The Best of Both Phone, and TabletSamsung Gravity Smart - berry red (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: GRAVITYSMARTBERRYREDTMB
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Samsung Gravity Smart is a competent Android messaging phone for smartphone newcomers in search of a physical keyboard at a budget price.
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CNET editors' review
Samsung Gravity Smart - berry red (T-Mobile) price range: $29.99 - $229.99
- Reviewed by: Jessica Dolcourt
- Edited by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 06/23/2011
The good: The Samsung Gravity Smart has Android 2.2 Froyo, a sturdy QWERTY slider, and a comfortable body.
The bad: A smaller screen, camera quality flaws, and some keyboard awkwardness are the Gravity Smart's low points.
The bottom line: The Samsung Gravity Smart is a competent Android messaging phone for smartphone newcomers in search of a physical keyboard at a budget price.
Samsung's sub-brand of Gravity messaging phones branches out with the Samsung Gravity Smart, the line's first smartphone. Although the Gravity Smart runs Android 2.2 Froyo, the rest of the specs follow the series' traditional route of providing midtier messaging services with a stylized, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and some flashy colors that might appeal to the younger set--Berry Red, Sapphire Blue, and Lunar Gray in this case. Samsung has actually dialed down the shock factor here, as Gravity phones often come in electric hues of lime, blue, and red. We reviewed the Gravity Smart in Berry Red.
The Gravity Smart is a dense, compact little number, but sturdy and attractive, with just enough features to keep your interest. Powering the phone with Android was Samsung's smartest move, especially when competing with T-Mobile's raft of other budget Android phones. Still, with specs on the lower end of the spectrum, the Gravity Smart is best suited for Android newcomers and a more youthful demographic.
Design
Of all the phones in Samsung's Gravity line, the Gravity Smart most resembles the Gravity T, although it's a tad shorter and slimmer, and has some different design touches. More rounded at the base than at the top, the smartphone stands 4.5 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide and is 0.6 inch thick. Due in part to the built-in QWERTY keyboard, the Gravity Smart weighs 4.6 ounces. As phones go, it's on the short, thick, dense side.
Since the phone's face is smaller, the Gravity Smart's 3.2-inch touch-screen display fits right in. Its QVGA 420x380-pixel resolution is appropriate for the screen size, so icons and text look sharp and colors look pleasantly bright. Still, we wish Samsung had pumped up the screen to at least 3.5 inches--that's the point at which we're most comfortable typing on a virtual keyboard. True, the Gravity Smart's full QWERTY slider will mitigate the need to rely on the onscreen type pad, but if a keyboard shows up in portrait mode, it's got to be comfortable and usable. We also found ourselves having to lean closer to the screen to read Web sites and maps.
Like many of Samsung's Android smartphones, the Gravity Smart uses the custom TouchWiz interface. The main features include up to seven customizable home screens (pinch and zoom on any one of them to manage them all); easy access to Wi-Fi, GPS, and other controls from the pull-down notification menu; a task-switcher that appears when you press and hold the home button; and a certain visual aesthetic on the applications tray.
Below the screen are three touch-sensitive buttons for the menu, the back key, and search. There's also a black central button that takes you back home and helps wake up a sleeping phone. The power/lock button and USB charger port are on the right spine; the volume rocker is on the left. The lens for the 3-megapixel camera resides on the back, along with the flash. Behind the back cover is the phone's microSD card slot. It takes up to 32GB external storage, but comes with a 2GB card to get you started.
Now for the part you've been waiting for: the keyboard. We had no objections to the build quality or the sliding action. The phone opens smoothly and snaps into place when it's done opening and closing. Samsung Gravity phones tend to have four-row QWERTY keyboards with offset, fully separated keys. They also have a futuristic look that involves oblong, slightly tilted buttons. The buttons themselves are fairly flush with the keyboard, but they have a nice, tactile feel and a snappy response. Unfortunately, our fingers didn't align well with the smallish, oblong spacebar, so the keyboard wasn't as comfortable for us as it could have been. Keyboard fit is a subjective thing, so we can't dock the Gravity Smart too many points here, although we will say that in this case we'd rather sacrifice the stylized blobs for a more uniform shape that we'd have an easier time hitting with our thumbs.
