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| Samsung Blast Phone (T-Mobile) | 
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| Brand: Samsung
Category: Wireless
List Price: $179.99
Buy New: $0.01
You Save: $179.98 (100%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  (27 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1345
Color: Black
Media: Wireless Phone
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
Model: Blast
UPC: 610214614476
ASIN: B000UOFVDW
Release Date: August 5, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Slim slider phone with hybrid QWERTY keypad with SureType technology for quick, easy emails and text messaging | | • | Provides direct access to personal e-mail, including AOL email, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail | | • | Access to popular instant messaging services as well as text and multimedia/picture messaging | | • | Bluetooth connectivity for communication headsets and stereo headphones; 1.3-megapixel camera | | • | Includes: Battery, Charger and Hands-free Headset |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
Perfect for people who want to stay on top of their email as well as stay connected wherever they roam, the crimson and black Samsung Blast slider-style phone is an affordable alternative to smartphones. Available exclusively from T-Mobile, it communicates over GSM/GPRS and EDGE networks and offers quad-band network capabilities for global connectivity. It's first T-Mobile phone to provide direct access to personal e-mail--including AOL email, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail--in addition to text and instant messaging. Composing messages is easy thanks to the hybrid QWERTY keypad that uses SureType technology, also found on RIM's BlackBerry smartphones. (See more about SureType below.) Other features include stereo Bluetooth connectivity, MicroSD memory card expansion, 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder, speaker-independent voice control, and an integrated digital audio player. 
The front of the compact Samsung Blast slids up to reveal a keypad with a hybrid QWERTY keyboard. | 
Using the integrated SureType technology, you'll be able to write and respond to emails, text messages, and IMs quickly and easily. | Here's the biggest bonus--with the Blast you can send and receive e-mail for the same cost as a text message. No data package is required! With a basic voice plan and text messaging option, the Blast becomes your ultimate communication device with text, picture, video, and instant messaging as well as email--without the monthly cost of a data plan. The Blast also is the first phone to feature compatibility with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts--on any network, even landlines--without using any of your minutes. Blast users who are myFaves subscribers can now also send an audio postcard--a photo accompanied by a voice message--as well as send an e-mail or launch an IM client, in addition to a text message, right from the myFaves home screen. Learn more about myFaves. Compatible with IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP email protocols (including integrated access to AOL email, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail), the Blast makes it easy to check in with your inbox. It also includes access to instant messaging--with built-in support for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), ICQ, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger services--in addition to SMS text, MMS multimedia/picture messaging. For added convenience, email messages on the Blast can be read and responded to for the same pricing as text and picture messagesNmeaning there's no required data package to purchase. The bright TFT display has a 176 x 220-pixel resolution and support for up to 262K colors. Below the screen resides a four-way navigation pad and dedicated shortcut and T-Zone keys, with the numeric keypad available by sliding phone's front upward. The QWERTY-like keypad provides ample space to let fingers move at a faster pace, making typing more intuitive, with greater control over the letters and words being entered. 
The slim Samsung Blast measures just 0.5 inches thin. | The 1.3-megapixel camera shoots still photos in seven resolutions (from 176 x 144 to 1280 x 1024 pixels) and it offers up to a 4x digital zoom, self-timer, multi-shot capability, and five picture modes (auto, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, and cloudy). It can also capture video clips in two resolutions--176 x 144 (QCIF) and 128 x 96 pixels--at a length dependent upon the available space on an inserted MicroSD memory card. The digital audio player supports playback of MP3 and AAC files saved to memory card. This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, audio/video remote control, and printing. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking (DUN)--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server--using T-Mobile's EDGE network. The built in memory provides room for up to 1000 contact entries in the phone's address book. A voice dialing feature makes calling friends and associates as easy as saying their names. Enjoy easy, hands free communication with a full duplex speakerphone that lets you hear callers loud and clear. It comes with a number of handy tools including a calendar, notepad, alarm clock, to-do list, tip calculator, and unit converter. It also sports an airplane mode feature, which allows the user to safely use the non-wireless functions of a phone (such as music, games, or organizer functions) on an airplane during flight. Other features include an 11 MB internal memory, four pre-loaded games (Forgotten Warrior, Cannonball, Midnight Casino, and Brain Challenge) with more downloadable from T-Mobile's T-Zones, USB connectivity (with mass storage capability), and a built-in Web browser. SureType Hybrid Keyboard
Through an integrated keyboard and software system, SureType effectively combines a traditional phone keypad and a familiar QWERTY-based keyboard to create an efficient and familiar typing experience. When you type on the Samsung Blast, SureType technology automatically changes the letters on the screen and lists suggested words below the text. SureType allows you to quickly and accurately compose messages using single-handed operation or two-handed thumb-typing--without the limitations of traditional phone keypads. There are no dual keypads, peripherals or hardware transformations required and there is no need to learn a new way to type. Since the software understands what you're typing, you can concentrate on composing your message rather than on the input method. To help facilitate easy spelling and composition, SureType includes intuitive software with a word list of over 35,000 words and the ability to increase that list based on the frequency of use and the names and addresses in the smartphone's address book. Vital Statistics
The Samsung Blast weighs 2.8 ounces and measures 4.16 x 2.04 x 0.5 inches. Its 800 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5 hours of talk time, and up to 199 hours (8.3) of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 nice phone September 3, 2008
I like this phone, it is easy to use, though I have not used the music features much. It takes nice video and pic. Has lots of fun extras, tip calculator and such.
