Samsung Gravity 2 T469 Review

Introduction:

Still somewhat fresh off the release of the Samsung Gravity for T-Mobile, Samsung is already back with a successor to the side-sliding QWERTY handset – enter the Samsung Gravity 2 SGH-T469.  Sporting a thinner profile, this messaging oriented phone has some upgrades over its predecessor while some design elements previously used are relatively intact. With the vast mix of text messaging phones already crowding the carrier's lineup, the Gravity 2 will need to come out swinging with something worthwhile to keep it in contention.

The package contains:
•    Samsung Gravity 2
•    Charger
•    Hands-free Headset
•    Start Guide
•    User Guide
•    T-Mobile Services Guide

Design:

As with most successors, the Gravity 2 keeps the same side-sliding style of the original while minimizing its overall footprint. It's not considered fashionable or innovative during a first glance, but fits well for a relatively inexpensive messaging device. We're not surprised with Samsung's choice of using a somewhat cheap feeling plastic material for its casing – although it does have that slippery polished feel at first. As stated earlier, Samsung reduced the size of this one a little bit, enabling it to slip into a pocket more easily thanks to its slimmer profile (0.59”). At the same time, you really can't feel the difference of weight (4.4 oz) between this one and the original (4.3 oz). Even with the low quality plastic, the overall construction is nice. Despite it being labeled as an entry level device, it's very prominant in the sliding mechanism.



You can compare the Samsung Gravity 2 SGH-T469 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The 2.3” LCD screen is a step up from the previous one with the resolution of it being bumped up to 240x320 pixels while the 262k colors remain. One glaring issue we had with it was the extremely poor viewing angle – you literally have to view it in a ninety degree angle to see anything. In addition, you lose visibility when you take it outdoors in direct sunlight – even when set at the highest brightness setting.



The keypad layout is more spaced out this time around with an excellent tactile feel to them. Three circular shaped buttons constitute  the send, end, and okay keys – all having that really good button feel. We had an easy time using the circular directional pad around the okay key without too many mispresses.  The only buttons on the front that were too small for fingers were the soft keys, dedicated messaging key, and the one for back/clear. In just any lighting condition, we were able to view the keypad thanks to the bright white backlighting. The volume rocker sits alone by itself on the left edge; appropriately placed and sized while the dedicated camera button and proprietary PC connection/charging port are found on the right side. Flipping it over to the back will reveal the 2-megapixel camera with the speakerphone found closely next to it. Removing the plastic back cover will provide you access to the battery, SIM card slot, and microSD slot.



Sliding the phone from left to right will open up the QWERTY keyboard – we liked the snappy feel of the mechanism. Text messengers will be quite thrilled to notice an extra row created for numbers; making it less cumbersome. In total, there are four rows used for the QWERTY- all of which are rectangular in shape, equally spaced from one another, and two larger sized buttons for the soft keys. We actually preferred the usability of this QWERTY than the one found on the Samsung Comeback – you'll be speed typing right away on this one.

Software and Features:

Samsung doesn't go over the top in the software behind the hardware on the Gravity 2 – it's the same one we saw on the Samsung Comeback. T-Mobile customers will recognize the myFaves home screen to allow quick access to their closest contacts. The rotating carousel of icons used for the main menu is accompanied by an animation. Unfortunately there is little room to personalize the device – you'll only have access to modify the wallpaper. Luckily though, navigating is a simple process just about anyone can get adjusted to – no slowdown or complicated menus on here.



There's nothing to it when attempting to create a contact for your address book. Like other basic phones, you'll have the option to place information such as phone numbers, email addresses, screen names, home addresses, and birthdays for each individual. The Samsung Gravity 2 is able to hold up to 1,000 contacts directly on the phone.



The messaging aspect of the Samsung Gravity 2 won't disappoint the experienced texters out there. On top of sending SMS, you can use the Audio Postcard offering to quickly send an MMS with audio to a friend. If instant messaging is more your cup of tea, then either AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger can be selected to instant message buddies.  Just like other IM clients found on similar handsets, it'll still run on the background if you exit back to the home screen. Finally,  the email client will suffice due to its ability to use just about any provider; as long as you input the server addresses. All in all, the messaging capabilities of the Gravity 2 are on par with other devices we've seen for T-Mobile.



