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Samsung Glyde Review
  5. ConclusionPublished on 5/8/2008 - by Noah Kravitz, Senior Editor, Consumer Products and Services  Editor Rating:
  4.54  4 5 5 5 4
Glyde’s a cool little phone, even if it’s not really all that little. Between Glyde, Voyager, Alias, and enV2, Verizon now has four non-smartphones with QWERTY boards in its line up. That speaks volumes about how people use their phones these days - texting (and Emailing and Web surfing) is fast becoming as important to people as voice calling. Not everyone wants the power and complexity of a true smartphone, but more and more people want the ease-of-use of a QWERTY thumbboard.
Samsung took their uber-powerful F700 and shrunk it down to a more consumer-friendly size in Glyde. The F700’s feature set was also trimmed, but only minimally, and Verizon was smart enough to merge their menus and icons with Samsung’s Croix user interface, resulting in a feature-filled device that’s still easy to use. Backed by both a touchscreen and a QWERTY board, Glyde offers a slew of multimedia and messaging features in a fashionable package. Glyde’s not without its faults, and the somewhat inconsistent response of the touch screen was definitely my biggest frustration with the device. When it worked well for me, the display was excellent - on par with anything else out there save Apple’s iPhone. Unfortunately I encountered consistent difficulty triggering Web links and other buttons located along the screen’s edges. I’ll be curious to see if other reviewers and users encountered similar difficulty and, if so, if Verizon and Samsung can make things a little better down the road by way of a firmware update. All in all, though, I like Glyde. It’s great to see handsets becoming more powerful and easier to use at the same time, and VZW and Samsung went one further here by innovating a little when it comes to form factor. Smaller than Voyager, sleeker than enV2, flashier than Alias - whatever you want to call it, Glyde brings a different look to Verizon’s VCAST Messaging Phone lineup, and I’m sure VZW subscribers will agree that it’s always nice to have choices. All about
Closely Related StuffWednesday, May 14, 2008umm yea i have a verizon phone and am looking to upgrade and im not sure how much the upgrade price would be could anyone help? Tuesday, May 13, 2008With there being no controls for selecting on the qwerty key pad, how does that work? do you have to touch the whole time? Tuesday, May 13, 2008Can the phone synch calendar and contacts with a cable connection to a PC? Saturday, May 10, 2008Do you have the option to text on the touch screen, like you do on the Voyager? Samsung Glyde Verizon (SCH-U940) - Review Pt 2 Samsung Glyde (Verizon) unboxing and hands-on Samsung Glyde SCH-U940 Verizon full video review Pt 1 Samsung Glyde in-depth review - At a Glance Glyde: Verizon announces Samsung Glyde VCAST messaging phone Samsung Glyde in-depth review - IntroductionEver since Samsung debuted the “Ultra Smart” F700 more than one year ago, phone geeks in the US have been waiting for a US carrier to pick it up. The F700’s combination of a full touch screen, Samsung’s “Croix” user interface, and a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard gave it instant “Super Phone” status in the tech world. Though it’s been a long wait, Verizon and Samsung have brought the F700 to the States at long last in the U940 “Glyde,” But there’s a twist: Samsung literally...Samsung Glyde in-depth review - Design & FeaturesWhen I first held Glyde I was really taken with how small it felt. Granted it’s fairly thick, but it really felt much more like a “regular phone” than a messaging phone with a sliding — that is, “glyding” — keyboard hidden under its display. Glyde’s rounded corners, deep blue glossy plastic body, and chromed plastic accents give it a fun-meets-high tech look, and its size makes it easy to hold and use with either one hand on the touchscreen or both thumbs on the keyboard....Samsung Glyde in-depth review - Usability & PerformanceI tested Glyde on Verizon Wireless’ network in the San Francisco Bay Area and was impressed with its quality of sound during voice calls. Signal strength was on par with other recent Verizon handsets I’ve tested, and calls sounded good with minimal hiss and static. The built-in stereo speakers work well for hands-free calling, and also were handy for watching and listening to video clips. Bluetooth worked well with mono and stereo headsets, and pairing was easy and...Samsung Glyde in-depth review - ConclusionGlyde’s a cool little phone, even if it’s not really all that little. Between Glyde, Voyager, Alias, and enV2, Verizon now has four non-smartphones with QWERTY boards in its line up. That speaks volumes about how people use their phones these days - texting (and Emailing and Web surfing) is fast becoming as important to people as voice calling. Not everyone wants the power and complexity of a true smartphone, but more and more people want the ease-of-use of a QWERTY... |
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