Messaging, Internet & Connectivity
The t629 has support for SMS, MMS, and IM messaging. Messaging packages are available through T-Mobile as add-ons to voice service plans, and messaging is also available without a package on a fee-per-message basis.
Composing SMS and MMS messages on the t629 was straightforward, as was attaching images, videos, and audio clips to MMS messages. As I mentioned, the membrane-style keypad isn't likely to become a favorite of heavy texters, as it makes for somewhat slippery message composition. That being said, the predictive text input system did work well. There is no email client on the Trace, though WAP email access is available through T-Mobile's T-Zones service.
The t629 IM client supports AOL, MSN, Yahoo!, and ICQ instant messaging. T-Mobile includes instant messaging as part of their messaging packages, and it is available on a fee-per-message basis, as well.
Internet access on the t629 is limited to T-Mobile's T-Zones service. The service worked well, and the phone supports EDGE for faster data rates. T-Mobile's done a pretty good job of making T-Zones an easy-to-use and worthwhile WAP experience.
T-Mobile users can also purchase and download ringtones, wallpapers, and games directly from the t629 using the T-Zones service. The phone officially supports purchased ringtones only, though Samsung phones can generally be made to recognize user-installed mp3 files as ringtones with a simple change of the file extension from ".mp3" to ".3gp."
Anyone in need of serious mobile Internet services would do better with an unlocked, EDGE-capable handset - or one of T-Mobile's business-class devices like the Dash or MDA - as the t629 is limited in its Web-browsing abilities. For basic mobile information needs, however, the t629 does fine.
A quad-band GSM handset, the t629 supports the 850/900/1800/1900 bands as well as GPRS and EDGE data transfer. The phone is suitable for use abroad on T-Mobile and other GSM networks. Wi-Fi support is not included on the 629.
Bluetooth includes support for audio devices as well as file transfer and syncing. I had no trouble pairing the Trace with a mono headset or my computer. The phone features a single accessory port that's used for the included wired hands-free earpiece as well as the AC charger.
The phone has a somewhat meager 21MB of internal memory available for file storage,but does feature a microSD slot for expansion via removable memory cards. No microSD card is included in the retail package.
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4.3
