Samsung Transform Ultra Review

Introduction:

We first saw the Samsung Transform Ultra debut on Sprint’s Boost pre-paid network, but now the midrange handset has made its way to the post-paid side of the business.  The specs remain the same - notably a 1GHz Snapdragon S2 processor, 3.5” display and side-sliding QWERTY- but the software has been tweaked for Sprint service and now features SprintID.  As an upgrade from the Samsung Transform, the Transform Ultra offers a similar feature set that has been refreshed to bring it current with today’s mid-range smartphone standards. 

In the box you’ll find a 1500mAh battery, microUSB data cable with AC adapter and a 2GB microSD card.

Design:

Following in the footsteps of the Samsung Moment, Intercept and Transform, the Transform Ultra M-930 features a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard behind its 3.5” HVGA display with four physical buttons below.  The Transform Ultra is slightly smaller than the Transform in all directions, measuring in at 4.5”x2.4”x0.55”.



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

The phone slides open with a reassuring spring-assist revealing the four row QWERTY keyboard.  The keyboard is well spaced out, with reassuring feedback when you press a key.  We’d prefer the spacebar to be a little more solid though because it felt mushier than the rest of the keys.  There is auto-correct built in, but we found it didn’t work very often ignoring mistakes like “tdst” for “test” but adding missed punctuation, such as an apostrophe.  If you don’t want to slide the phone open you have Swype and the standard Gingerbread keyboard preloaded.


The overall feel of the Samsung Transform Ultra was very good.  The phone fits nicely into your hand either open or closed, and build quality is good.  The slide mechanism glides effortlessly, the buttons along the front and sides offer a nice click when pressed and the textured battery door gives a good in-hand feel.  The materials used feel plasticy, but not cheap.  All-in-all, the Transform Ultra offers a nice design for what you are paying for.


Display:

The display is very bright and usable even in direct light.  With an HVGA resolution, images lack crispness and very small text is hard to read, but that is to be expected in a mid-range device with a 3.5” screen.  We didn’t have any issues performing everyday tasks with the Transform Ultra’s display and it was much better than what we found on the ZTE Fury.  It was plenty responsive to our touches and did not miss any keystrokes.

Interface:

As we mentioned in the beginning, the Sprint version of the Samsung Transform Ultra has different software than the Boost version so if you’re used to the Boost Transform Ultra there will be some adjustments.  However, if you’re accustomed to Android in general or have had a previous SprintID device there is essentially nothing new about the Samsung Transform Ultra.

With Android 2.3.4 as its base, the Transform Ultra runs a minimally modified version of vanilla Android and allows for SprintID customization.  As a quick refreshed, SprintID lets you download theme packs that will add a cohesive set of wallpapers, widgets, apps and ringtones to your device all built around a central theme, such as fantasy football, fashion, health and fitness or entertainment.  For a more detailed look at SprintID check out our Samsung Transform review.


Processor and Memory:

The Transform Ultra is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 processor clocked at 1GHz with 1GB of ROM and 512MB of RAM.  The included 2GB memory card is expandable to 32GB.  Out of the box the Transform Ultra ran quickly enough.  It is certainly not going to run with the likes of the Epic 4G Touch or HTC EVO 3D, but as far as mid-range devices go the Transform Ultra was plenty snappy.  In Quadrant Benchmark testing we got scores around 2100, which is quite good.

Connectivity:

The stock browser performed as expected; pages loaded quickly over Wi-Fi and it handled Flash content without a problem.  We were able to pan, pinch and double tap and the browser responded immediately without any stutter or lag.  There are of course other options in the Play Store, but for the average user the stock browser is plenty capable.


The Samsung Transform Ultra is a 3G device running on Sprint’s EVDO Rev. A network. It sports other standard connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth 3.0 with support for the HSP 1.2, HFP 1.5, OPP, FTP, PBA, A2DP 1.2, AVRC, HID and MAP profiles.

Camera:

The Samsung Transform Ultra features a 3.0 megapixel camera with LED flash on the back, and a front-facing VGA shooter.   The main camera performed slightly above average for a mid-range device, producing very good color reproduction and surprisingly detailed macro shots.  In strong lighting the results were quite acceptable for its class.  It struggled with strong backlighting and in low light situations, which can be expected.  Videos can only be recorded at VGA resolution, which these days is barely YouTube quality.


Multimedia:

The Transform Ultra comes with the standard Android media players and we didn’t have any real issues.  It could not play DivX files, but was able to play all of our Xvid, H.264 and MPEG-4 test videos at resolutions up to 720p.  There are several other video players available in the Google Play Store, such as VLC, that should be able to handle just about any file you throw at it.  Music played just find on the stock player with no surprises.

Performance:

Callers were quite impressed with the Samsung Transform Ultra, noting that they could tell who was calling from the first word.  They stated we were slightly hollow, but very clear with no static or echo.  They said it was one of the better phones we’ve tested and rated us a 9/10.  We had a similar experience, with the caller sounding a bit distant but overall pretty good.

The battery life on the Samsung Transform Ultra is rated at 7 hours of talk time, up from 6 hours on the Transform.  We were able to get through a day of moderate use with plenty of juice left, so we’d assume it will be just fine for the average user.  Keep in mind that each user is different though, and your results may vary.

Conclusion:

Samsung has done a good filling the mid-range Android slot in Sprint’s lineup, and the Transform Ultra is a worthy successor to the Transform.  It does not set out to make any radical changes, just offer better overall performance than its predecessor.  With a faster processor, more memory and a better battery the Transform Ultra accomplishes just that.  It certainly isn’t the best device Sprint has to offer, but at just $49.99 it is an attractive option to first-time smartphone buyers or parents on a budget.

Software version: EG30
Android version: 2.3.4

Samsung Transform Ultra Review: