Samsung Brightside User Reviews

morgan10260 posted on 30 Aug 2012, 08:59

4

Bad phone!

morgan10260 has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

One of the worst phones I have ever owned. Quality is poor. Options are poor. You cannot have a pic as the background. It's the menu and you can't change it and the menu will take you to another menu! screen is too touchy too

Build quality 2/10

Reception 7/10

Call quality 7/10

Internet 3/10

Multimedia 7/10

Camera 3/10

UI speed 5/10

Everyday usage 2/10

Text input 2/10

Display 2/10

Battery 5/10

abstrxct posted on 19 Aug 2012, 19:04

8

Good phone for a person wanting a smartphone or downgrading from a smartphone.

abstrxct has owned it for less than year before publishing this review

I've had my Brightside for about 6 months now after upgrading from the Env3 (another good phone!) I will probably do some comparisons with this phone against my Brightside so it helps put things in perspective for some people!

First of all, the Brightside's display is a good size, the phone itself is a only a tiny bit smaller than my iPod touch.The touchscreen is capacitive, meaning that instead of having to physically press down with a finger/nail/stylus (like on a DS or another touch screen feature phone from Verizon) you can simply tap it. A con to this is that you need special gloves to tap it in the wintertime (you can't use regular gloves). The screen is really sensitive, even me brushing up against it can lead to menus opening. The body itself though is super cheap feeling. It's not 'solid' like other phones verizon offers. You can definitely tell where they skimped in order to put more money into other features (the touch screen). The screen itself is also plastic so there is a less worry about cracking or scratches.
Also: You cannot add a background image, you can only change the image when you 'swipe' the phone to unlock it. The 2 menus (ugly orange and green) are not very attractive. :I

Texting: Texting on the phone is pretty good, unlike the Env3 the keyboard has 'softer, squishier' keys meaning that they don't produce that satisfying click with each press. I also find my fingers slipping off of them, and having trouble distinguishing between them. I guess it takes...  

I've had my Brightside for about 6 months now after upgrading from the Env3 (another good phone!) I will probably do some comparisons with this phone against my Brightside so it helps put things in perspective for some people!

First of all, the Brightside's display is a good size, the phone itself is a only a tiny bit smaller than my iPod touch.The touchscreen is capacitive, meaning that instead of having to physically press down with a finger/nail/stylus (like on a DS or another touch screen feature phone from Verizon) you can simply tap it. A con to this is that you need special gloves to tap it in the wintertime (you can't use regular gloves). The screen is really sensitive, even me brushing up against it can lead to menus opening. The body itself though is super cheap feeling. It's not 'solid' like other phones verizon offers. You can definitely tell where they skimped in order to put more money into other features (the touch screen). The screen itself is also plastic so there is a less worry about cracking or scratches.
Also: You cannot add a background image, you can only change the image when you 'swipe' the phone to unlock it. The 2 menus (ugly orange and green) are not very attractive. :I

Texting: Texting on the phone is pretty good, unlike the Env3 the keyboard has 'softer, squishier' keys meaning that they don't produce that satisfying click with each press. I also find my fingers slipping off of them, and having trouble distinguishing between them. I guess it takes time to get used to but if you are a super fast texter like me, this may prove some difficulty.
There is also an option for threaded messaging- I prefer this because you can easily scroll through conversations and see what the person sent you before and while you reply. One my Env3, the messaging was a huge joke. I often had to check back and see what the person wrote. If you have the chat open when you recieve a new message from that person, it automatically easily add it to the threaded conversation.
One issue I have with this is that when you recieve a MMS message, it shows it as a black box. I have to go back and reopen the message for it to show.
You can also extract address and calendar things really easily.

Calling: Pretty simple, there are easy touch options when you initate a call such as Bluetooth, Whisper Mode etc. When you put the phone to your face, the screen goes black to prevent you from hitting buttons accidently. I don't really call too much, but no issues really! No dropped calls yet! (Env3 had huge problem with this)

Camera: 3.2 megapixels. Decent, no LED flash.

