Samsung T401g Phone Review

Net10 has sold the Samsung T401g for about a year, after first releasing it in October 2009. About half a year later, Straight Talk added this device to their list of phones as well. I have worked with the t401 extensively, having carried it as my primary phone for nearly a year, and found some noteworthy features. Here are a few of the highlights from my Samsung t401g phone review:

This phone is one of the few models for either Net10 or Straight Talk that features a QWERTY keypad AND video recording capability. (Just a few days ago as of this writing, in October 2010, Straight Talk has also added two new Nokia handsets that include these two features as well.) Additionally, it includes an mp3 player and decent 1.3 mp still camera.

The QWERTY keyboard slides horizontally from the body of the phone. When the slide-out is collapsed, there is also a 12-key numeric keypad so you don’t need to slide the phone open to make a call. The screen rotates when you slide out the keyboard, so the screen is always oriented in the right way to according to which keyboard you are using.

I struggled a bit initially using the qwerty keypad. IT seemed cramped, and since it was my first QWERTY phone I was not used to the layout of the keys. Fortunately I was able to quickly adapt, and in just a few days I really liked the qwerty keyboard. I was soon able to tap out messages much more quickly than I previously had using a 12-key pad.

The left side of the phone (as you face the phone toward you) includes a volume switch to adjust the volume of ringtones when on the main menu, or call volume while on call. Below that is the microSD card slot. Inserting memory card will let you store extra files such as pictures, videos, and mp3s. This phone will accept cards up to 16gb, which is room for plenty of media.

On the right side you’ll the multi-function port used for the charger, headset, and USB cable. I really don’t care for this layout because the Samsung-branded connector means you have to use an adapter or special headset to listen to mp3s, which means you’ll end up paying more money if you want to use it that way. I was able to find an adapter fairly cheaply on Amazon, but I still believe it’s a hassle to users. Farther down the right side is the button to launch the camera, and this button also will snap a picture when in camera mode. This key only works when the phone is unlocked (open), so you don’t have to worry about taking unwanted pictures.

The quality of the camera is pretty good for a prepaid phone. The video recording function is also handy, but to be honest the video is grainy when played back on the phone’s screen, and even more so if viewed on larger screen.

I also noted that the music quality of the mp3 player on this phone is better than that on the Motorola EM326g, which was the first Net10 phone to offer a music player. The music sounds fair through the built-in speaker (compared to what I was expecting) and better when using headphones. Also, it appears that you have the option to play songs through Bluetooth stereo, although I don’t have a stereo Bluetooth headset to test this out.

I’ll close here with a few more features I was impressed with: long battery life and good reception. Further, the sound on voice calls is very good. In conclusion, I’ll score this model at 9 out of 10. Of course, the value depends on how much you are spending on the phone. Pricing on this particular model varies depending on a few different factors.

I discuss pricing and give much more detailed info in my Samsung T401g review.

LG 620g Review - What I don’t like

I’ve had the LG 620g for a month now, and there are a handful of ways in which I’ve been disappointed. I discussed more issues like this in my LG 620g review, but ultimately I’ve concluded that I will keep the phone since it performs very well in some areas. But first, here’s what I don’t like about it:

The LG 620g does not have voice-activated dialing. I feel this is a safety issue. Many states now prohibit or somehow limit the use of phones while driving, and with good reason. One way to make them safer is through the use of hands-free headsets and voice-activated dialing. That way you wont’ have to look at the phone to make a call. Unfortunately, this model falls short. I don’t make calls while driving, but I know there are many people that do, and for this reason it’s a safety concern to omit this feature.

The headset connection is not standard. That means you’ll need to either buy a special headset made for LG phones, or perhaps find some kind of adapter, if you want to use a wired headset for calls or for listening to music. This means it will end up costing you extra money.

The shortcut keys cannot be customized. Most phones allow you do change which function is activated by the shortcut keys (usually the left, right, up and down keys from the home screen).

The keys used to change the volume during a call are the up and down keys on the face of the phone, rather than dedicated keys on the side of the phone. The vast majority of current cell phones have a couple of keys or a rocker switch on the side of the phone to make it easy to increase or decrease the volume during a call. On most phones, these keys also allow for easy adjustment of the ringtone volume.

Speaking of ringtone volume, it can be difficult to change the ringtone volume. If you want to shut of the ringer completely, you can do that easily by holding the * key for a few seconds. If it’s already off, holding the * key will return it to the previous setting before it was muted. But if you want to simply increase or decrease the ringer volume a few notches, you’ll have to navigate through several menus.

The keys on the directional pad (up, left, right, and down, right below the screen) are flat. This makes them more difficult to use compared to if they were slightly raised.

I found that the menu navigation sometimes lagged a bit behind my keystrokes, which can lead to some confusion until you get used to it.

As you can see, that’s a fairly long list of complaints. When you look at it, though, they are all fairly insignificant. What I failed to mention in the brief LG 620g review above is why I LOVE this phone. It is excellent at all the things that are most important for a phone. Signal reception, battery life, and audio quality are all very good. The screen is nice and this model has a few features that most Straight Talk and Net10 models do not.

Get more details on all of this in my LG 620g review, which you can find here: http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/lg-620g-review/