Samsung Gleam Review

Software / Features:

The main menu of the Gleam is laid out just like every other Verizon phone, with categorizes for Get it Now, Messaging, Contacts, Recent Calls, and Settings & Tools. There are 3 new FlashUI Themes that are included: Cruiser, Espresso, and Rainbow. We first saw a variant of the Espresso used on the GSM Samsung G600. We are glad to see that Samsung is including modern themes on Verizon phones, but between those choices, the Cruiser is by far the best looking theme with very little menu lag. The Gleam is also Samsungs first phone on Verizon to incorporate something new called Living Wallpaper, with 4 choices: City Background, Country Background, City Cruising, and Country Cruising. They are all animated, showing either a moving city or country image. The first two wallpapers (City Background and Country Background) only show the Date & Time, but the second two (City Cruising and Country Cursing) add round “meters” for showing how many voice mails and text/picture message have been received.

The Phonebook is nothing new, with up to 500 Contacts being able to be stored, each with their Name, Mobile 1, Home, Work, E-Mail 1, Group, Picture, Ringtone, Mobile 2, Fax, E-Mail 2, and Notes. After a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed-dial locations.



Camera:

The 2MP Camera does not have a flash, so you can only use it in well-illuminated areas. Images taken outside have low color saturation, which makes them look lifeless, and the edges are not as sharp as most other 2MP camera phones. Interior images did not come out well either, due to lower light levels, and they have a grainy look to them. The camera on the Gleam is by no means spectacular, but it does take slightly better looking images than the LG VX8700. However, since it lacks an Auto-Focus system and a flash, the Motorola Maxx Ve still ranks higher for image quality and overall usability.

Camera Settings:
• Color Effects: Normal, B&W, Sketch, Antique, Negative
• White Balance: Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent
• Memory: Phone, Card
• Auto Name: On, Off
• Preview Mode: Full Screen, Actual Screen
• ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400
• Metering: Average, Center, Spot
• Icon Display: All, Partial, Guidelines, None
• Sound Effects: Ready Sound, Shutter Sound
• Night Shot: On, Off
• Self Timer: Off, 3 sec, 5 sec, 10 sec
• Quality: Fine, Normal, Economy
• Resolution: 1600x1200, 1280x960, 1024x768, 640x480, 320x240, 176x144
• Multi-Shot: Series Shot, Divided Shot





Music:

Even though the Gleam lack the 2GB of internal memory for music storage that is on the Juke, it makes up for this by having a microSD slot that is capable of using cards up to 4GB in size. However, the music player interface on the Gleam uses the standard Verizon layout, so nothing new or spectacular there. Actual playback quality is quite good, since there is a pair of stereo speakers located on the front flip. There are also touch-sensitive music buttons on the front, for rewind, play/pause, and fast-forward, but they only light up when pressed, so finding them in the dark can be a pain. If you are looking for better music quality, you can always connect wirelessly to a Bluetooth Stereo headset, since profiles A2DP and AVRC are supported.


Other software features include Mobile Web 2.0, VCast Music downloads, V Cast Video streaming, and VZ Navigator for GPS guided directions. You can also download a wide variety of games and other application using Get it Now.