If you're buying this, get it from Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. $100 dollars for this phone is WAY too much. It has a low rating on this site because a lot of people compare this phone to a smart phone (which it isn't) and to Verizon's steep price tag (which you don't need to pay)
This is probably the best feature phone on verizon right now.

Build quality 6/10 extremely cheap feeling. like, kids toy section cheap feeling. looks like a smart phone though!

Reception 10/10 My 3G is aweosme, my texts travel so much faster.

Call quality 9/10

Internet 8/10 do not use this feature, has a full qwerty keyboard on screen for web browsing though!

Multimedia 7/10 there is no VZ navigator and no apps besides Social Beat for Facebook, Myspace, Twitter

Camera 7/10 decent camera, decent video. no LED flash lots of editing settings for the camera (ISO, scene setting, brightness, colours, etc)

UI speed 9/10 Very good for not being a smart phone!

Everyday usage 8/10

Text input 7/10 keyboard feels slippery, squishy. nicely spaced and sized keys though!

Display 6/10 Not too great but bigger than the other phones Verizon is offering with a screen/keyboard.

Battery 8/10 Lasts a few days on a full charge, depends on your settings though. I mostly text with auto brightness.

Pros

• Looks like a smartphone
• sensitive touch screen
• Larger display

Cons

• slippery/cheap build
• squishy, slippery keys with no good distinction
• no LED flash
• UGLY menus with a lack of options
• No .gif images as unlock image
• No changing background

JosephLara posted on 23 Jul 2012, 10:55

10

samsung brightside

JosephLara has owned it for less than 3 months before publishing this review

Its a wonderful feature phone, its battery life could be better but you didn't buy a smartphone. I know at Verizon it is very expensive, but thats why there's Ebay, Craigslist, and Amazon. The touch screen is great, the processor is a little slow, but i have seen slower for the same price, like some of the 4G phones. Start up is pretty quick, the cameras pictures are really clear, there could be a flash, but then again its not a smart phone, but very connectivity fast, Its a great phone, don't believe phone arenas review on this phone, because they expect this to be a smartphone and it isn't. Overall, this is a great phone for someone who doesn't want a smartphone, but wants a taste of a smartphone.

Build quality 9/10 I've dropped it a few times in the parking lot and as long as you have a screen protector on, your good.

Reception 10/10 I usually have 3 or 4 bars, 2 once in a while. But i live in the mountains so..

Call quality 9/10 Call quality is nice and loud, ive never dropped a call, speakerphone is clear too

Internet 10/10 I always love Opera internet.

Multimedia 10/10 Pictures are good, music is good, videos are mediocre.

Camera 10/10 Pictures are nice and clear, when you zoom in, its not all blurry.

UI speed 9/10 Pretty fast processor, not much lag at all.

Everyday usage 10/10 Great everyday phone, very reliable.

Text input 10/10 I like the keyboard, its very comfortable, i even like the on screen T9 is very easy to use because the keys are big.

Display 9/10 Display is really clear, but could be better.

Battery 10/10

Pros

• Camera
• music player is good
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• touch & slider

Cons

• Battery life could be better

JosephLara alternatives:

Samsung Illusion

Samsung Reality

LG Extravert

Pantech Hotshot

archeryhunter1993 posted on 30 Apr 2012, 08:47

10

Samsung Brightside

archeryhunter1993 has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

What a great phone! I havent had any problems what so ever on this phone. The battery life is really good, screen is good, camera is good, etc. This is one of the better messaging phones verizon has to offer.

Build quality 10/10

Reception 10/10

Call quality 10/10

Internet 10/10

Multimedia 10/10

Camera 10/10

UI speed 10/10

Everyday usage 10/10

Text input 10/10

Display 10/10

Battery 10/10

Pros

• Everything

Cons

• none

sunshinej2013 posted on 12 Apr 2012, 22:53

10

Samsung Brightside

sunshinej2013 has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

Very good phone. I have enjoyed it so far. If you don't want a smart phone I would definitely recommend this phone its got a nice touch screen and a good QWERTY keyboard. The internet is fast. A lot better than any phone I've had.

