Samsung Intensity U450 Review

Introduction:

Over the past few months there have been quite a few QWERTY keyboard messaging phones released by Verizon, such as the Samsung Alias 2 U750, LG enV3 VX9200 and enV Touch VX11000, and the Motorola Rival A455. Most recently Samsung introduced the Samsung Rogue U960, which we have reviewed, and the Samsung Intensity U450. Even though both of these devices have a sliding QWERTY keyboard, they are geared to different audiences. Primarily the Rogue is a high-end feature phone that appeals to a consumer wanting a touchscreen device with a lot of added features, while the Intensity is more for the average consumer who is looking for something more basic. The Intensity has tough competition from the LG enV3 and Motorola Rival  as both offer similar features, even though the enV3 would be considered the top-model of those three phones.

Included in the retail package is the Samsung Intensity U450 phone, 960 mAh battery, wall charger with detachable data cable, and user manual.

Design:

The Samsung Intensity U450 is offered in two color choices: Flaming Red and Grey. Even though the device weighs less than the Motorola Rival and LG enV3, it is still slightly taller, but the rounded edges don’t make it feel that way. Unfortunately, the overall plastic construction is somewhat cheap feeling, though not as bad as the Rival, but still not as good as the enV3. When sliding the Intensity open and closed you can hear the keyboard rubbing against the plastic behind the display. Also, the battery cover just snaps on and off and feels like it could break quite easily. Because of this, we’re not sure what the long-term durability of the Intensity would be, but we’d be surprised if it would hold up to any more than a year or two of normal use.



You can compare the Samsung Intensity U450 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The Intensity features a 2.1-inch 176x220 resolution TFT display that supports up to 65K colors. Since it is smaller than the main display used by the Alias 2 and enV3, and has a lower resolution, images and text don’t look that great. In addition,  it is completely unviewable while in direct sunlight. Below the display is the circular d-pad, left and right soft keys, send, end, back and speakerphone keys. They are all rather small and can be problematic at times with larger hands. For example, when pressing the right side of the d-pad, you can press the soft key or back button by mistake. The numeric keypad is also cramped and not nearly as large and user-friendly as the one found on the LG enV3. During our testing we had continual misdials when using the Intensity, which became annoying over time, so people with larger fingers should stay clear of this one. Located on the sides are the volume rocker, 2.5mm headset jack, charger / data port, speakerphone and camera button. Pealing off the battery cover will allow access to the microSDHC memory card slot with 16GB support, and the 1.3MP camera is on the back.



The sliding QWERTY keyboard has 4 rows, similar to the Rogue, but the d-pad arrows on the right are not individual keys and share real estate with the “L, N, M, and period” keys. All of the buttons are also slightly curved and angled, instead of being perfectly square. When typing messages, we found the QWERTY keyboard on the Samsung Intensity U450 to be more comfortable than the one found on the Rival and Alias 2, but still not a roomy as the enV3.