Display & Audio
The 2.2" TFT screen on the t629 lives up to Samsung's reputation for excellent mobile handset displays. With a resolution of 220 x 176 pixels at 262,000 colors, the display is capable of sharply rendered photos and graphics, and is about as good as you'll find on a mid-range phone. The screen is easy to read in all but the brightest direct sunlight.
The t629 supports user customization of the home screen wallpaper, as well as basic settings for text style and color. Wallpaper images may be loaded on to the phone via memory card, Bluetooth, or MMS/Web download. A number of wallpapers are pre-installed on the phone, as well.
One nice feature of the phone's user interface is that small sub-menus appear during navigation so you can see what options await beneath a menu choice without having to click down to see them. Combined with clearly labeled numerical shortcuts, this feature makes life very easy for power users.
I tested the Quad-Band t629 on T-Mobile's network in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reception and performance were generally quite good, though I did experience a couple of problems during testing - problems of the sort where you can immediately tell your connection is no good, and a hang up-and-redial clears everything up. Beyond these two isolated incidents, audio was clear on both mine and the other end of calls.
Calls on the built-in speakerphone were loud and clear, as were ringtones and other audio alert tones. The t629 came with a wired hands-free earpiece with an in-line microphone that worked quite well for voice calls. I would like to have seen a stereo headset included to take advantage of the built-in audio player, but one is available as an optional add-on.
The T629 supports Bluetooth audio devices. I was able to easily pair a Bluetooth earpiece with the phone, and voice quality with the earpiece was good. Stereo over Bluetooth is not supported.
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4.3
