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Customer Reviews Collected from Samsung US |
Samsung - Brightside Cell Phone - Black (Verizon Wireless)
Average Customer Rating:
3.3
Rating breakdown 120 reviews
5 Stars
29
4 Stars
41
3 Stars
14
2 Stars
11
1 Star
25
63%of customers recommend this product.
(
72 out of
115)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - Brightside Cell Phone - Black (Verizon Wireless)
Customer Rating
5
Great Phone
on October 7, 2013
Posted by: Hlane
Expertise:Expert
The samsung brightside is the best phone I've ever had. The touch screen beats tons of other basic phones and the performance is beast. The camera is so-so but doesn't have a flash. That is fine for me. I love the slide out keyboard for texting. It makes it so easy. I also like to play music on it. I would recommend this phone to anyone
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Durable, Realistic color
Cons: the camera is lacking features
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
3
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
1
So not happy with this phone!
on April 13, 2012
Posted by: Cnick
from Colorado
Expertise:Intermediate
I got this phone about a month ago through verizon because it was time to renew my contract. I have owned all of the EnVs and was told this phone was better, WRONG! It drops messages in the middle of sending them so I have to resend at least 2 or 3 times before they go through. The battery needs recharged almost everyday and this phone is very flimsy. The back cover is just a thin piece of plastic. I am so disappointed but am stuck with this thing for 2 years, I may activate my EnV again to finish out my contract because it never stopped sending my messages. Text/Picture messaging are the main things I do on my phone. Also when opening received picture messages the pics are tiny.
Pros: Bright display
Cons: Poor quality, Did not meet expectations, poor battery life, doesn't send over 50 % of my messages the 1st time
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
1
Performance
1
Design
3
Value
1
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Almost the perfect phone that isn't a smart phone.
on June 24, 2012
Posted by: LikeMyBrightside
from Pittsburgh, PA
Expertise:Intermediate
Other than the poor video resolution and a couple minor things, I think that the BrightSide is almost the perfect phone for me that isn't a smart phone. It’s almost like a smart phone without having to get a data plan. Below are some of my comments about the Brightside.
1) In my opinion, the video resolution is poor. I didn't expect it to be that low. I would have liked a better camera resolution also.
2) It doesn't look like a picture can be taken in “portrait” mode. Also, there is no flash.
3) When I open my picture gallery and the picture has the arrows on the side, I can “slide” through my different pictures if I touch the current picture. By touching the current picture, it also zooms it. If I pick the zoom option when a picture has the arrow to the sides, the picture zooms, but does not let me “slide” through my other pictures. I didn't see anything about this in the manual.
4) The phone has a display and phone lock. I do a phone lock, even though it doesn't make sense to me that I have to enter the security code to lock the phone, because the display lock button is in a poor location. If I do a display lock, I usually end up touching the display unlock button. They should have made the display lock not something so easily accessible.
5) When charging the phone, I can't tell when the phone is fully charged unless I unlock the display. When I check the screen, all I see is something saying to unplug the charger to save power.
6) It appears that Samsung has software that can be used to sync Outlook to the BrightSide. Samsung has Kies, Mini Kies, and New PC Studio, but I don't know what to use. I found this by accident, nothing in the manual.
7) I have the text mode set to “Abc”. I usually double space between sentences when texting. If I go one space after the period, it stays “Abc”. If I go two spaces, it goes to “abc”. I like double spacing.
8) It doesn't look like you can use a microphone that is included with a wired headset.
9) There is a place for a strap attachment, but there is no info on what would work. I think that the phone would be easy to drop and a strap would help with that.
10) The charging cable is also a data cable. I figured that I would mention this because I did not see it anywhere in the documentation.
11) The manual and Samsung says that you can only use a microSD memory card, but you can use a microSDHC card.
12) I sent myself a text message with some phone numbers in it from an email address. When I opened the text message, the phone recognized the numbers as phone numbers. I touched a phone number and I was asked if I wanted to call the number. I like this.
13) I have big hands, but have no problem using the QWERTY keyboard. The top row of the keyboard is too close to top of the phone when it is open though. The keyboard is one of the reasons that I bought the phone. A lock on sliding open the keyboard would have been nice.
14) I like how the Brightside can “read” text messages.
15) I like Notepad. It comes in handy saving info sometimes.
16) The voice recognition works well for me.
17) It would be nice if I could set any menu option (like phone lock) to the main screen.
18) I got a "skin" for the phone, but can't use the bottom (battery) part because I got the extended battery. I just use the top part (around screen) to make it easier to grip and to help protect the screen.
19) The manual could be a little more informative.
20) The SAR ratings appear to be around the lowest that I saw.
21) I turn my phone of at night. If I got a text message while the phone was off, the phone would give a "stored message" date and time. I like this feature.
22) If I hold my figure on a text message a "copy" screen would come up and I could select text with my finger, but I don't know what I can do with this. I couldn't find anything in the manual about it.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Lightweight
Cons: poor video resolution
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
3
Performance
4
Design
3
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
This product is defective
on June 26, 2012
Posted by: Coldfingers44
from Los Angeles, CA
Expertise:Expert
The alarm and calendar reminders do not work. I've tried several times to get the alarm to work and it only does on an intermittent basis. It never goes off in the morning when I need it to. The call quality and texting are good.