The keyboard has a few extra features, like a dedicated key for emoticons, and separate customizable shortcut buttons for snapping open the Web, a social network (Facebook by default), messaging, and search.
Features
One of Android's best features is its ability to import and sync contacts from your various accounts like Gmail and Facebook. It's more or less seamless, but we usually have to manually reassociate some contacts after the fact. After that, you can keep adding contacts until you max out your phone's memory limit, an unlikely event. You can also store additional contacts on the phone's SIM card. There's support for groups, of course, and Android has a neat feature where you can swipe left and right over a contact's name in the address book to call or text.
Another Android trademark is deep hooks into Google services. Gmail, Google Latitude, Maps, Places, Navigation, Talk, and YouTube are present by default. You can also download other apps for Google Docs, Google Voice, Picasa, and others.
Although you can download all the apps your heart desires from the Android Market, there are some essentials preinstalled: a calculator, a calendar, a clock, files, a memo pad, and a task manager. There's a voice recorder and voice search as well. As we mentioned earlier, Swype is the phone's default keyboard input, though you can always change this back to the Samsung standard.
In addition there are all the apps that Samsung and T-Mobile have loaded onto the phone, including AIM, AllShare (DLNA syncing), shortcuts to online app stores, and games like Tetris, Uno, and Bejeweled 2. There are also some useful utilities, like Lookout mobile security, Photobucket, visual voice mail, and Wi-Fi calling. DriveSmart is an app that will route your incoming calls and texts through Bluetooth while the car is in motion (apps of this type use the accelerometer to measure speed), or to voice mail. It will also send a text reply telling your friends why you're not picking up the phone or responding to texts just yet.
We have our old complaints about the basic-but-functional stock music player. It will work with a microSD card filled with songs, and has all the usual support for album art, playlists, and shuffling. Extra effects, though, are few and far between, but at least Samsung's TouchWiz interface makes the module a bit flashier than standard, skinless Android.
Onboard cameras are much more variable, and the Gravity Smart's 3-megapixel camera is hit or miss. The outdoor shots were mostly spot-on in terms of focus, lighting, and color, especially if they were in direct sunlight. Colors looked anemic in one outdoor shot taken in shadow. Inside, pictures bathed with natural or indirect sunlight were much better, while photos taken in artificial light bled the color or tended to lose focus. Although there's a flash, photos taken indoors at night were disappointing. In one photo, the color green stands out while the three subjects look almost black and white.
Video is predictably similar, with better color fidelity outdoors and more washed-out images indoors. As far as audio goes, although we sounded fine as the narrator indoors and outdoors, subjects were very difficult to hear. Indoor videos struggled to focus, and videos didn't play back as smoothly as we've seen with other devices.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS 1700/2100) Samsung Gravity Smart in San Francisco using T-Mobile's network. Call quality was acceptable in our tests. Volume sounded a little low on our end, even at full max. Although the line itself sounded clear, without distortions or breaks, voices weren't crystal clear.
For their part, callers said we sounded sufficiently loud and intelligible, but echoey and slightly distorted. The audio quality didn't detract enough from the call to distract from conversation, but it was enough to note the imperfections.
Samsung Gravity Smart call quality sample
Listen now:
On the other hand, the Gravity Smart's speakerphone volume was strong on our end, stronger than the regular call, and predictably tinny--hardly a surprise with the external speaker spraying audio to the phone's rear, the exact opposite direction of your face. Speakerphone calls also sounded OK to our listeners, who told us that volume and fidelity were good, with no off qualities. However, a characteristic room echo accompanied speakerphone.
