Mobility Digest Review: Samsung : ) Smiley SGH-t359

Happy Saturday to you, I just can’t seem to catch up with any of my work lately, life and family etc just keeps getting in the way. I can’t wait until next week when my kids are back in school so I can have some sense of normalcy around here and maybe get some work done without interruptions.

Today for review I’ve got another Samsung phone, this one is the SGH-t359 of the : ) or Smiley as it’s called. It’s cute name for a cute little phone. it’s not a smartphone by any means but it gets the job done. It’s small slider that opens to reveal a rather small qwerty keyboard that is just a bit cramped for me. Overall though the phone isn’t bad as a phone, it’s simple to use, it’s got plenty of features like social media access and web access and of course games and media.

Smiley : ) (SGH-t359)

Author: Kristofer Brozio

Vendor: Samsung

Price from T-Mobile Website.

Suggested retail: $149.99
Instant discount: -$110.00
Web-only discount: -$20.00
Price: $19.99

Overall Rating: 4/5

What’s in the Box?

So it’s from T-Mobile, it comes in a T-Mobile box.

Inside the box you’ll find the phone, charger, documentation and battery.

The phone is not a touch screen sadly, but that works though, not everyone cares for one. The screen is 2.6” in size, below it you’ll find six button and a directional pad with a button in the center.

The Smiley is a slider that opens to reveal a full keyboard but it’s rather small really. The buttons are a bit cramped. Typing on it can be difficulty as your fingers will get in the way of each other. There is no numbers except for those that you have to push the function or Alt button to access. If you look at the picture below you’ll see the Alt and the 7 and the asterisk are very close and very hard to get at. You don’t have to hold the Alt button down for single uses, but if you want to put in a bunch of numbers then you’ll have to hold it down.

On the back you’ll find the 1.3mp camera with self-portrait mirror and no flash.

On the left side the microSD slot and the volume buttons.

On the left side is the camera button and the USB port.

Taking the back cover off you’ll find the sim card slot and you can see where the microSD card goes.

Impressions / Review:

When you’re booting up you’re greeted with the Smiley:

Then you’re taken to the main screen which is kind of bare:

Pressing the menu buttons takes you to the circular scrolling menu with choices for People, Messaging, Media, Setting, Organizer, and Call History.

Let’s move into the menus themselves. People is just contacts, so not much to see there, but here’s messaging with several options for you to peruse.

Then next would be Media:

Under Media you’ll find Games and Apps:

Next would be Settings, fairly common stuff here.

Then last would be Organizer, actually last is Call History but there’s not much to see there.

The Browser is the T-Mobile Web2Go, which works in a pinch, but I don’t care for it at all.

Making calls requires you to slide open the phone and press the numbers. When you slide the phone everything lights up nicely.

Call quality and signal is fine, I have no problems with T-Mobile here in Pittsburgh at all. Calls though are clear, and I was told I could be heard just fine. Luckily the Sim card I got was apparently someone  else’s and I got credit collectors calling me and solicitors. The number needs to be added to the do not call list I would think.

Battery life is great, it’s not a smart phone so you’ll get decent battery life from it surely.

The last thing to look at is the camera.

It seems there’s a lot of settings, but there really isn’t just a lot of menus with a few options each.

The viewfinder tell you some information like resolution, number of pictures and focus along with options for menu and photo review.

Here’s some sample pictures taken indoors in bright lighting at various distances.

As you can see close-ups are not that great, and even distance ones aren’t that good either really.

Here’s a few pictures with the effects enabled:

Conclusion:

The Smiley does have some issues yes, but it’s a basic phone that I think people who are looking for one will be happy with. it’s simple to use, navigation is quick and easy and call quality is fairly decent.

Picture quality isn’t that great, but it never is on a basic phone.

Battery life is very good though, you should be able to go a couple to a few days without recharging, depending on how you use it of course.

If you’re accustomed to smart phones then you’ll want to stay away from it.

Pros:
+Simple and easy to use
+Seems well made
+Nice little phone overall

Cons:
-No flash
-Cramped keyboard
-Pictures not that good