Released during Q3 2007 for T-Mobile in the US, the Samsung Blast (SGH-T729) slider features a double-tap QWERTY keypad, music player, stereo bluetooth and a MicroSD slot.
Features
Thin and light slider-style design
1.3-megapixel camera 4x zoom with multishot and camcorder capabilities
Bluetooth wireless capability for headsets, synchronizing with PCs or phones
Quad-band GSM ("Worldphone") capability
Built-in MP3 player with stereo Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology to listen to music without wires
MicroSD slot. Supports up to 2 GB (officially) though some users have reported being able to use 4 GB cards.
Capabilities and applications
Direct access to personal email, including AOL email, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail, making it easy to check messages anytime of the day. For added convenience, email messages can be read and responded to for the same pricing as text and picture messages - meaning there's no required data package to purchase. The Blast is a stylish ultra-thin slider offering additional features, including access to instant messaging with built-in support for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), ICQ, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger, stereo Bluetooth technology, a 1.3-megapixel camera with digital zoom, multi-shot, and video recording capabilities, external memory card slot, MP3 player and speaker independent voice recognition. Users also can stay connected while traveling worldwide with the Blast's quad-band technology.
Calculator
Allows the user to use the phone as a basic calculator.
Other included functions:
^
ln
Sq Root
exo
X!
sin
cos
tan
pi
E-mail
The E-mail application supports up to 4 accounts. Note that E-mail uses SMS messages and may incur charges.
AOL
Yahoo
Custom 1
Custom 2
If there are problems signing into a gmail or other webmail account, make sure that it supports POP3 or IMAP. POP3 and IMAP can be enabled on gmail via Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
Image editor
Allows the user to open up photos that have been taken (not downloaded images) and apply effects such as frames, emoticons, clipart and hue/contrast presets.
Instant messaging
Note: instant messaging uses SMS messages (not data) and may incur charges depending on the plan.
Download or store the mobile phone's contact list to my.tmobile.com for later use.
As an alternative, the Samsung PC Studio[permanent dead link] can be used software to synchronize contacts and other data, transfer files, or use your phone as a modem (if the user has T-Mobile's internet plan).
Unit conversion
Currency (Manually enter updated exchange rates for accurate results)
Length
Weight
Volume
Area
Temperature
World time
Allows the user to view the current date and time of two locations simultaneously.
Defects
There have been reports of 2 GB MicroSD cards (specifically Kingston) not being recognized by the Samsung Blast while working in other devices. However, Sandisk and other brands seem to work fine.
While not technically a defect, the Samsung Blast has a low call volume which is easily solved by using the hands-free accessory that comes with the phone.
Also, the microphone is ultra-sensitive to any contact made to the phone. Even slightly moving the phone can cause the user to cut out to the receiving person.
