Samsung SGH-T309 User Reviews

Ive had tis phone for almost a year and cant stand it! It's really big and embarassing to pull out in front of friends. I wish i had a razr or something cooler...

The Samsung t309 is a great phone for those of us who want a no-frills PHONE. No this phone won't play the hottest games or download video from the internet, but it will give you great sound quality.


DESIGN/LOOKS

This is a typical Samsung phone; it has a built-in antenna and smooth curves. The phone itself is very conservative in looks; nothing flashy here. With a two-tone dark grey/black look it won't stir up a crowd when you use it, but it won't embarass you either. The
built-in antenna does jut out a bit from the face of the phone that looks a bit strange. It's not something that necessarily bothers me, but it is certainly not a standard thing. The front of the phone itself features a rather modest monochrome display that shows Date/Time, Battery, Signal, and not much else. In today's high tech world this is a huge letdown. But, once again this phone is not for the techie in the bunch; it is average. The camera is housed in a very poor position. When you flip open to take a picture it is literally right above the main part of the phone, making it an extreme fingerprint gatherer; it seems as if everytime you open the phone, your hand is on the thing. On the right side of the phone is the dedicated button to take a picture if you are in camera mode or if you hold in down long enough, to get you into camera mode. The left side features standard volume buttons and the headphone jack. The phone itself is not too heavy, but is certainly not lightweight.

FEATURES
Like I mentioned earlier, if you are looking to purchase this phone for it's features, you will most likely be disappointed. Granted, it does have photo/video capabilities, but they are certainly not cutting edge. The camera snaps pictures at a rather average resolution of 0.3 MPs and the pictures themselves often look washed out and faded. I will say that the camera mode has some really neat features to play around with like negative, sepia, b&w, red focus, etc. The video camera produces video at 128x96 resolution and will only shoot for 20 seconds before it auto stops. The quality is not exceptional, but will do. Another feature of this phone is the voice record feature. It will record up to 1 minute of notes before shutting off. The quality is bearable, but certainly not studio quality. Texting is fairly easy with the predictable input. Personally, I'm not much of a texter so I'll leave it at that. The phone does come with 3 free games including a soccer game and 2 others, which will certainly entertain you for a little while. This phone has extremely sparse options for downloading games though, so if you are a big gamer, pass this one aside and get the opt supported RAZR.


THE MENU AND NAVIGATION

As a Samsung, this phone has an absolutely fantastic menu system. Each option in the main menu is animated and has a number for easy access. When clicked, you are led to another menu, and all the options are once again numbered, for quick access. I was able to pick up on the menu almost immediately after getting the phone. This is certainly, along with voice quality, is the highpoint of the phone.


SOUND QUALITY

Even with 1-2 bars (which I get at my house), I get pretty good sound quality. With 4-5 bars, this thing sounds like a landline. On the t-mobile network just outside DC, I get great reception almost everywhere. At my house however, and this is not the phone or t-mobile's fault (I get horrible reception by all carriers) I only get 1-3 bars. Sound quality is unmatched and a lot of the time the caller did not know I was on a cellphone. In terms of other sound on the phone, it is LOUD. Even on the first volume level I can still hear this thing fairly easily. Crank it up to 5 and you'll hear it in all but the noisest of places. The ringtones that come with the phone are huge letdowns. None of them are even close to being good. It is very easy to buy ringtones on the phone through the T-Zones function. All in all, sound is fantastic.


CONCLUSION

The Samsung T-309 for t-mobile is an average phone. If you want a cheap phone, you can usually get this for free. It will certainly not greatly impress anyone, but it will get the job done. And, if voice quality is your #1 priority, this phone is unmatched.