Pros: Bright display, Inexpensive
Cons: Poor quality, defective alarm
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
2
Design
4
Value
2
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Great Phone
on December 21, 2013
Posted by: Qsams1
I like the phone, it's not an iphone 5, but who really needs all that in a phone anyways. I use it to play music in the bathroom, it has good sound. I've dropped it a couple times with no damage, I take videos every now & then, send pictures to family, save files to print. Text works great. I like that it charges through usb to my desktop.
Pros: Built-in speakers, Bright display, Inexpensive, Durable, Realistic color, Lightweight
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
3
Great concept...but would be nice if features worked
on May 22, 2012
Posted by: TMStogo
Expertise:Intermediate
I love the concept of this phone. It is a great alternative for those who want a little bit more than a basic phone but not a smartphone/phone that would require a data plan. I was mainly interested in this phone for the Querty keyboard.
Unfortunately, the ALARM doesn't work. At first I thought I was sleeping through my morning alarm, but I ran some tests, and it is not working. I guess this is a problem others are having too. There is also issues with the calendar alerts. I know that the alarm worked initially, but I have tested it a few times, and it no longer works. I have only had this phone for a month or 2. I use my phone alarm as my morning alarm. I never had this problem with my previous LG phone. The Brightside is Very unreliable and disappointing. I hope a software update will come out to fix the glitch. Then maybe I might have more praise for it. Until then...
Unfortunately, the ALARM doesn't work. At first I thought I was sleeping through my morning alarm, but I ran some tests, and it is not working. I guess this is a problem others are having too. There is also issues with the calendar alerts. I know that the alarm worked initially, but I have tested it a few times, and it no longer works. I have only had this phone for a month or 2. I use my phone alarm as my morning alarm. I never had this problem with my previous LG phone. The Brightside is Very unreliable and disappointing. I hope a software update will come out to fix the glitch. Then maybe I might have more praise for it. Until then...
Pros: Lightweight, qwerty keyboard
Cons: Poor quality, Did not meet expectations, alarm doesn't work
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
1
Performance
1
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Great basic phone but samsung still has work to do
on April 4, 2012
Posted by: lookin4updates
This is a feature packed "basic phone" but samsung still has work to do. It is very much like a smartphone w/out the high price tag & it features a HTML web browser.
Heres my complaints that i hope they will address:
1. those stupid black shaded bars that appear behind the Clock & Banner's, u cant turn them off (no matter what samsung tells u, i tried everything suggested & even got a different phone) SO ANNOYING
2. nobody knows what the "transition effect" actually does, i can find No difference's On/Off
3. even w/Mobile email alerts OFF it still alerts me w/icon every time i get a new email
4. ONLY 2 Themes....Orange or Green (yuck)
2. nobody knows what the "transition effect" actually does, i can find No difference's On/Off
3. even w/Mobile email alerts OFF it still alerts me w/icon every time i get a new email
4. ONLY 2 Themes....Orange or Green (yuck)
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, html web browser, large screen, touch screen, slide out keyboard
Cons: stupid shaded areas behind the clock & banner, nobody knows what the "transition effect" does, email alerts wont turn off completely, only orange or green themes....yuck
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
4
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Good basic phone, needs refinement for existing features.
on April 21, 2012
Posted by: Anonymous
from PA
Expertise:Expert
I have owned this phone for two weeks now and there are a few issues that Samsung can hopefully fix with a software update.
1. No display lock - You cannot lock the display. The instructions state that you can, but by simply swiping your finger across the screen the phone is full accessible. There needs to be the ability to enter a lock code or this feature is useless.
2. Dialing on it's own - I had the phone in my pocket and while walking along my hip starts yelling HELLO... HELLO. I quick pull out the phone to find that the last person I called had been listening to my pocket change for the past 90 seconds.
3. Screen sensitivity - I noticed that apps would sometime start on their own if my hands or the screen weren't really clean. It would be nice if the sensitivity could be adjusted.
1. No display lock - You cannot lock the display. The instructions state that you can, but by simply swiping your finger across the screen the phone is full accessible. There needs to be the ability to enter a lock code or this feature is useless.
2. Dialing on it's own - I had the phone in my pocket and while walking along my hip starts yelling HELLO... HELLO. I quick pull out the phone to find that the last person I called had been listening to my pocket change for the past 90 seconds.
3. Screen sensitivity - I noticed that apps would sometime start on their own if my hands or the screen weren't really clean. It would be nice if the sensitivity could be adjusted.
If Samsung can fix the display lock issue then the second issue isn't really a big deal. I know you can lock the phone by going through the menu settings but you can still dial out. This really defeats the purpose of a "Lock" feature.
Overall, I really like the phone and would recommend it to a freind. I would like to see some additional themes because orange or green just doesn't cut it. It would be really nice to have either basic colors or a wallpaper for the background. The call quality is nice and the speakerphone works really well in the car. With past phones people have a hard time hearing me but this is the first phone that everyone can hear me clearly.
Pros: Bright display, Inexpensive, Lightweight, screen size, call quality
Cons: no display lock, no phone lock
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
3
Design
3
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US