Samsung Blast SGH-T729
Phone Scoop Review
Aug 21, 2007 by Eric Lin
The Blast is the smallest in T-Mobile's armada of messaging phones. Does Samsung manage to make a big impact or is this a dud? With video review. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Ummm, Its Okay
I give this phone a 2.5 because:
PROS:
*Texting: is awesome, the keys make it so easy to type.
*Internet: fast loading-enough said.
*Weight: its light-but durable
*Style: sleek, good looking
*My faves: this feature on this phone is way awesome.
*Camera: really cool picture options, and good picture quality
CONS:
*Camera: Doesn't Zoom in far enough
*Music player: cant text and listen at same time
*Memory card: doesn't come with one, and phone memory too low
*Computer connection: No usb-yea you can purchase one for this phone but honestly its a waste of money to buy extra accessories.
*Battery: the life of the battery drains way too fast, i seriously need to buy a car . One Internet usage takes one battery bar off. just imagine playing games or listening to music.
*Tones: you cant change the ring tone for your text messaging they only have about 7 choices.
*Shortcuts: you cant customize or change your shortcut keys (the navigational ones).
This is a good phone for texting, but that is pretty much it. I like it but i don't at the same time, but then again I'm a hard critic because there is no phone i am truly happy with.
Sweet phone
I have owned this phone for approximately two months and I have to say this phone is pretty sweet. I really like the qwerty keypad, although it was a little difficult to get used to, I quickly became accustomed to it. The slider function is good, a bit sticky at times, but I prefer that to it being too loose. I dropped this phone, not off of a chair or onto carpet, but from the height of my chest (Im about 6'1") onto asphalt, it took it pretty well, and only has a minor scratch which has seemed to fade after some time. The camera is pretty good, video quality could be better, and unless you have good lighting, the pictures don't come out too well. Video quality when received in a message is lacking, but I don't know if thats the phones fault.
In Luv w/ the BLAST!!!
I just love it!!!
PROS
the computer like keyboard
the fun & apps are set up nice
voice tones
camera
the phone locks when you're not using it after a certain amount of time.
Mp3
Sound is great on the Blast
IM to yahoo and aol
LCD screen is the perfect size
ETC..........
CONS
I haven't found any so far!!!
All around terrific phone!
Disappointed in email
Pro:
Form factor
Looks good
Free online phonebook backup (this is really nice)
Just about everything except......
Con:
email
First, let me say that I don't need a phone or device for replying to email. All I want to do is read new messages. So something like a Blackberry is overkill for me.
Knowing this phone only has slots for two POP3 email accounts, I asked the guy at the Tmobile store if I could still access that email from Tzones. I have 4 accounts I check on a regular basis. He assured me I could. WRONG!! If you attempt to check a POP3 account via Tzones, you get a message that a "new and improved" way to check your email is available through the menu. Well...I don't think it's improved, especially since I can only check two accounts!
What I did find interesting about accessing email through Tzones is that you are still able to access Yahoo mail that way. No restrictions there. Just with the POP3 email.
After finding out that it was a no-go on Tzones, I checked out the email interface. Problem number 1 is that it downloads the subject/header on every email that is on the server. Not being good about cleaning messages from the server, it took a good bit of time. THEN I got a message that my mailbox was full. So the only option was to delete a bunch of email from my phone. Pretty time consuming. If you keep your email cleaned out, this might not be a problem for you. Problem 2 is that unless I want to remain signed into the email account, each time I want to check mail I have to type in my user id again and wait for the download of all the headers. With Tzones, I only had to scroll down the list of accounts that I'd previously set up and choose which one I wanted. Much easier than entering the info again.
The qwerty keyboard takes a bit of practice, but seemed like it would work fine. It makes the predictive text more accurate.
If I didn't need the email function, I'd go for this phone. Unfortunately it's back in the box and headed back to the store.
Great Phone
Well I bought this phone a few days ago, and I have owned several cell phones that cost a lot ot cost a little, and this is truly the best by far.
First off the only problems I have are that the sliding part doesn't fell 100% tight but it is not like it is going to fall off, and second the Mp3 is not extremely loud but bearable.
Best features putting songs into your mp3 is soooo easy, the color resolution you get is soo good very clear, and can be used directly by sun light, and has a wayyy better menu than any other t-mobile phone.
Trust me it has everything you would need. BIGGEST FAULT IN THE PHONE IS NO FREE MEMO CARD I ALREADY HAD A 2GB CARD BUT STILL.
Blast off
I should be happy that Samsung designed a phone that doesn't follow their long traditon of "add a feature, drop a feature, call it something new", and did come with a new design and innovative upgrades. Where it falls short is the execution of these designs. The slide is thin, but that thinness seems like a weakness, I can't see it taking a fall or much pressure against it. The flat feel isn't really what I like, I like to know a phone is in my hand, but I like it better then a flip or candybar. And the space behind the slide, when open, seems like a place where a lot of dust and gunk will settle over time. Heck, just looking down the slide, I see the metal hinges/wires that hold it. And it's plasticky feeling. I got used to texting on 9 pad, then I got the BlackBerry Pearl, and even with that I still hate the QWERTY keyboard not being full. It feels half-@$$ed, like either go 9 pad or full keyboard, otherwise it's actually a NEW system to learn, and that never is faster. The menus move fine, the camera is crisp and the video is clean, but I wish the zoom was better. Overall, the fact that it does email isn't enough to call it a "Blast".
