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Samsung Blast-SGH-T729 Cell Phone
What T-Mobile might lack in the way of a high speed data network, they more than make up for with service plans and features geared towards families and messaging addicts. Their myFaves plan and Sidekick family of devices have caught on with budget-conscious parents and their SMS-obsessed teenagers alike T-Mobile is working to (finally) roll out their 3G network in 2008, and they've also been working with manufacturers on a fleet of fun (and easy) to use handsets with advanced features and messaging-friendly form factors. The Samsung Blast is the first of this new wave of phones - its slim slider form factor will be familiar to Samsung fans, but the SureType-style keypad concealed beneath the sliding front panel is designed for the new wave of users to text as much as they talk. Unfortunately, while the Blast looks great on paper and in photos, it proved less than a blast to use. The twenty button QWERTY layout is a great idea, but for all it promises in the way of easy typing in a stylish package, it lacks just as much when it comes to usability. Hampered by small buttons with limited tactile feedback and a crowded layout, Blast proved to be more of a compromise than an innovative solution. But if you've got small fingers and a small budget, Blast does offer a solid feature set in a stylish package.  Blast reminded me of the Samsung T809 - one of my all time favorite T-Mobile phones - when I took it out of the box. A thin (12.7 mm), slightly wider than normal (106 x 15 mm) slider, Blast is compact and light but solid in hand, and features an attractive black with red accents color scheme. I really appreciated Blast's light weight (just 79 g), especially given the quality feel of the internal sliding mechanism. This handset stays open when it should and stays shut when it should, and sliding between the two states is made easy by a great spring mechanism.
The front panel of Blast features a two inch display flanked by a speaker cutout above, and an extensive control array below. A circular five-way directional array is flanked by two softkeys as well as dedicated keys for T-Zones (Web browser), Call, Cancel, and Clear, and one programmable shortcut button. Samsung did a nice job with the navigational buttons, packing a comfortable layout into a relatively small space and giving the keys themselves good tactile feedback.
A camera button and accessory port grace the right side of Blast, while a volume rocker switch and microSD memory card slot can be found on the left spine. The power button rests along the top edge of the phone, and when you slide the front panel up, the rear side of that top edge reveals the camera sensor and a small mirror for self-portraits. I've always liked Samsung's design for slider camera phones, as it keeps the camera sensor protected from dust and scratches when the phone is slid shut.
Sliding the panel up reveals Blast's SureType messaging keypad - kudos to T-Mobile and Samsung for trying to put some smart design into a consumer messaging phone. Featuring twenty buttons where standard dialing layouts only have twelve, Blast maps letters to a regular QWERTY layout instead of the telephone-style ABC, DEF, GHI, etc arrangement. The result is both a more familiar arrangement of characters and only having one or two letters per key instead of three - a combination that should yield more efficient thumb typing.
While SureType has become quite popular on RIM's BlackBerry Pearl (RIM developed the SureType system), I'm not so sure it will succeed on Blast. Blast's keys are a little too small and crowded together, and also too flush-mounted for my tastes. Perhaps my thumbs are a little on the big side, but I just couldn't get comfortable typing on Blast and while I appreciated the innovation I also longed for a regular keypad with larger - if fewer - buttons.
I should note that I've since tried T-Mobile's HTC-made Shadow, which features a similar SureType style keypad in a slider phone form factor. Shadow's buttons are bigger and offer better tactile feedback and, in my eyes, really make good on the promise of the compact messaging phone idea. Shadow is notably thicker and wider than Blast, and a different beast in many ways, but is definitely an option if like me you like the idea of Blast but find the buttons too small.Read full review »Our fancy algorithm says this stuff is related...Friday, July 25, 2008I find the Blast to be a great phone overall, particularly for moderate texting use. SureType works quite well. I also found the battery life to be good *except* if used in an environment where it needs to constantly search for a signal. That'll kill it in an 8 hour workday. The inability to add custom alert sounds (ringtones can be customized, but not alert tones) is a minor annoyance. Otherwise though, great form factor, call quality, and build quality. gthe blastOverall Rating: By: DESHAWNDRA B . on Tuesday, June 17, 2008   3.5 out of 5From: HOUSTON, TX (United States) Experience: 2 Weeks Pros: I love the color, the email, and most of all the mp3Cons: Hard to copy all of the files from the memory card.Summary: I went from the Wing to the Blaskt and its a huge difference very basic but cool at the same time. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
I must've had brain damage when I purchased the Blast.Overall Rating: By: Tyler Wells on Friday, April 04, 2008 3.3 out of 5From: Taylorsville, UT (United States) Experience: 3 Months Pros: The phone is a nice phone. It is my first sliding phone and QWERTY key pad. The email with no internet plan needed is very nice. Very good for a first time phone.Cons: The Cons, well, this wasn't my first phone, I plan buying my old model of phone at FULL price cause I can't stand this one. The battery life Stinks, it barely lasts half a day if you use it alot and even you'll get to two bars to one bar within a day if it sits. The messaging is a pain cause if you send the same text to multiple people, you have to WAIT till that message is sent to each person one by one. Also if the signal is lost, it won't continue sending the message till you tell it you tellSummary: The Samsung Blast is a good choice if you are thinking about purchasing your first or upgrading from a really old model. It's really good for Email and IM, but lacks in user friendly personalization and also consistent functions for all the features. All in all, first phone, Awesome, but if you are used to high end phones like the RAZR, SideKick, Shadow (esp Shadow), BlackBerry or similar, think twice. 1 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Great PhoneOverall Rating: By: Dan Cross on Thursday, January 03, 2008 4.2 out of 5From: Minneapolis, MN (United States) Experience: 3 Weeks Pros: Cost(about$30-$40 with contract), ease of use and features(camera,MP3 and ability to get e mail without adding internet to your plan).Cons: The menu(s) on this phone are a bit of a pain to get use to and it stocked with very few ringtone options(guess they wan you to buy them). You can use mp3`s as ringtones though.Summary: It`s a great little starter phone for people interested in getting a smart phone . It`s far from being a Blackberry but very user friendly. 14 out of 30 people found this review helpful
samsung blastOverall Rating: By: adam schweiger on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4.8 out of 5From: sandiego, CA (United States) Experience: 4 Weeks Pros: thin,loud mp3 playback when not using the muic player,good camera,nice customization fetures.nice battery life,blackbeey style keypadCons: while playing music on the music player the volume isnt as loud as it would be if you played it straight off your memory card, battery seems to drain quicker while using instant messanger,no flash on camera, keypad seems to only register one action when you press it twice fast.Summary: So far i gotta say the samsung blast is a awsome phone it does everything i would want a cell phone to do if you have a converter that can conver videos into 3pg format then you can put your own videos onto the phone. there were some small thisng that bugged me like the lower sound when usung the music player,no flash,and the responsivness on the keypad but besides that i love the phone and would definatly recomend it 16 out of 31 people found this review helpful
Buying choicesWith new service  Compare prices from all authorized online dealers with a T-Mobile plan from You get $50.00 With pre-paid service This item is not being sold with a pre-paid service service plan by any online merchant. Ringtones & Media Shop for compatible mobile content for this phone |
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