprint's Simply Everything plan you'll be able to use it all without worrying about extra charges, for a price of course. So does all of this add up to an iPhone killer? Read the review to find out.
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by Alfredo Padilla
July 07, 2008
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Samsung Glyde Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Glyde's signature features are a touch screen interface and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Unfortunately neither impressed us very much. We found the Glyde's touch screen was unresponsive and difficult to use. The QWERTY faired a bit better, we could type relatively fast on it, but we found the keys clicky and the top row too close to the upper part of the slider. The Glyde does have some good points, it's two megapixel auto-focus camera took better than average shots, battery life on the handset was solid and it sports some advanced features like Verizon's TV service and GPS. Does the good outweigh the bad? Read the review to find out.
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by Alfredo Padilla
May 28, 2008
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Samsung Ace Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Ace is a powerful Windows Mobile Standard device from Sprint that is similar to the Samsung Blackjack line of phones that have been limited to AT&T until now. The ace up the sleeve, if you pardon the pun, is the support for both Sprint's CDMA network and international GSM networks. This puts it on the short list for any Sprint customer who does a lot of overseas travel, but they may be less enamored with the limited talk time, poor camera and the strange decision to leave Office Mobile off the device. The price tag is also a concern as similar handsets can be had for half the Ace's $199 cost. Do other bonuses make up for these drawbacks? Read on to find out.
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by Alfredo Padilla
April 29, 2008
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Samsung M520 Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung M520 is a slim professional looking handset from Sprint that provides solid functionality in a reasonably attractive form factor. We liked the handsets easy to use keypad and controls and the fairly responsive interface. The M520 does have its drawbacks, however, like the poor quality photos it takes and the terrible web browser. On the plus side you get solid music playback time, albeit only mediocre talk and web browsing times. Tamping down the enthusiasm on the musi side, however, is Sprint's music software, which is slow to load and lacking in features. At the price, $49.99 with a two-year contract and after rebate, the M520 is a good choice for those who want a budget phone that only has a few compromises.
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by Alfredo Padilla
April 07, 2008
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Samsung Beat for T-Mobile Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Beat is pretty easy to sum up: entry-level plus some music capabilities. Those who are looking for exactly that will find that the Beat does a solid job being a phone and provides decent music capabilities. In particular they'll appreciate the exterior music controls and solid battery life. Anyone looking for something more better not come crying to us when they are inevitably disappointed.
The Beat is $50 with contract, after online or mail-in rebates ($100 and $50 respectively). It's a T-Mobile exclusive.
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by Mark Brezinski
February 21, 2008
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Samsung Serenata First Impression Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Serenata is best viewed as a concept handset. Someone somewhere thought, "Hey, I sure wish I could make a phone call right now, but all I have are these speakers," and the idea just snowballed from there. The Serenata showcases some incredible Bang & Olufsen stereo speakers, but has software on par with an entry-level phone. Dialing and texting aren't the easiest task since the Serenata doesn't have a keypad, and the interface is incredibly bland for a fashion phone. The phone is priced at a bank-breaking $1600, and has no US release date named yet.
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by Mark Brezinski
January 09, 2008
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Samsung Blackjack II Cell Phone Review
 The Blackjack II is a powerful Windows Mobile smart phone that brings a high end feature set at a very compelling price. Many of the significant flaws of its predecessor have been addressed such as poor battery life and a difficult to use D-Pad. It also brings support for global roaming on 3G networks and GPS functionality to the table, all for about $100. There are some flies in the ointment, though. The Blackjack II's stills camera is pretty poor and we found the control keys were as difficult to use as the original Blackjack. We also noticed some lag from time to time, but not enough to make the device a chore to use. In balance the good things about the Blackjack II outweigh the bad and it will be a very attractive device for those looking for a high end feature set at a reasonable price.
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by Alfredo Padilla
December 31, 2007
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Samsung SLM Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung SLM, as its name would imply, is a slim entry level flip phone that is the first from AT&T to support their new Napster mobile service for direct downloads of Napster music to your phone. The service itself is nothing impressive, about the same as we've seen from other carrier music stores, and aside from that the Samsung SLM is a solid phone with some nice features like good battery life but nothing that will wow you. It would be a good phone to get free with a contract, perhaps even up to $50 or so, but for the $130 that AT&T is currently asking for you can do significantly better.
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by Alfredo Padilla
December 17, 2007
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Samsung Juke Cell Phone Review
 According to the Juke's marketing, it's an MP3 player that just happens to be a phone. We think this is a very accurate portrayal; It doesn't offer much in the way of software other than an above-average music player, and this is the only phone that we've seen recently that doesn't support video playback or capture, doesn't have a browser, and can't send e-mail. But what it does have is 2 GB of internal memory, so it can hold can hold more music than your typical cell phone.
Physically, the Juke is surprisingly tiny and fat. It's certainly one of the smallest phones we've come across at 2.82 ounces, 3.82 inches high and 1.18 inches wide, but it's more expansive than photos make it look, at a rather chunky 0.82 inches thick. The phone is shaped like a small candy bar, but has a new swing-open design that we haven't seen before. Though it seems a bit gimmicky, this design actually gives you faster access to the keypad, which meant it was quick at dialing and not bad at sending text messages. The Juke is currently priced at $99.99 with a two-year contract from Verizon and after a $50 online discount. It's available in Teal (shown on the right), Red and Navy.
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by Robin Liss
November 05, 2007
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Helio Fin (Samsung SPH-a513) Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Fin's cool blue styling and ultra-slim profile make for a slim and sexy handset that is perfectly paired with Helio's focus on services for the younger set. But the Fin's attractions don't stop at styling, with a high end feature set and snappy interface under the hood. Audio quality is solid, and the 3-megapixel camera takes good photos (for a phone; it doesn't measure up against a dedicated digital camera). We also appreciated the built in IM and e-mail clients, although the Fin won't replace a BlackBerry for power e-mail users. It does a good job of integrating with Helios online services, allowing for easy uploading of photos and videos.
But the Fin has its problems: limited battery life, and a keypad and controls that are almost painful to use due to a lack of differentiation between the keys. Still, the Fin will be attractive to many Helio users, especially as it's their only flip phone and it includes nice extras like GPS functionality.
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by Alfredo Padilla
August 29, 2007
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Samsung Blast for T-Mobile Cell Phone Review
 The Samsung Blast is only remarkable for bad reasons. Its software lacks finesse, making it a poor media player, imaging device, and Web browser. The organizational software is better than most phones in its class, but is still lacking some important features. The phone is also very poorly constructed; the plastic case looks cheap, and it twists, creaks, and separates under even moderate pressure.
The Blast does have its good points, but even they are marred by annoying quirks. As previously mentioned, it offers slightly more organizational software than most other mid-range phones, allowing you to write and organize notes and tasks. This additional functionality is offset by a horrible alert system, however, so trusting the Blast to remind you of appointments is certainly not a good idea. The e-mail client isn't Web based, (which is a rarity in most non-business devices), but it doesn't check for mail in the background. Messaging is supposed to be the focus of the Blast, and it does a pretty decent job of that. It would handle messaging well if it weren't for the keypad's tendency to be unresponsive at times. The Blast really is a mixed bag; for every decent feature, there are two other poor ones that drag it down.
The Blast costs $100 with contract, after online or mail-in rebates, and is available exclusively from T-Mobile. It also supports the T-Mobile online store, where you can download songs for $1.99. That's a buck more than Sprint's music store.
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by Mark Brezinski
August 30, 2007
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