We're unsure why Samsung does not pack yet another messaging device with some additional software. All you get out of the box are two demo games (The Sims 3 and Tetris) and TeleNav GPS Navigator. It's nothing different from what we've experienced on other phones. Finally the usual set of tools like the tip calculator, world clock, converter, and RSS reader are expectedly found – some more useful than others.



Unfortunately, photo enthusiasts will not be able to take quality shots with the 2-megapixel camera of the Gravity 2. It does not produce decent photos worth taking. Even with the steadiest of hands, images came out somewhat blurry, lacking fine detail, and colors seemed to be dull. Sure it may be good enough for MMS use, but we wouldn't consider it as frame worthy. The interface loads up quickly and shots are saved two seconds after pressing the shutter. You can modify some of the settings through the menus which we found very simple to navigate.






Just like taking photos, videos taken on the Gravity 2 are best reserved for MMS use. One reason for this is the maximum resolution of 176x144 pixels. Of course there wasn't too much slowdown or choppiness, but the low resolution will make it difficult to distinguish just about anything. Sound captured during the video was audible; although it was a bit muffled. We'd venture to say to minimize taking videos on the device unless it's for MMS use.



Samsung really wanted to go bare bones with the music player – it's one of the most basic looking ones we've seen yet. The on screen functions like forward, reverse, pause, and stop are controlled by the directional pad. Other than that, the song title and remaining time are displayed on the boring looking music player. It'll stop playing if you do exit back to the home screen – sorry, but there's no love for music on this device. Sound from the speaker produced some decent tones except when placed on the loudest setting; causing some crackling.

You may want to stay clear of the Gravity2 if you want plan on using it for video playback. The poor viewing angles of the screen really deteriorates its appeal for watching videos. It could not even load any of our test videos in MPEG4, H.263, or H.264 formats. Fortunately though, we loaded up YouTube and were able to watch a clip – granted though it was extremely pixelated. It did play pretty smooth for the most part. Sound is the same with it being distinguishable unless it's placed on the loudest setting – crackling all around at that point.

We know that some out there are going to use the phone for its media capabilities – that's where saving to a microSD card comes into play. It will accept cards of up to 16GB in size.

Using the device internationally is the same with most of T-Mobile's lineup – it's a quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 Mhz) handset with 3G connectivity in the US thanks to the dual-band (1700/2100 Mhz) UMTS support.

Surfing the web is powered by the NetFront browser on the Gravity 2 – it was able to load up complex sites in a decent amount of time. Scrolling may be an issue for some because it can be sluggish at times when trying to move through a long site. Horizontal scrolling can be eliminated if you set it to smart-fit view though. No page overview option available and you can manually resize the look to zoom in or out – there's a good time waiting for it to reorganize the display. The browsing experience was a little lacking when comparing it to the Samsung Comeback – the smaller screen doesn't help either.

Performance:

Using the phone to place calls resulted in mediocre quality – it was distinct enough to make out while being muffled sounding at times. Luckily there was no background interference sound during our phone calls. Callers stated our voice to be easily audible without too much distortion. On the other hand, speakerphone quality was okay because we were able to use it with minimum repetition. Setting it to the highest setting produced an almost straining sound from the speakerphone.
   
No problems with being able to retain a signal in the greater Philadelphia area. It managed to stay on 3G for the most part and we did not experience any dropped calls during our testing.

One area that the Samsung Gravity 2 shined in was its battery life – we were able to use it for 5 days and still had two bars left in the battery indicator. During that time, we did some heavy text messaging and had the screen set to the brightest setting. Samsung has it rated for 5.5 hours of talk and 300 hours of standby.

Conclusion:

The original Gravity probably sold well enough for Samsung to clearly release its successor now. Geared towards the messaging and younger crowd, it does well in that aspect thanks to the handier QWERTY keyboard and messaging applications. Parents on their side will take a liking to it because it won't hit them too much in the pockets. Undoubtedly it just pales in comparison to some of the other offerings for T-Mobile. It sure is an inexpensive model, and you can definitely see it in the materials they have used to construct it. In the end, we'd prefer the more refined characteristics that the Samsung Comeback has to offer for a more complete device, while still being marketed to the same demographics.