Samsung Mysto Review - Usability & Performance

Usability & Performance

Helio phones make use of Sprint’s CDMA cellular network, and Mysto is compatible with Sprint’s EV-DO network for high speed data usage, as well.  I tested Mysto in the San Francisco Bay Area and found voice call performance to be so-so.  Signal strength was fine, but calls were too often staticky and/or muffled sounding.  When voice quality issues arose, they were more often of the callers having trouble hearing me ilk than the other way around.

The handset worked well with the included wired stereo headset, though as always I wish Samsung used standard connectors instead of their proprietary jack.  I was also able to easily pair Mysto with a variety of mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets.  Wireless range was pretty good, but voice quality over Bluetooth was similarly mediocre to that when using the internal earpiece and microphone.  I experienced the same so-so quality via speakerphone, as well.

Mysto really shines when it comes to multimedia usage.  Helio recently started offering the Opera browser on some of its handsets, and while Mysto’s built-in HTML browser isn’t bad, Opera would be a great addition here, especially considering the speedy access afforded by Sprint’s EV-DO network.  Mysto comes pre-loaded with a bunch of Web shortcuts and also supports streaming audio and video, YouTube access, and uploading to Flickr accounts.  Helio’s excellent one-touch search feature lets you key in a search term from the home page and quickly get back results from multiple search engines and Web portals, and Mysto can also access Helio’s online stores for purchasing music tracks, videos, ringtones, images, games, and more.

The handset is also compatible with Helio’s Buddy Beacon friend locator service as well as Google Maps for Mobile and Garmin Mobile and Microsofts Tellme service, both of which work well with Mysto’s integrated A-GPS chip.  Tellme combines voice commands with GPS so you can, for example, ask “Where’s the nearest Italian restaurant” and get back location-based results.

Mysto also features a 2-megapixel camera which yielded average results.  The camera has myriad settings and supports video recording at up to 320 x 240 resolution and 14 frames per second.  It’s an okay camera, but not as good as the 3.2 MP shooter Samsung built into the original U600.  Helio’s software allows for in-phone image editing  and geotagging as well as uploading to Helio, MySpace, and Flickr photo sharing services.

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