Digital Trends

Samsung Trace SGH-t519 October 2nd, 2006 | by Vince Veneziani

Setup and Use

Pop the SIM card inside, throw in a battery, and you’re game. The date and time will be automatically updated and your phone will be ready to use. Talking on the Samsung Trace feels great and sounds great. Calls come through clear and aren’t full of static. I have yet to experience a dropped call with the Trace, which shows how both Samsung and T-Mobile are improving in their own ways. Three years ago, you wouldn’t have even mentioned T-Mobile when it came to reliable phone calls. Today, they can easily hold their own as a reliable telecom company that has a great selection of phones to choose from.

Those of you who are giddy about the inclusion of a music player should simmer down. It’s the same player found on the T809 and other Samsung phones, using the same interface. Sure, you can throw a few tunes on there and rock out, but it’s by no means a music phone — cool for the occasional song that gets stuck in your head, but nothing more. If you want an all-in-one phone that does music and phone calls right, go check out Sony-Ericsson’s line of Walkman phones or the Samsung A950 for Verizon.

Using the camera on the T519 is easy, allows you to choose from multiple resolutions, and actually has a zoom feature that works. Normally, if you need to zoom on a cell phone camera your picture has a good chance of coming out blurry and fuzzy, but the Trace does a pretty decent job of zooming in and capturing a photo. You can then e-mail your photo to friends, transfer it to your PC via Bluetooth, or send it to your T-Mobile photo album. You’ll have no problem showing your photos off to everyone.

The Trace also features some great applications. Everything you could want in an organizer is available for you to take advantage of. Calendar, alarm clock, calculator — they’re all there, and there’s even a useful voice recorder for taking down notes on the go. A business-minded professional who doesn’t need his Blackberry but needs a solid, sleek phone that is still useful will find the T519 to be the perfect match.

 
Samsung Trace