Samsung Gravity Smart Android Phone, Sapphire Blue (T-Mobile) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I tried this phone out at the T-Mobile store, too bad they didn't have a working model otherwise I would have gone with something else. The volume button gets in the way when I use the key pad for texting, the screen touch keypad has very small letters and with my fat fingers its difficult to get the right letter. One last dislike, I traded a Blackberry in with a track ball because the ball sucked, well I just got a new problem with the slide, you see I get dirty hands with work and moving parts are just a pain. Too bad I didn't think about it a little longer.

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Perfect for mobile messengers who are ready to step up to the Android platform, the affordable Samsung Gravity SMART for T-Mobile combines a spacious, four-row, side-sliding QWERTY keyboard with a 3.2-inch touchscreen display that also features the innovative Swype onscreen keyboard--allowing for easy text input even when the physical keyboard is closed. Keeping in touch with friends and family is easy thanks to integration with popular social networking sites, a full HTML Web browser, and Group Text capability.

Group Text lets you include the whole group in one message, and everyone can see each group member's reply. Emoticons give you a quick way to add some fun and share your feelings to your text messages, while pin-it notes allow you to pin important texts on your home screen. The Gravity SMART also includes the pre-loaded location sharing apps, Latitude and Glympse.

In addition to messaging, the fast 600 MHz processor provides faster and smoother streaming, downloading, playing and gaming, and the phone comes with Uno, Tetris and Bejeweled 2. Powered by the Android 2.2 OS (aka, "Froyo"), you'll be able to take advantage of more than 200,000 apps available in the Android Market.

The 3G-enabled Gravity SMART also offers Wi-Fi networking, and you can take advantage of Wi-Fi calling and Mobile Hotspot capabilities. Other features include a 3-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity for hands-free devices and streaming audio, GPS for navigation and location-based services, access to both personal and corporate e-mail, full integration with Google Mobile services, and up to 5.5 hours of 3G talk time.

Vital Statistics
The Samsung Gravity SMART weighs 4.76 ounces and measures 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.6 inches. Its 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5.5 hours of talk time, and up to 364 hours (15+ days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies, as well as T-Mobile's 3G network (1700/2100 MHz).

What's in the Box
Samsung Gravity SMART handset, rechargeable battery, charger, quick start guide

Android Operating System
The Samsung Gravity Smart runs the latest Android operating system--OS 2.2 (aka, Froyo)--which provides a faster overall Android experience as well as greater multitasking capabilities. You'll be able to receive notifications, listen to music, and even record GPS data without keeping the application open. And it features a plethora of new enhancements, including an improved onscreen QWERTY keyboard, full push corporate e-mail, and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for access to the full Web. It also offers enhanced Exchange support, with Calendar syncing, Global Address Lookup, improved security, auto-discovery, and more.

With integrated Google technology, the Gravity Smart brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services millions use every day, including Google Search by voice, Google Maps with Street View, GTalk instant messaging (with presence capabilities), YouTube, and Picasa. The Gravity Smart also provides easy access to both personal and corporate e-mail, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail. And through Android Market, you'll get access to thousands of useful applications, widgets, and fun games to download and install on your phone, with many more apps being added every day.

T-Mobile ServicesHigh-Speed 3G Data Connectivity
In addition to its quad-band GSM connectivity, this phone is also compatible with T-Mobile's UMTS/HSDPA 3G network, which operates on the 1700/2100 MHz AWS spectrum. This phone is designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide faster data speeds when accessing the Web.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the via T-Mobile's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and e-mail on the go.
T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling Service
Effortlessly transition between Wi-Fi calling and T-Mobile's wireless network while you talk with T-Mobile's innovative Wi-Fi Calling technology. Wi-Fi Calling is a free feature for this phone, and minutes used while connected to the Wi-Fi network count against available rate plan minutes.

Powered by Kineto's Smart Wi-Fi Application, T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling for Android smartphones is ready to use out-of-the-box, providing the ability to make voice calls and send SMS from accessible Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) access points across the globe in addition to the connectivity available through T-Mobile's mobile network. The application also includes a tutorial for first-time users.

