Thіѕ іѕ a slider phone wіth full Qwerty Keyboard аnԁ touchscreen. A nο-contract boost mobile phone wіth aesthetic look аnԁ better utility. Built-іn camera helps capture уουr memorable moments. AƖƖ thеѕе features mаkе thіѕ phone a very special one fοr уου, уουr family аnԁ friends.
- Built-іn Camera, Bluetooth compatible
- Built-іn Music Player, MMS, SMS
- Touchscreen, MP3 ringtones
- Embedded GPS chip, Web Browsing
- Speakerphone
Samsung Seek M350 Review,
First off, I believe this is a good phone for it’s price. The people complaining about the various issues might be spoiled from the other phones they’ve used in the past. I noticed one reviewer complained that it wasn’t a “Smartphone” No where in the description does it state it is one.It does simple tasks such as texting, web browsing,play mp3 files,takes photos and such.
-Making Phone Calls-
Mixed feeling on this feature. It does take a few button presses to dial out on this phone.
1.) You have to unlock the phone by pressing on the “unlock key” found on the side of the phone.
2.) Use the slide feature on the touchscreen to turn the page.
3.) Press the phone icon on the front of the phone to access the call menu.
4.) Press the “Dialer” Tab
5.) Use the touchscreen to input the number and FINALLY press “Talk” to dial out.
It does seem like a lot but it’s a short process once you get acquainted with the dialing procedures.
The call quality is superb on both ends. The speaker phone is also great and loud.
-WEB BROWSING-
The second complaint I saw was the lack of decent browsing capabilities. If people would do a simple search on adding 3rd party apps to this phone they could use OperaMini(current version is 6.0) browser which does save bookmarks, usernames and passwords to sites visited.
-3rd Party Apps-
YES, you can add 3rd party apps to the Samsung Seek IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. Do not use the Boost Mobile Store, cause it does really suck and they’re not free. Anyone can do a simple search on how to add apps. In short you have to send both JAD Files and JAR Files to your phone(via pc through usb cable or a microSD card) to install them and they will be under the Applications Tab ready to be used. I’ve downloaded 50+ high quality apps to my phone already and more to come!
-Touchscreen-
It is not really that bad, Again I think some users are just spoiled from the other phone options out there but remember you can’t compare apples to oranges. It does take some time to adjust to using this type of touchscreen but its not that unbearable. One bad thing is the screen is very hard to read outside in direct sunlight.
-Keyboard(Texting)-
Again, it isn’t so bad. The keys are bit on the tiny side and spaced close together so some users with big hands may have an issue. A big plus is the keyboard is very good to use in the dark because it is back lit. Also, there is a cool shortcut key that opens up a sub menu for emoticons. Overall I think the texting is pretty good. If you’re using the phones default browser you can’t send the browser to the background to start a text BUT if you use another 3rd party browser,such a OperaMini, you can easily send your web browsing to the background and start a text message.
-Camera-
It’s a low quality camera to be honest. It’s 1.3mp ,and it doesn’t have image stabilization so if you have shaky hands most of your photos will come out a bit blurry if you view at full size. Very grainy in low light conditions. However, one must remember this is a PHONE first and foremost and not a full fledge point and shoot camera!
-Mp3/Video-
Kinda mixed feelings with the default mp3 player. The phone automatically goes into a “lock” mode after awhile so when you want to skip a song you have to unlock the phone first. I had trouble with the random play mode as well at times. One could use another 3rd party app for playing mp3 because I found some that are decent to use.
There is NO video player by default but I have seen rumors of using a 3rd party app to play video. I have yet to do any searches for a video player so I cannot test it out.
-Bluetooth-
Haven’t used it yet and as for tethering complaints if you read your Terms of Service when you first signed up for Boost Mobile Service there is a stipulation stating you CAN NOT use their service to tether the internet service to any other device. This is why tethering is DISABLED by default. However, a user could possibly use a hack to bypass the restriction.
-Battery Life-
I would say it’s good. It lasts for over a day or two under heavy usage. By heavy usage I do the following: A few dozen text messages, use the web browser through out the day(probably adds up to around 2 hours total browsing), a few calls lasting a few minutes, and gaming(Java based games, anywhere from 1hr to 3hrs total). All of the preceding can be done and battery life lasts a little over a day or a bit more.
-Build Quality-
The phone feels a little “cheap” and plasticly. I’ve only had this phone for about two weeks so I’ll have to wait and see how it holds up in the long run. I did purchase phone insurance on the Boost Mobile site for an extra $5 a month on top of the $50 per month unlimited plan. You can…
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|Junk,
This is NOT a “smart phone”, it is merely a phone with extra options.
The good stuff:
* Slide out qwerty keyboard
* Good battery life
* Superb voice recognition for hands free dialing
* Very loud speaker
* My provider, Boostmobile, has an excellent pricing plan, and great service area
The bad stuff:
* Low bandwidth. This is a CDMA phone so speeds are equivalent to a 56K dial-up
* Camera quality is bad. It may be a 1.3 megapixel, however with the slow shutter speed and low sensitivity cause this camera to take blurry shots every time.
* The media player suffers from low fidelity playback, even when using headphone jack.
* The browser will not let you change the home page. It also does not save logon cookies, or passwords
* The facebook, and myspace applications are not applications. They simply launch the web browser.
* Downloading apps from 3rd party sites is disabled. You can’t save images off the web either.
* As of this writing (11/24/2010) Neither Boostmobile or Sprint have made any new applications availble for purchase.
* The GPS capabilities are only available thru the “Boost Navigator” application, which costs extra money per use, or an extra monthly fee. You cannot delete this application from the phone.
* “Hookt Chat” application also cost extra to use, and is impossible to delete from the phone.
* Operating the phone is almost entirely done by using the touch screen, which is nearly impossible to see if you are outside on a sunny day.
* Video playback is not supported. Not even youtube
* You arent allowed to assign your own MP3′s as ringtones. You are expected to buy those from the so called app store.
* Bluetooth tethering to other devices, (to share the internet connection), is disabled.
* Bluetooth file transfers are limited to one single file at a time.
* The touch screen is not capacitive, it is truly pressure sensitive. If you are used to a droid or iphone, this screen will feel numb and unresponsive.
Final Opinion:
The cons severely outweigh the pros. I would not recommend this phone to anyone.
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|J Hamilton nailed the review,
Most features are disabled. Web is useless. Ok phone for calling and texting, but not for anything else. Probably better off not spending $129.00 + tax at Best Buy for this phone.
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