Samsung Blast Review

While texting has been used in Europe for some time now, it took a little longer to catch on in the States here. Well now that it has, it seems that the average keypad is insufficient. One of Samsung’s latest attempts at a texting phone is the Samsung Blast provided by T-Mobile. The Blast is intended to replace the Samsung T719 from last year and is targeted at people who want a great messaging phone but without sacrificing size.

What’s included in the box you ask?

• Samsung Blast
• 3.7V 900mA Li-ion Battery and Charge
• Hands-Free Headset
• SIM Card
• A Get Started Poster
• T-Mobile Welcome Guide
• Samsung Blast User Manual

Design:

The Blast is a slider which opens up very easily thanks to a spring mechanism. There was no play in the mechanism whether it was closed or open. It offers a SureType keyboard, a QWERTY keyboard where each button has two letters assigned to it, which helps retain a small size, 106 x 52 x 12.7 mm (4.16 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches), and weight, 79.5g (2.8oz). The smallest slider in Samsung’s lineup is the U600 and the Blast is not much bigger surprisingly. Unfortunately, this phone feels cheaply made but at least has a solid feel to it and manages to look stylish.

Model	Dimension (Inches)	Dimension (mm)	Weight (oz)	Weight (Gramms)
Samsung Blast	4.16" x 2.04" x 0.50"	106 x 52 x 12.7	2.80	79.5
Samsung SGH-T719	3.78" x 2.05" x 0.72"	96 x 52 x 18	3.53	100
Samsung SGH-U600	4.06" x 1.94" x 0.42"	103.2 x 49.3 x 10.9	2.85	81

The Blast’s 2 inch TFT display appears to be much smaller than itreally is. Colors are very realistic and the picture is pleasing. Invery bright environments, it was a little difficult to read thatscreen. It’s a shame that Samsung didn’t include a mode to raise thebrightness even higher as some of the other models offer this feature.

When including a keyboard, one of two things has to suffer; either the phone has to gain a few inches or the buttons have to shrink in size. Well, since the Blast is a small phone, it means that the buttons had to shrink. It takes a while to get used to the keypad but it’s comfortable once you do. You can feel the feedback given by each button as it’s pressed so that you know that it was pressed. The entire keypad is just one rubber piece with each button being raised and separated from each other. Texting can be easily done with either one hand or two. The upper half of each button in the center three rows is red to attract you but it tends to do its job a little too well.

Menu:

The menu is common to that used in other Samsungs. It is laid out in a 3x3 style grid with animated icons. Navigating can be done through either the directional pad or by using the keypad.

Phonebook:

The phonebook is also the standard for Samsung. All contacts are listed alphabetically. A search field is located at the top to help you sift through all the contacts. A total of 1000 contacts can be stored on the phone.

Camera:

Picture quality is mediocre at best. Even though the Blast is supplied with an antiquated 1.3MP camera, it could be better. They come out blurry and overexposed in bright environments on light objects. Darker objects come out better but the camera is very lacking. The one found on an old Samsung D500 was much better.

Indoor pictures came out better but only under medium light. Still the pictures were a little hazy but this is to be expected.

Media player:

As with other phones in its class, the Blast is supplied with a media player to help you get through those boring moments. Playlist can be created but they are limited to 30 tracks only. Media can be stored either one the phone or on a memory card. Sound from the loudspeaker is nothing ground breaking but it gets the job done.

Finally, we arrive at the section that you’ve been waiting for. The Blast is targeted as a messaging phone but how well does it perform its job? You have the ability to send text, picture, and voice messages, as well as e-mails and IM.


Loaded by default, you can setup an AOL, Yahoo! account, two custom accounts (comcoast.net, Verizon.net, juno.com, mac.com, cs.com, and other address). Emails are checked either manually or by one of the present intervals. The list is displayed in the same fashion that text messages are. We did have trouble when signing on and were told the connection was refused and that it had been locked out but when signing in through the computer, no issue was seen.

Four IM accounts, AIM, ICQ, Windows Live, and Yahoo!, are on the phone. We tested an AIM account but the others work the same way. When setting logging in for the first time, you have to key in your screen name and password, which can be saved for later use. Once signed in, just select the person you want to talk to and chat away.


Multiple conversations can be easily carried out by going back and forth between each conversation. Unfortunately, there is only a small indication of which conversation received a new IM. The icon has a sharp black border when there is a new IM while the others have a blurry grey. This is not enough to differentiate them easily and it would be nice to see the icon turn to a different color, say yellow for example, instead. To make matters worse, the conversation that you accessed last, regardless of whether an IM was sent or not, gets sent to the top of the list.

Well, incase you don’t use e-mail or IM, then this part is for you. Text messaging is very basic. There is a 160 character limit per page and 12 pages max. Even though the Blast has a SureType keyboard, there is the option to have t9 predictive text enabled.

Picture messages are arranged just a little bit differently. Once you type in the subject and body of the text, you can add a picture, video, or sound to your message. The layout of the body is the same as if you were typing out a regular text message.

Lastly, there is the voice note. Incase you’re tired of texting, you can simply just record a message and then send it out.

When sending a message, you have three ways to add contacts: recent recipients, phonebook, or new number. Regardless of which you choose, there is a limit of 20 recipients that can be added into the message.

Performance:

We are pleased to announce that the Blast performed well in our test. The only time that it was slow is when adding a recipient but this is because of the SureType. Other than that, we had no trouble using it. Not once did it lock up or just magically restart.

Reception is average with this phone. Since it is a slim slider, the components have to be packed into it and sometimes these phones suffer. We tested the Blast in the Chicago land area on T-Mobile’s network. There were times, especially in buildings or basements, where it barely had signal and when it did, it was only a bar at most. Bigger phones, such as the Wing, were able to get better signal but when compared to phones in its class, the Blast was on-par with them. Out in the open, the phone performed excellently.

Sound quality was good, although the volume could go a little. Apart from that, sound came through clearly with only a few times where it crackled for about a half a second. Recipients on the other end could not hear this.

If you use your cell often, you might want to look out with the Blast. Our tests revealed that the talk-time from one charge lasted just shy of 4 hours which could create a problem if you’re a big talker. If you text or just use the phone often throughout the day, it probably won’t last until the next morning. It’s surprising because there is really nothing on this phone that ought to suck the battery life. Stand-by time in phones its size, was similar but phones such as the Wing or Mogul blew it away.

Conclusion:

Well, the Blast was a good phone overall. There are some things to consider before going out and buying it however. First, if you live on your phone, you better have a charger on you at all times and make use of every plug that comes your way. Otherwise you just might find yourself stranded with an 80g paperweight.

For all the texters or IMers out there, the phone provides a great base and functionality but it takes time getting used to the keypad. Once you do though, messaging should be lightning quick.

For those looking for an every day phone, this really doesn’t offer anything over other phones you find at T-Mobile or its competitors. The keypad might just get in the way and be ignored.