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Swype Keyboard
An alternative to the Android virtual keyboard, the Swype virtual keyboard allows you to input text by swiping the finger with one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard. Based on testing, speed, and accuracy are equal to or better than the traditional keyboard-tapping method. You can activate the Swype keyboard by pressing and holding in a text field, wait for popup to appear, click Input Method, and then select Swype.

In the image to the left, the word "mind" was generated from tracing the path shown to the right in a fraction of a second, by roughly aiming to pass through the letters of the word. A key advantage to Swype is that there is no need to be very accurate, enabling very rapid text entry.



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Samsung Exhibit 4G Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this 3 weeks ago on contract from T-Mobile for $80 with rebate. I had looked at the other premium Android-powered smartphones they had (LG G2X, Samsung Galaxy/Vibrant 4G, HTC Sensation, My Touch 4G, Sidekick 4G), but their prices turned me away to the Exhibit 4G.
Here's the run-down on the Exhibit 4G...
This is my 3rd Samsung handset and like the others it is high-quality and loaded with features. It's compact for a smartphone just 4.6 in. tall, 2.2 in. wide, and .5 in. thick, and lightweight at 125 grams. It's made almost entirely of plastic, but that's not all bad because it has great heft, and is easy, and is wel to hold thanks to a soft-touch coating on the battery cover and part of the front and sides.
Hardware-wise the Exhibit packs some features found on high-end devices. The 3.5 inch, 16 million color support 480x800 LCD capacitive touchscreen looks great and has very high pixel density. The resolution and color reproduction and saturation is very good for an LCD unit, I'd say on-par with the HTC Sensation's S-LCD display. Pictures, graphics, and videos look great. Granted, it can't go blow-for-blow with the Super AMOLED displays, but for the price you'd be hard-pressed to find a better one. It is also very sensitive and responsive to inputs.
The Exhibit has a 1 GHz ARM-A8 Cortex Hummingbird processor, 512mb of RAM, and 1 GB internal storage, expandable to 32GB by a MicroSD card. There's also b/g/n WiFi, multi-touch input, an accelerometer for UI autorotate, proximity sensor to lock the display, and an ambient-light sensor to adjust display brightness.
There are only three physical hardware buttons and they are responsive and sturdy. The up-down volume rocker on the left side, a power/lock/unlock button on the right, and a large home button on the front. Interestingly, unlike other Android phones there are just three capacitive Android keys for menu, back, and search under the screen. Another plus is that the memory and SIM card are both accessible through a spring-loaded slots. The SD card on the left side, and the SIM is just under the battery cover, so you don't need to remove the battery to access them. Way to go Samsung!
The The software feature set is also impressive for a sub-$100 smartphone. Thankfully, the Exhibit isn't loaded down with bloatware like some other handsets. You do get exclusive T-Mobile software like AppPack, T-Mobile Mall (to browse and buy T-Mobile apps), Highlight, Name ID (costs $3.99 a month), T-Mobile TV (to watch popular TV shows), and Quix Video Chat. You also get the preloaded Google Apps like Maps with Navigation, Places, Search, and other Apps like Slacker Radio, TeleNav GPS, navigation,The Exhibit is feature packed, almost bursting at the seams when it comes to software.
It runs "Gingerbread" Android 2.3.3 with Samsung's Touchwhiz interface, which is a good one. It's easy to use and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's well-laid out and arranged so all the functions, menus, and "Widgets" are easy to find and use. Thankfully Samsung didn't choke out and destroy the stock Android OS, so it's customizable as well.
The small-for-a-smartphone screen does make typing on the portrait keyboard a little difficult. I have ham hands and it took me a while to get used to it. the landscape keyboard is a different story though with large keys. You do get Swype input functionality though, which is useful. There is also voice text input which works pretty good!
I really like the organizer, plus you can sync your calendar and event notifications to other Android-powered phones and Gmail accounts as well as share media and files (you can't share ones you had to buy) through the AllShare app. As a plus, T-Mobile lets you allow the installation of virtually every 3rd party App on the Market.
