Digital Trends

Samsung Trace SGH-t519

October 2nd, 2006 | by Vince Veneziani

Features and Design

Most people who have seen the T509 for T-Mobile will look at this phone and say, “That sort of looks like the T509…on steroids.” This phone has serious attitude. A polished metal finish covers the entire phone, and the corners are bent in to make it look like something other than a rectangle with an LCD screen. The keypad has very small, sleek buttons that compliment the rest of the phone nicely. The joystick is a bit hard to get used to at first due to its size, but is fine after a few days of continued use.

People big on shooting pictures with their cell will surely appreciate the T519. The 1.3MP camera looks wonderful on the 220 x 176-pixel, 262k-color LCD display when you’re getting ready to take a shot. No flash is included, however, so you’ll need to have decent lighting when the sun goes down or in dark areas. You can also do video capture for quick concert clips, or whatever floats your boat. Don’t expect to be the next big thing in Hollywood, though, as space runs out quickly, even with the microSD slot provided for additional storage.

Samsung has finally updated the UI on this phone, and plans some future GUI updates soon. The previous interface was nice, but always had a bit of a kid-like feel to it. This new design incorporates new colors, better menu selection, and useful navigation while still keeping the ease of use the old version possessed.

Fans of text messaging and IM will have a ball on the Trace. The keypad is very responsive and Samsung’s dictionary comes with all your favorite words included (for the most part). You can sign online with AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, or MSN Messenger and chat with your friends. It works well, looks good, and is easy to use. Samsung did a nice job adding to their IM client this time around.

The Trace also features Bluetooth 2.0, a music player for playing your MP3’s, and EDGE connectivity to ensure your data is transferred as fast as possible over T-Mobile’s network. Did we mention that this phone is LIGHT, by the way? Once you put it in your jeans pocket, you’ll totally forget you even have a cell phone on you. If you’re sick of carrying around bulky devices like the Blackberry 8700 or Sidekick 3 and put weight ahead of features you might get with the aforementioned phones, then the Samsung Trace is a good alternative.

 
Samsung T509