T-Mobile's 3G connection was speedy in our tests, taking 15 seconds to load CNET's mobile-optimized site, and about 30 seconds to load the graphically rich full CNET.com. Of course, speeds will vary based on network strength where you are, which is influenced by everything from time of day to the kind of building you might be in.
The Gravity Smart does just fine on its 800MHz processor; we didn't experience inordinate lag, although it won't be as zippy as a 1GHz processor.
The Gravity Smart has a rated battery life of 5.5 hours of talk time and up to 15 days of standby time on its 1,500mAh lithium ion battery. We're continuing to test the battery life internally, and will report our in-house findings here. According to FCC tests, the Gravity Smart has a digital SAR of 0.47 watt per kilogram.
Conclusions
Samsung made the right decision moving the Samsung Gravity line to Android. Although there's a place for feature phones, affordable Android devices are in high demand, and the Gravity Smart, with its $29.99 price tag after some online rebates, fits the bill. (The retail price is a much higher, much lower value $69.99 after a mail-in rebate.) There are some nice touches, like the brushed metal look on the keyboard and the soft-touch chassis, but the more downmarket specs keep the phone affordable. Although the screen is a bit small, the camera could be better, and the keyboard spacing could be improved, we had few serious complaints about the Gravity's features and operation. Those looking for a stylish messaging phone would do well to check this one out.
User reviews
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A great entry-level smartphone.
by gblues on September 20, 2011
Pros: Swype makes the virtual keyboard painless.
The slide-out keyboard works when Swype doesn't (i.e. passwords).
The deep Google integration makes data syncing a breeze.Cons: Internal memory is a bit anemic. Consider replacing the provided 2GB microSD card with something larger.
It's not a performance beast, so app performance might be disappointing.
Android comes with a learning curve that might get a little frustrating.Summary: Some of the harshest CNET user reviews come from people who haven't completely explored the phone's features (you can, despite one reviewer's claims, assign unique ringtones to ...
Summary: Some of the harshest CNET user reviews come from people who haven't completely explored the phone's features (you can, despite one reviewer's claims, assign unique ringtones to contacts), or were expecting iPhone-level performance from a budget-level device.
This phone isn't a powerhouse and doesn't try to be. What it does try to do--provide a quality, entry-level smartphone at a reasonable price--it does very well. As long as you don't buy it expecting more than that, I don't think you'll be disappointed with it. I know I'm not!1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It's OK...but not for me
by BloodyStitches on July 4, 2011
Pros: Camera Flash, keyboard
Cons: No navigation for cursor while typing, no LED notification light, seems to have no warning for low battery, too much in the notification window (read summary), slow.
Summary: This phone was definitively not for me. I hate how the entire screen lights up for couple seconds to notify me of a massage, there is no LED indicator light ...
Summary: This phone was definitively not for me. I hate how the entire screen lights up for couple seconds to notify me of a massage, there is no LED indicator light to let me know if I got an email, text, or even a missed call. My battery got really low, but I never got any notification for it, the only thing I ever saw was "Connect the Charger" right before unlocking the screen, and when charging it, it doesn't even show you how many % it's charging. It doesn't have a navigation ball or ANY buttons on the keyboard for the cursor for while you type, so if you make a mistake, you either have to delete everything up to the mistake, or try to click on the screen trying to get in between letters you made a mistake, and sorry, maybe my fingers are too fat for it or something lol it gets annoying because it takes me a while to get it in the right spot. Plus the camera isn't that great at all, only 2MPX and it lags too much while taking a picture, so pictures don't come out very good.
I payed extra $100 to get new Motorola Cliq 2, was well worth it! I rather get another flip phone before using Samsung Gravity.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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WORST PHONE EVER!
by xSONICx18xBOOMx on May 5, 2012
Pros: easy usage
-no matter how much u drop it, the screen never breaks.Cons: -battery life
-phone storage
-shuts down by itself and restarts
-sometimes cannot hear calls.Summary: I dont recommend this phone to anyone unless you just text and call. But since I use internet and also facebook a lot it losses battery life. But the catch ...