Not the best by any means, but great for the price June 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I got the Blast today and have few complaints thus far. Call quality is fine, features are fairly intuitive, and I like the SureType keypad - I'm already texting much faster than on my old phone, and I've only been using it for a few hours. Logging into Gmail was a snap, and it's wonderful to be able to check my email without paying for a data plan (reading emails is the cost of sending a text, but checking and deleting is free). There are a few cons - the keypad is small and rather flat, which is fine for me as my hands are quite small, but may be problematic for people with larger thumbs. Also, you have to go into a sub-menu to access a comma! (We get an asterix but not a comma?) This is an inexcusably stupid mistake on the part of the designers. Frustrating.
The selection of built-in ringtones is not the best, and there is limited customization for sound in general. I have a feeling I'll be turning them all off soon.
Otherwise, I really like the phone. It's not going to revolutionize your life, it's far from being an iPhone, but if your main concerns are simply making calls, texting, and checking email, and you don't mind the learning curve of the SureType keypad, this is a fine phone. This phone also seems to want to do a lot of things and not all of them well - the camera isn't great, and the mp3 player is very poorly thought out. For the current price, though, (free with activation or contract extension) I'm quite satisfied.
 Great phone. Would do it all over again. June 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I've had the Blast for a little over a week now and am thoroughly enjoying it. I was hesitant at first because I went from a LG 9200 with full QWERTY keyboard to the Smart Type with two letters per key. It took a couple of days, but I am used to it now and am quite fast when texting.
I have not had a problem with the integrated email system. I have [...] and have had absolutely no trouble logging in or retrieving emails. I like that the emails are downloaded like text messages so internet access is not required. This is a great feature.
I don't have the My Favs plan so I can't give a review on that feature.
The camera is quite good and video quality is decent for a camera phone. I have had fun using it for blogging. I like the fact that the camera is hidden until you slide the phone up.
The music player is not a top priority for me as I didn't get this phone to use as a MP3 player, but it too is decent. Not fantastic, but sounds well enough.
I love the slim design. The black and red make it a sharp looking phone. It feels quite comfortable in my hand and when making calls. There is a little give when you slide the phone out, but it is pretty sturdy. I like the option that you can slide the phone back into position and not cut off a call or end an application.
Improvements I would like to see in a future model. A better thumb grip to slide the phone up with one hand. Better ringtones and a quick key to turn it to silent would be nice. It would also be nice to be able to resize wallpaper to fill the display. A flash for the camera would be good. Being able to turn off the option to automatically save sent text would be helpful too. An included USB cable to sync with a computer would be a great add on. Most of my improvements are minor. I really haven't found anything major to complain about.
Overall, I love this phone. It is easy to use and has a lot of wonderful features.
 Ok June 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
the idea of the phone is good, but definitely not for me!
i do love texting but i'm used to the standard keypad, not the qwerty keypad. i thought texting will be easier this way, but since it is an awkward qwerty keypad (like two letters per number or one letter per number on a key) it just didn't work with me and i started to text twice as slow. i also didn't like how 'wide' the phone was. the widest phone i had was a razor and i thought that was wide enough, so it felt a bit awkward in my hands. mostly because of the qwerty keypad i couldn't handle to be with this phone for two years, so i gave it back for a samsung katalyst instead. now i'm happy i made the switch!
it is a great phone for simple users with simple needs, but try texting on the phone at the store and see how you like it and then decide to buy it.
 3 1/2 Stars May 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been using this phone for a little over a month and overall it's a pretty good phone. On regular phones I HATE predictive text because it never predicts correctly but with the hybid qwerty style its generally spot on and even remembers words and abbreviations that you have used previously. I have Comcast email and it works great with this phone, set up was as simple as entering my email address and password. I downloaded ringtone ripper and make my own ringtones. If you download it, don't chose the opt to send to phone as it will charge you on your bill, just chose create and it will create a file to save them to. I ordered an USB cord for like [...] and downloaded the PC Suite from Samsung[...] for free and it's a breeze to load the ringtones and other music. I was able to use the memory card that came with my Razr in this phone, after reformatting it, which erased all prior info but that was no biggie. My only major complaint is the battery life. After about 20-25 text messages I'm down to one bar. I've experenced some echoing, and few spots of low signal where I had no problems with the Razr. Overall rating is B+
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