The Glyde is a practical phone with useful features such as IM, media capabilities, quality calling, and blends touchscreen technology with much appreciated QWERTY keyboard. This slider/touchscreen phone keeps up with other touchphones but fails to come out in front. We expect the second generation of the Glyde to be better and perhaps shadow the hype of the rest if Samsung can magnify its strengths while fixing the Glyde’s weak points. As for now, this phone is a welcome addition to the touchscreen community for those who like to follow the crowds as they go to the iPhone.
THE HARDWARE
Style and Design:
This is another touchscreen phone to add to the mix. The Samsung Glyde weighs in at 4.13 ounces with dimensions of 4.09 inches tall, 1.97 inches wide, and 0.07 of an inch thick. This phone is on the smaller end of the touchscreen phone family and so leaves little room for our fingers to dance upon the screen.
The ride spine is where the volume control, camera zoom, power control, and camera keys lay. The Home key is below the display and the camera lens, flash, and self-portrait mirror are rightfully on the back. The microSD memory card slot is under the batter cover. Fortunately the headset jack and port do not share the same hole.
The display measures 2.75 inches with 400 x 240 pixel resolution with 262,000 colors. Small and skinny fingers won’t have much trouble but woe to those with swollen fingers as their fingers will bump into each other and cause a commotion. When it comes to touchscreen, size does matter.
The touchscreen has vibration feedback that’s adjustable in regards to length of vibration. The touch sensitivity is also adjustable. The touchscreen responds well about 90% of the time.There is a dial pad, with 12 keys and Talk and End keys, is at the top of the display as well as touch keys for the contacts list and the main menu icon. The display dial pad makes for dialing number easier than the QWERTY keyboard, which slides out, and can also be used as a traditional alpha-numeric pad to text in the unlikely even the QWERTY keyboard becomes disabled. It’s better to be prepared to emergencies that prevent the ability to effectively send a text. The keyboard isn’t designed for navigating the menus as the touchscreen is the sole navigation tool. There was an incident where the touchscreen locked up but restarting the phone unfroze the screen.
The QWERTY keyboard slides out from sliding up the front of the phone when horizontal. The slider seems to be secure and stable and well constructed. The keys are spacious and just about flushed. This keyboard provides for quick and easy texting as there is a key for every letter of the alphabet and has a pretty white backlight. Also, the keys press solidly with a sturdy punch-back. If numbers need to be quickly punched in, the touch dial pad is the way to go since there are no dedicated numeric keys on the keyboard. Arrow keys allows the cursor to be moved around the text and there is a function key, shift key, back key, return key, and space bar that is smack dab in the middle of the bottom row where is should be.
Battery:
The Glyde promotes 3.5 hours of talk time with 10.4 days of standby. The phone will last about 36 hours with heavy mixed use like calling, music streaming, Bluetooth, and web access. GPS navigation as well as downloading soaks the batter life the most.
Memory
There is 45MB of internal memory enabling up to 8GB with a microSD card.
Camera:
The Samsung Glyde comes with a camera with 2.0 megapixels that takes pictures in resolutions from 16,000 x 12,000 down to 175 x 144 with three quality settings from which to choose. The flash is bright and illuminates the darkness enough for spooky pictures. These pictures taken are good for MMS messages. They will we okay to transfer to the computer to display on Myspace or Facebook, but if you have a better camera, that would be more recommended. However, if you had a moment that needed to be captured and this camera-phone was your only tool, it will be good enough but may seem a bit washed out.
Videos are taken in a resolution of 176 x 144 or 320 x 240; no Oscars won with this video recorder. Video messages have a 30 second limit but can be stored locally for as long as the memory allows.
SOFTWARE
Internet:
The Glyde blesses its users with a full HTML Web browser. The iPhone still dominates over this phone with regards to browser capabilities but the Glyde displays the pages competitively. The smaller size of the displays requires the user to do more scrolling and finger swiping than other touchphones to see the entire web page. If the page is complex then this can be a hassle but for simple sites, this is no problem. Zooming in and out is only done with the volume key on the right side of the phone rather than by touch.
Pages loaded with graphics load a bit slow but simple sites pop up rather quickly. CBS loaded in roughly 5 seconds. The New York Times site took over a minute to load. Forget about utilizing flash and Ajax with the Glyde – bummer. The Home key below the display will end your surfing experience by closing the browser.
Media:
The display shows off graphics magnificently, making video streaming a pleasant experience aside from the slight color distortion. However, the Glyde doesn’t handle quick movements well so watching a video of a humming bird will make you think you need stronger glasses. The player doesn’t have a habit of freezing or constantly rebuffing and the voices were in sync with the movements of the mouth.
Music sounds fairly decent when played through the speakers but as with any small sized speaker, distortion is heard when played at the maximum loudness. As always, the headphones (2.5mm phones for the Glyde that is not included) provide for the greatest music experience.
This phone handles the file formats, MP3, WMV, AAC and AAC+ well so you have the option of transferring files from your computer if you decide not to download from the V Cast music store.
Messaging:
Unique to the Glyde, when you receive a voicemail, Verizon will send you a text message that shows the number of the caller who left the voicemail. Instant Messages can be utilized by AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo but that’s about it. Email supports AOL, AIM, Window Live, Other, and Yahoo. The Other feature allows for you to set up your POP3 or IMAP email accounts.
Messages can be read aloud by the Glyde automatically when the setting is turned on. The voice is robotic but makes nice for lazy eyes.
Calling Quality:
Call quality is as good as Verizon is able to bring to its customers and rarely disappoint. Calls are clear and loud both incoming and outgoing. The Glyde doesn’t pick up background noise so the phone won’t cloud the conversation with environmental noise. The speakerphone was audible and understandable and the voice command worked accurately without having to repeat again and again.
GPS:
Verizon offers it Traffic Enhanced VZ Navigator with the Glyde. The price has remained the same at $9.99 a month for a subscription or $2.99 for a one day use. The traffic enhancement keeps track of traffic delays in 75 cities across the United States. The VZ navigator also makes it easy to locate local businesses such as theatres, gas stations, ATMs, and such. A 3D map is also included in this version of the VZ Navigator.
NETWORKS
· Dual Band (800/1900 MHz) for phone
· CDMA2000 1xRTT/1xEV-DO rev.0
THE NUTSHELL
Some Complaints:
Small display that turns our fingers into bumper cars, Web browsing wasn’t too fascinating, the camcorder wasn’t Oscar material.
Some Compliments:
The call quality is awesome, QWERTY keyboard is complimented with nice keys that are backlit by a white light, photos aren’t too delicious but does well enough, the display is small but the images are bright and spectacular.
The Glyde does well for media and light Web browsing and keeps up to par as a camera phone, although as a camera phone, it isn’t top of the line. As a touchscreen phone, other competitors should keep the price relatively lower than the new Storm or the infamous iPhone.
The phone is available through Verizon Wireless for $149 with a $50 mail-in rebate and a 2 year contract.
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