Samsung Gusto Review

Introduction:

The Samsung Gusto U360 is a basic and budget oriented flip phone for Verizon Wireless that is a follow up to the Samsung Smooth U350, which in turn replaced the Samsung Snap U340, though not a lot has changed between these models, except for the styling. The Gusto also has some tight competition from the LG Accolade and Samsung Haven, so let’s see how well the devices stack up.

Included in the retail package is the Samsung Gusto U360 phone, 1000mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, and user guides.

Design:

The Samsung Gusto continues the tradition of the previous two models, as it is a basic looking flip phone, though its all-black styling is updated some with a textured pattern on the front and back. This also provides a little bit of an extra grip when holding the compact device. On the front there remains the small 1.07” 98x98 pixel CSTN display, which can be personalized with a wallpaper, but is really only used for view the date & time, battery level, and signal strength. Above it is the VGA camera, and on the sides are the volume rocker, 2.5 mm headset jack, camera and speakerphone key, and microUSB port.



You can compare the Samsung Gusto with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.




The hinge feel well made, as it opens and closes smoothly and holds up to standard amounts of pressure without flexing much. The internal display is still limited in size to 2.0” and with a resolution of 128x160 pixels. Because of this, pictures and text look a bit  pixelated. We also found the d-pad to be a bit small for our taste, but the numeric keyboard is of nice size and we like the bright blue backlight.

Interface and Features:

It comes as no surprise that the main menu on the Samsung Gusto U360 is laid out just like most other Verizon phones, with categories for accessing the media center, messaging, contacts, recent calls, and settings & tools. User customization includes a selection of three themes (white, hexagon, and diagonal), the ability to show the main menu in tab, list, and grid view, two font sizes, clock formats, and wallpapers. This is all pretty standard fair with phones today.


The phonebook on the Gusto is also basic and allows you to store up to 1000 contacts, each with their name, multiple numbers, email addresses, IM screen name, picture, ringtone, and physical street address. Once a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed-dial locations.


One area that hasn’t been improved upon since the previous models is the 0.3MP camera, as the Samsung Gusto only comes with a VGA shooter capable of a maximum resolution of 640x480 pixels. Images taken outside are pretty useless, as they look blurry and have poor color accuracy and white balance. Naturally, indoor images are lacking too; even more so in low-light conditions.




Additional software features on the Samsung Gusto include the ability to send and receive text and picture messages, VZ Navigator for GPS guided directions, Mobile Web 2.0 browser, voice commands, calculator, appointment calendar for saving alerts, alarm clock, stop watch, world clock, and a notepad. You can also download other games and programs through the media center menu. Unfortunately, the Gusto still lacks a music player and memory card slot. It also doesn’t allow for VCast video streaming, as data is limited to the slower 1X network. Internal memory is lacking as it only comes with 32MB, of which 23MB available to the user.

Performance:

Samsungphones usually have pretty good call quality, as on the Intensity IIand Reality, but this is not the case with the Gusto U360. Voices sounda bit distant, almost like someone is talking down a hallway, and thereis also a slight echo delay that could be heard on our end. People thatwe called did not experience this echo delay, but did say that ourvoice sounded a bit distant. Reception was also a bit below par, as weonly got 1-2 bars of signal bars showing in high coverage areas.Because of this, we’d recommend the LG Accolade or Clout, as both ofthose flip phones have better voice quality and reception.

Theincluded 1000mAh battery is rated to provide up to 7 hours of talk timeor 14 days of standby time of a full charge. However, we were only ableto get up to 6 hours of continuous talk time on a full charge.

Conclusion:

Whenall is said and done, the Samsung Gusto U360 is fairly basic flip phonefor those looking for a bargain. Its features are pretty lacking, sobear that in mind, and the voice quality isn’t the best we’ve heardeither. For the same price, the LG Accolade is actually the betterdeal, as it has better voice quality and reception, higher resolutiondisplay, 1.3MP camera, and can get 7.5 hours of talk time.

Software version of the reviewed unit: u360.DE60

Samsung Gusto Video Review: