Samsung T809 Review

Messaging

There are three ways of messaging with this device. You can send a text message, a picture message or a voice note. When typing the text to one of those there is a T9 input available, which is a bit uncomfortable to use since it only displays one word at a time and if that is not the word you are looking for you have to scroll through the list, but you don't see the entire list, so you scroll until you reach the initial word again and then you know that the list is over. If you didn't find the word you wanted you have the option to add it to the dictionary, so overall it is the standard T9 functionality, I just wish they did it a little more intuitive. The picture messages as usual include a subject, image & video, sound and the message itself. They are well outlined on the screen and pretty easy to use. As far as the third kind (voice note), that is simply a sound recording that you can send to somebody without any additional information attached to it.

The T809 comes preloaded with AIM, ICQ and Yahoo! instant messengers and using them is nothing different then sending and receiving text messages, with the only difference being that the messages are shown on the display consecutively so that you can keep track of the ongoing conversation. A little piece of advice for the fans of instant messaging: Make sure you log off your phone instant messenger before you get on the pc version of it, otherwise you run the risk of being charged for the messages you send from your computer as well.

Connectivity and Data

Using the Bluetooth technology you can easily connect to headsets and other handsfree devices. You can transfer files and personal data (vCard, vCalendar, etc.). If you wanted to get access to the internet or simply use your cell phone as a virtual serial port, you could do that as well. Nothing out of the ordinary in this section, besides the fact that there is a list of features under the Bluetooth menu which shows you all the options you have and gives a brief description of those. I found that useful for people with not such a good understanding of the technology. Settings such as “my phone name” and “security modes” are available to support the use of the Bluetooth technology.

As far as browsing the internet goes, the T809 supports WAP 2.0 and you can load WAP pages without a problem. All the standard menu options are there and it is fairly easy to use the browser. There is a “t-zones” button on the front panel of the phone, which makes opening the browser only one click away.