You don't get a 5 or 8 MP camera, and you can't shoot 720P or 1080 HD video from the Exhibit. You're stuck with a 3.2 MP (2040x1536) camera and D1 (720x480) video recording, which isn't too bad. Pictures in daylight come out good. Colors are a bit soft and you don't get nearly as many details as with a 5+ MP unit, but they are good enough to print. Low light photos suffer from lots noise which destroys pretty much all fine detail, but thankfully the LED flash is very powerful, illuminating out to 10 feet, so you can take some servicable images. Thre's a front-facing camera for video calling or photos as well.
The flash is also a video light, so videos are also servicable, but only out to about 5 feet. Like all of the Samsung devices I've used, you get a good camera interface with 13 scene modes(candle light, WDR backlight, firework, text, sports, etc.), 3 shooting modes (single, panorama, burst), exposure metering, negative, monocolor, and sepia mode, image quality, adjustable color balance and saturation, exposure value, contrast, and sharpness. Most all of those are also found in the camcorder interface as well.
There's no physical camera shutter button (like most Android phones, touch to focus and shoot), digital zoom, and the shooting performance really needs improvement. It takes about 3-4 seconds to acquire focus and shap the picture, and I've noticed that shot-to-shot times are a bit slow, so don't count on it to get fast follow-up shots. If you want a phone with one of the best cameras I've ever used, get a Samsung Pixon. Probably the most well-rounded camera phone ever (even now in my opinion. I was sad to see mine go). Maybe I'm being picky, but I was spoiled by great cameras! But hey, remember this cost $80 (versus $200), so you really get a lot!
The Touchwiz media player is good and easy to use. There are 9 settings (one customizable) for equalizer, visualization, effects, and file management. Sound quality with media and calling were pretty good. It does what a phone is supposed to do and does it well with good voice quality and clarity. The earpiece and speakerphone could be more powerful though. I have to turn the volumw up high to hear callers over the speaker even indoors. Although it's adequate, the media volume could also use some improvement as I had to turn up the volume when listening to a video or song. Plug in the headphones and it's a different story. I enjoyed the sound quality and loudness.
Web browsing is very good. The Exhibit supports both 3G and HSPA+ 4G connectivity which is a theoretical 21 mbps, but I only saw 6 down and 2 up using Speed Test app running on the network with good signal strength, and about the same on WiFi. It has full Flash support as well, but sometimes pages with lots of Flash content load slow and even stall. To avoid this, you can set the Flash setting to on demand.
Battery life is great. You get a 1500 mah. Li-ion battery that gave me about 3 days with moderate use before it beeped at me. Heavy calling, camera/camcorder flash use, Web browsing, and media player useage will quickly drain the battery, but you'll still get a day and a half out of it which is impressive.
So there's the major stuff.
Pros:
Ridiculously low on-contract price
Samsung's Touchwiz interface is customizable and easy to use
High quality construction and good feel
Impressive handware and software feature set
Camera flash/video light
Android 2.3
Adjustable camera settings
Good display
No need to remove battery to access MicroSD and SIM card
4G support
Competent Web browsing
Good call clarity
Good battery life
Front-facing camera
1 Ghz processor
Cons
Smallish screen makes using portrait keyboard difficult
3.2 MP camera and subpar D1 video
Poor shooting performance
No digital zoom
No AMOLED display
No physical shutter button
Web browsing could be better
Wished it had Dolby's DNse 5.1 audio enhancement feature
Speaker phone, earpiece, and media volume could be louder
I am being a little picky here, but that's because I am, but for $80, you can't beat it. If you want a high-end phone but don't have or want to shell out $200 or more, take a look at the Exhibit. You will find most of the premium features for a very un-premium bottom shelf price. I was sold and after living with it for a few weeks, I am glad I chose the Exhibit.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung Exhibit 4G Android Phone, Black (T-Mobile)

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