Review: Samsung Transform
Making calls with the Samsung Transform is exactly the same as calling with any other Android phone. There's a shortcut onscreen that takes you to the phone app, where you can dial from the keypad, or use the Call Log, the Contacts list, or your own list of Favorites. You can create dialing shortcuts on the homescreen. You cannot simply open the keyboard and start typing. Some of the letter keys are inexplicably mapped as shortcuts to apps on the phone, with little logic or reason (Y for YouTube; P for, um, Music). There is a voice dialing feature on the phone, but it failed in every attempt to dial my number correctly. I tried six times to ask the phone to dial 10 digits, and it never got those digits right.
The in-call screen is slightly different from the basic Android design, but not by much. Basically, some of the shortcuts that are normally visible on screen are now hidden under a menu. Mute, Bluetooth and Add Call buttons are now hidden. No big changes, just an annoying extra step, especially if you use Bluetooth often. You can open the dialpad if you need to enter numbers during a call, but if you want to make a conference call, you need to hit that Add Call button, then dial.
The phone can synchronize contacts with Google and Exchange accounts. Most Android phones ship with official Facebook and Twitter apps already installed. Even with the social networking ID pack loaded, the Samsung Transform doesn't come with these apps. I'd recommend downloading them from the App market if you use those services, because the official apps also offer sync capabilities for the phone's address book.
CTIA Fall 2010
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Samsung Transform
