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I really have some mixed feelings about Straight Talk’s Samsung t528g. Signal reception was good, and battery life and voice quality were both adequate. I like the flexibility offered with the ringtones, and the browser offered a pretty good experience. Overall, I do think the phone looks attractive, and it’s comfortable to carry.
WiFi and 3G are both definite pluses, as is the possibility to install apps. In particular, I think a GMail app and Google Maps were my favorite apps. And speaking of email, the ability to set up this phone to automatically check your email is something that many people will definitely enjoy. The voice command is an excellent feature, especially when used over bluetooth. I also liked the mp3 player and the ability to put it in the background and continue using your phone for other tasks.
In spite of all these positives, however, I can’t confidently recommend the t528g. The negatives, while relatively few, were significant in my opinion. First, I would expect a better camera on a $100 phone. 2.0 megapixels on this device is somewhat disappointing. This isn’t that big of a deal, though.
The widgets are more aggravating, though. I found it very hard to change the widget layouts on the home screens, and it simply shouldn’t be this difficult!
Far and away, though, the biggest problem with I had with it was the touch screen. I tried for a long time, but simply could not get comfortable with the input. It slowed me down to the point that I didn’t want to use the phone to compose even a text message, let alone an email of even a sentence or two. And considering the popularity of texting these days, I would imagine that others will agree that it’s important to be able to enter text quickly.
If you fall into this category, I’d suggest one of two options. If you plan to get Straight Talk’s $45 unlimited plan, I still recommend the Nokia E71. It’s got all the app, email, and music player capabilities of the t528g, but the physical keyboard is MUCH easier to type on. And as far as apps and email, it can do quite a bit more. That phone will cost $179 new from StraightTalk.com.
You’ll also see an option for a “reconditioned” E71 on Straight Talk’s site. I’ve never personally had any problems with any reconditioned phones from Straight Talk or it’s sister companies Net10 and TracFone. But I’ve heard from enough people who complained specifically about this phone that I suggest, if you buy the reconditioned model, to proceed with caution.
If you don’t want to commit to the $45 monthly plan, I then recommend the LG 900g, which I reviewed here. That phone also has a physical qwerty keyboard for easier text input, and will be comparable to the t528g in terms of voice quality and signal reception, with better battery life.
If you have your heart set on a touch screen phone from Straight Talk, I guess the Samsung t528g is the phone for you. Just be aware that if you do a lot of texting, it will definitely take some time to get used to the touch screen. In fact, I think it’s possible that you might never come to actually like it.
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