Build quality 10/10

Reception 10/10

Call quality 10/10

Internet 10/10

Multimedia 10/10

Camera 10/10

UI speed 10/10

Everyday usage 10/10

Text input 10/10

Display 9/10

Battery 10/10

Pros

• just about everything

Cons

• menu styling

samsungbrightside posted on 26 Mar 2012, 11:26

7

i am sick with the terrible t9 texting

samsungbrightside has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

as a samsung brightside user, i was totally troubled by my samsung brightside T9 texting problem, when i was texting, it (samsung brightside device) lock up and then restart automatically i did not downloaded and installed any third party texting software yet.. are you a brightside user? how does your brightside word, especially on the t9 texting issue? will it come the update from Verizon/Samsung that fix this problem? anyone here can help?

Build quality 10/10

Reception 9/10

Call quality 9/10

Internet 9/10

Multimedia 9/10

Camera 6/10

UI speed 6/10

Everyday usage 2/10 the t9 makes my device restarting when i am texting

Text input 2/10 the t9 makes my device restarting when i am texting

Display 7/10

Battery 9/10

svec7186 posted on 23 Mar 2012, 08:44

8

u380 vs u370

svec7186 has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

i have the u370 and i looked at the u380 in a verizon store. the touch screen appears to be a bit better. the UI is much worse. the 370 had a smartphone feel to it with apps that i could place on its 3 panes. the 380 feels like a simple feature phone with a pointless touchscreen. i was hoping the 380 would be an improvement to the 370 in all espects.

Build quality 9/10

Reception 9/10

Call quality 9/10

Internet 8/10

Multimedia 7/10

Camera 8/10

UI speed 7/10

Everyday usage 6/10

Text input 10/10

Display 7/10

Battery 8/10

lostinvancouver posted on 14 Mar 2012, 19:14

10

BEST BASIC PHONE IN TWO YEARS

lostinvancouver has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

GREAT ON THE GO EASY CHECK BASIC EMAIL SNAP A PICTURE AND STAY CHEAP.

POP A micro sd card in and it is perfect. Update facebook and tweet. love it love it love it. Screen size is giant and you can do basic customize.

Build quality 10/10

Reception 10/10

Call quality 10/10

Internet 6/10

Multimedia 6/10

Camera 10/10

UI speed 6/10

Everyday usage 10/10

Text input 10/10

Display 10/10

Battery 10/10

spanglerr30 posted on 02 Mar 2012, 12:04

10

samsung brightside

spanglerr30 has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

I just got this phone it is very good very reliable and it has a very nice touch screen. The internet is fast and the signal is good and this runs on the 1X signal and 3G. It has a very nice camera. If you are not looking for a smart phone and want a basic phone then this is the phone for you. To me its like a step below the smart phone. I highly reccomend it if you upgrade time is approaching and it also has a very responsive touchscreen unlike the env touch and the lg extravert.Th e only thing that I found annoying about this phone is when you unlock the phone you have a menu layout and its annoying. There are two differn't styles. Unlike other phones how you have a button to open the menu the menu is constantly open and that I don't like so if you like backround pictures then sorry it wont happen. The only place where the picture can go is the lock screen. And another thing is I have a micro sd card and it has 3 movies on it and on my env touch they play but not on my brightside so im bery dissappointed because this phone has a very big screen for a normal phone. So other then that I would highly recommend this phone to you.

Build quality 10/10

Reception 10/10

Call quality 8/10

Internet 10/10

Multimedia 10/10

Camera 10/10

UI speed 10/10

Everyday usage 10/10

Text input 10/10

Display 9/10

Battery 10/10

Pros

• everything pretty much

Cons

• the menu layout

mkremer06 posted on 01 Mar 2012, 16:52

7

Brightside

mkremer06 has owned it for less than month before publishing this review

Not bad for someone that doesnt't want a smartphone but they do want that ability to have a decent touch screen and full qwerty slide out keyboard. I think its a great little phone and very reasonable quality.

Build quality 7/10

Reception 10/10

Call quality 8/10

Internet 5/10

Multimedia 5/10

Camera 5/10

UI speed 6/10

Everyday usage 8/10

Text input 9/10

Display 7/10

Battery 8/10