Blast an ok not great phone
I received my blast about 2 days ago and I have to say sending text messages is a "BLAST" on this thing.
When compared to the other Tmobile phones I have used RIZR, RAZOR, Xpress5300, the TZONES is really slow on this phone.
No for the email Email for AIM and YAHOO setup fine and creating and retrieving emails are ok.
Con on the AIM and YAHOO email
even when selected to stay logged in for what ever reason after getting emails from YAHOO and AOL I get password invalid. I correct it will not update. I have to delete all the email settings and reenter them. I have done this 10 times and and have given up.
If you have road runner email it will not work. after 3 hours on the phone with tmobile tier 2 support we found this out.
in a nutshell is a great text messaging phone but the email still needs to be improved. Theres and update feature on this phone one day soon hopefully the email functionality will be updated to work a little more seamlessly.
BLAST BLAST BLAST
I owned the t-mobile SDA, the Dash, and the Sidekick. Notice all of them were my ways to communicate and stay in touch. The Blast is a great in between phone. It has E-Mail support and the new XHTML support. I can actually surf Playstation.com, Myspace.com, Google.com in its classic version. So its above a phone yet under a PDA, and you don't need the 29.99 Internet Package, Just the 5.99 T-Mobile Web service. The IM is great. It supports the major IM's that are used. My car DVD monitor supports Bluetooth Stereo, and the phone delivers great quality considering how much radio interference a car radio gives. Note though that the e-mail does not support hotmail because of Microsoft's move to keep it within itself. Still though Hotmail is accessible through msn.com. Samsung finally puts in a shortcut key, that allows the user quick access to whatever program they want. In my case its the MP3 Player.
PROS: -MP3 player clear
-Ringtone as great as the DASH
-E-mail support
-XHTML allows user to surf HTML
websites better than WAP browsers
-IM is great
-Camera is above good considering its
a phone only
-Bluetooth connectivity is stable
-Can veiw PDF documents
-Experienced no lag with in-menus
-Has a great little organizer with
timer, notes, calander, tasks,
stopwatch, calculator (sounds like
a mini PDA)
CONS: -No equalizer in MP3, but hey its just
a phone
-Cant support hotmail, but thats on
microsoft
-EDGE is a bit slow, but fast to
retrieve/send IM's, E-mail, Text
I enjoyed this phone and considering the abuse I put it through, just scratches! Like I said before, it's a middle phone. Above a regular phone with the revised IM and XHTML support, and under a PDA with E-mail support and PDA like programs. I recommend it to a user who does not want a PDA or Smartphone, yet wants the basis to stay in touch. E-mail me if need be. Thanks
Overall excellent - a couple quirks
I've had this phone for about a week, and put a lot of hours on it already. I text a lot, and lately I'm always on the phone.
PROS
-form factor
-sexy
-samsung build quality
-new keypad is great
-1.3 mp is pretty sweet.
-mp3 ringtones
-speakerphone is nice
-features, features, features!!!
CONS (mostly just quirks)
-t9 is a little off for use with this keyboard. comma has to be accessed through an additional menu (wtf?) as do smileys, and i haven't found a way to add to the t9's dictionary yet.
-no way to manually lock keypad. it locks automatically when you slide it closed, or if it sits for a minute, but that's it.
-volume is a little soft, but useable
-mp3 player is rudimentary, but functional (won't read WMAs)
-power/earpiece port are one and the same. minor inconvenience at worst. oh and the little plastic covers for earpiece/memory card are annoying.
-they really should include STEREO headphones. (rolls eyes)
-battery life isn't up to par with specs, but it's pretty close.
Overall, this is a fantastic phone, especially for the price. I feel like I can text a little faster than the software can keep up, but it's no big deal. Considering how minor all of my complaints are, I would not hesitate to recommend this phone to anyone. It has all the capability you could possibly want and then some, and it's sexy. Plus, Samsung build quality and reliability is nothing to scoff at. Go to a T-Mobile store and play with it, decide for yourself.
It's a good phone, but...
I went from a Motorola SLVR to the Samsung Blast and am not overly impressed. There is nothing wrong with the Blast, but there is nothing to "wow" me either. I got this phone when I switched carriers and no phone in the store caught my eye. I listen to music on my phone and text frequently. I do not need the internet or any special features, so the phones capabilities are fine for me.
Pros:
*It's about the same size as the SLVR, so fits nicely in pockets.
*The camera is better than I am used to, even without a flash. 1.3
*Downloaded ringers sound great!
*The phone locks when slide is down
*Learning to text is slow at first, but now I am extremely happy with the layout.
*Huge screen for the size of the phone
*Super easy menu style
Cons:
*Alarms are very soft, which does not work for me because my phone IS my alarm clock.
*It feels flimsy and I am afraid I will break it, but have had no problems yet.
*I wish it had more profile options. I am used to being able to change settings for every little thing. I guess I just feel limited with the options.
*I wish it were better looking. I'm a girl and the phone just isn't attractive. Why have a half black, half red phone? If it were silver or a metallic blue, I might be more in love with it.
I am no phone genius, but I do consider myself picky when it comes to phones. The blast is an easy to use, durable (so far), and convenient phone. I would recommend it.