Summary: I dont recommend this phone to anyone unless you just text and call. But since I use internet and also facebook a lot it losses battery life. But the catch is even if you text someone or even leave the day without using it, the battery life is low battery. this is my first andriod phone and this has been the worst experience and it's only been a year. I'm switching my phone to a cheap,unlocked phone from AT&T
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There is a major memory flaw.
by jmoore541 on May 1, 2012
Pros: It works ok out of the box.
Cons: You cannot add apps in the expanded memory and you can't get rid of the pre-installed apps. I tried to load an app to preview scores, but then I had to uninstall my app to play Words with Friends.
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short battery life, extremely tiny internal memory
by mamaxc4r0lyn on February 19, 2012
Pros: all around a cute phone
Cons: ****** battery life, doesn't last half of the day. internal memory is ******* ****** as well, which DOES matter, even if you have an micro SD, part of the app goes on the phone so you keep getting memory alerts until you root the phone and delete all of the
Summary: don't buy it, not worth the money
Summary: don't buy it, not worth the money
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This phone is a ripoff
by Captainbob767 on December 25, 2011
Pros: Cheaper than most Smart Phones.
Cons: Battery life is terrible, sometimes it needs recharging in less than 5 hours even though it is hardly used.
Insufficient memory, and this is a common complaint regarding the Gravity Smart on the T-mobile support site . Common user complaint.Summary: I bought a Gravity Smart 10 days ago, and within a week I was getting the red warning about memory issues. The few Apps I installed on my phone were ...
Summary: I bought a Gravity Smart 10 days ago, and within a week I was getting the red warning about memory issues. The few Apps I installed on my phone were to try and get the abysmal battery life up to something reasonable so I wouldn't have to walk around with a charger in my pocket. After reading several threads ohn a support forum for this phone on T-Mobile's site, regarding this same issue, it became obvious to me that the Gravity Smart has some serious issues, and Samsung has no will and probably no way to rectify these problems. I brought my phone back to T-mobile yesterday, and even with the $50 restocking fee, I figure I avoided 2 years of aggravation with this phone. I got a Samsung Exhibit 2 4G phone, and the difference in the two phones is unbelievable. I now have 4Gigs of memory and 1.62 Gigs of storage on this new phone, and so far I am only using 12% of the memory. This is despite the fact that I have been downloading apps all day yesterday, and the phone already has tons of apps. The speed is faster too, and it works on 4G. The battery lasts twice as long with heavy use on the Exhibit 2, despite heavy usage, compared to very light usage on the Gravity Smart. Well worth the extra $100 in cost of the phone.
The only thing I am a bit aggraveted about is the $50 restocking fee, since they knew that this phone had issues when they sold it to me.. Oh well, live and learn. -
Decent phone for price
by Rottielover73 on September 25, 2011
Pros: I find the notifications are very clear, this phone has a low battery indictor at the top left of the screen. usually when the battery is 25-30% low..For one you can choose individual ringtones, you just have to add the contact 1 at a time instead of usin
Cons: locks up when it gets slow
Summary: Basically a good phone for first time smart phone users like me,I use pandora for music and it plays great
Summary: Basically a good phone for first time smart phone users like me,I use pandora for music and it plays great
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I have been waiting forever for this!
by imaddhatter on June 24, 2011
Pros: Android 2.2.2 Froyo is very nice even thought 2.3.2 Gingerbread would be better. ICS would fix that I am sure. LED flash is a plus compared to other Samsung Gravity line. Using 3G is very nice since we all know 4G isn't different at all. 800MHz of process
Cons: 3.2 inch screen is a bit of a disappointment and a QVGA display isn't as vibrant compared Samsung's other Android phone,but what can you expect from a 29.99USD smartphone. Using Samsung's widget and UI skin never was my favorite. Most likely to use a laun
Summary: I have the Samsung 2 for about two years now. Once I heard that they have made a Samsung Gravity Smart, my heart stopped. I have been asking and dreaming ...
