Review: Samsung Blast
Screen
The Blast has a large screen but it is only 176 x 220 resolution. Considering it has about half the resolution of a QVGA screen, the lower resolution is emphasized by the fact that it is about the same size as most QVGA screens. This is not a problem for navigating around the menus, but text messages and web pages reveal the shortcoming with a difficult to read font made for lower resolution screens.
Signal
T-Mobile is not known for great coverage here in San Francisco, but the Blast did a great job of making up for that. It practically laughed at the vault test, getting two bars underground - enough for clear calls and data sessions. And in one of the worst dead zones, it held onto a signal pretty strongly right until the very center of the black hole, where it finally dropped out. It also regained signal very quickly upon exiting dead zones.
Sound
There is only one speaker on the Blast. It is not deafening, but it is loud. Loud enough that if you have an embarrassing ringtone, everyone within a 20 foot radius will know - even in noisy cafes and subway stations. Since there is only one speaker on the phone, this volume transfers over to calls - which are loud and clear holding the phone up to your ear or when using speakerphone.
Battery Life
Don't leave on a trip without your charger. Using the Blast sparingly, we got three days out of a charge. With Bluetooth turned on, light calling and messaging, and a mere 30 minutes of music listening, we got less than 48 hours. It's unlikely you'll ever see 3 full days of use from a charge, and it's difficult to justify why. The Blast is a GSM/EDGE handset with an average resolution screen - it has no obvious power hungry features, nor does the battery seem unusually small.
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