Samsung SGH-T139 User Reviews

We got this phone unlocked as we had plans to go to Hong Kong and India. T Mobile was generous enough to unlock it. We tested the international sim while in US. It could receive calls and make an outgoing. However, when we went to Hong Kong, it could never catch up with the network. We bought another basic handset at Hong Kong airport and the moment, we inserted the sim card, it started to work there and later in India without a problem. We are now back to US and it started to work again.

Not sure if this mobile is designed just to work in US. Travelers be careful if you are planning to travel overseas with this mobile phone.

This is a nice basic phone that does what a phone should do - make calls. Very usable - good keys for large-thumbed people, Clear, bright screen. The icons are a bit too small to recognize as "images" - you cannot decode their meaning from what they look like, but by matching them with the written documentation.

Navigation appears to be hierarchical - only one path to get to any given action. This has the virtue of simplicity, so long as it is intuitive. Most of the time it is, but sometimes you just have to learn the right path. For example, to sync the phonebook with the T-Mobile account server, you might think that you go to phonebook/management. But you have to go to phonebook/contacts/options/mobile backup/last sync, and find a soft key there for "sync now". Not a wrong place to put it, but probably not the first place to look.

That's why having a pretty extensive manual is so good. Last phone I used, Motorola Renew, had only a starter sheet, and it was never clear what the phone could even do, let alone how to coax it to do something.

Call quality appears acceptable - good outgoing voice quality, adequate sound when listening on the phone. The camera is functional and takes decent pictures in a pinch.

Ergonomically great - easy to cradle, well balanced, good buttons, clear display, not heavy but not weightless. Clamshell design means that it extends a bit further than bar or slider, feeling more like a traditional handset.

My biggest concern with the phone was its misrepresentation from T-Mobile. The company sold it to me as an "international" phone and said it was great for traveling. Now I am stuck in Uganda without a phone, as T-Mobile doesn't provide service here and can't provide me with a way to unlock it. If you're a traveler, DO NOT buy the phone.

Just got this phone.   When I don't have it on speaker I can't hear the person I'm talking too (barely --- a lot of what they say I can't hear).  On speaker, at the loudest volume setting, I have to put it to my ear to hear well.  Too low for me & I don't have a hearing aid or anything