Summary: I have the Samsung 2 for about two years now. Once I heard that they have made a Samsung Gravity Smart, my heart stopped. I have been asking and dreaming for Samsung to great a Gravity android phone for years now. The price is great for someone (me) that wants a Android phone without paying so much for a SUPER POWERED phone. Even thought I would love to have a phone with a 1GHZ or dual core phone,its not really needed for a college student like me. Having 2.2.2 Froyo is great since most apps now work with anything from 2.1 to later. The processor is decent and if it can play Angry birds without much lag, I'm all for it. Thank you Samsung to keep the Gravity line alive. You have answered my prayers. :)
I am a Google Android fan-boy,if you want to say. So, having a budget phone with all my google webapps and apps such as Docs and Gmail is amazing. I never played with the phone in person,but once I get go to a T-Mobile store with a working model, I would love to great it out.
Updated on Jun 24, 2011 -
Finally, a Gravity phone that isn't dumb!
by ghostwor1d on June 22, 2011
Pros: Bright and responsive touch screen, solid design, clear call quality (with WiFi calling), built in navigation, LED flash
Cons: virtual keyboard is small but uses Swype which is about 85% accurate. Very google oriented which could be bad for those who do not have gmail, picasa, etc.
Summary: I switched from the Gravity T to the Gravity Smart today...it's excellent! The touch screen is very responsive, but not overly so. The screen is bright and the ...
Summary: I switched from the Gravity T to the Gravity Smart today...it's excellent! The touch screen is very responsive, but not overly so. The screen is bright and the colors are crisp. The internet pulls up quickly, and I love the built in facebook and gmail buttons. Gmail syncs with my account so if I delete something, it removes it from my inbox everywhere (Gravity T didn't do this). I am able to access my google calendar and picasa account with ease. Buttons on pull-out qwerty keyboard are not as raised as with the other gravity phones, so the new feel takes some getting used to. When you make a call, the phone screen locks, but when you take it away from your ear it wakes up so you can end the call...how cool! No more accidentally pushing the screen with my face. :)
All in all, I think it's an excellent phone (especially for a beginner smartphone user). It has android 2.2 (froyo), a 3MP camera with LED Flash, 800MHz processor, tethering, threaded texting, and a 3.5mm jack. Yay Samsung! -
I regret purchasing this junk.
by Brandi578 on September 7, 2011
Pros: There are no pros as far as I am concerned!
Cons: Where do I begin? Well this phone is pathetic. You have to use 1 ringtone for all contacts! You cannot give each contact their own ringtone, so you never know how is calling unless your phone is right there. The music player is horrible and it won't play
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!!
0 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: GRAVITYSMARTBERRYREDTMB
- Bottom Line: The Samsung Gravity Smart is a competent Android messaging phone for smartphone newcomers in search of a physical keyboard at a budget price.
General
- Product Type Smartphone
- Phone Design PDA
- Width 2.3 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 4.5 in
- Weight 4.76 oz
- Body Color Berry red
Cellular
- Service Provider T-Mobile
- Operating System Android Froyo 2.2 OS
Messaging & Internet
- Messaging & Data Features Text messages,
Multimedia messages (MMS),
E-Mail,
HTML Browser
Phone Features
- Additional Features Touch screen
Display
- Diagonal Size 3.2 in
Product series
-
Samsung Gravity Smart - berry red (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: T-Mobile,
Up to 330 min,
With digital camera / digital player,
4.76 oz,
3.2 in -
Samsung Gravity Smart - lunar grey (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: T-Mobile,
Up to 330 min,
With digital camera / digital player,
4.76 oz,
3.2 in -
Samsung Gravity Smart - sapphire blue (T-Mobile)
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: T-Mobile,
Up to 330 min,
With digital camera / digital player,
4.76 oz,
3.2 in -
Samsung Gravity Smart - berry red (T-Mobile) - Refurbished
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: T-Mobile,
WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM,
4.76 oz,
3 megapixels,
3.2 in
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Samsung
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
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