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Video: Bell Samsung Impact Review
One of the new devices to hit Bell’s new HSPA network is the Samsung Impact. This is a cost effective device that can really do it all.
There are many great things to say about the Impact and only one objection. So let’s start with the simplistic design of the Impact. There are minimal keys (call end/send/power, volume rocker, lock and one-touch button to the camera) and the shape reminds me of a puffier and chunkier Instinct. Overall dimensions are 108.5 x 53.6 x 13.9 mm and has a weight of only a 105 grams. The best part is the 3-inch touchscreen, this has a resolution of 240×400 and it’s honestly one of the most responsive touchscreens out there. Also, you’ll see in the video that the accelerometer is also top notch, especially when viewing web pages.
The backing has a grid like design to it and adds some needed flare to the Impact. Under the back cover you’ll find the 1200 mAh battery that will give you just over 4 hours of talk time. In addition, under the battery is where you put your SIM card and the microSD (this can hold up to 16GB of additional memory).
The call quality was clear, no dropped calls during our testing period. When it comes to the features of actually using the Impact, this runs off of Samsung own UI and comes pre-loaded widgets (similar to when the Omnia first launched). These widgets are on the left hand side of the touchscreen and can be dragged on to the Imapct’s desktop for your personal customization. There will be more widgets available for you to download in the future and this can be considered the closest thing to downloading apps.
To access the key features of the device you can use the main menu button. You’ll see here everything you’ll ever need: e-mail, text/picture messaging, IM (Yahoo! and Windows Live), access to the 3.0 megapixel camera (video capabilities), contacts, music, web and all your phone settings and tools.
A quick rundown of the web. With the large 3.0-inch screen and its high resolution using the web on the Impact is a great user experience. You can thank how responsive the screen. The page loads fast and has many options to view in several ways: zoom in and out, accelerometer.
I said at the start that there is only really one major fault with the Impact. For listening to music you will have to use their proprietary connector, it does not come with a standard 3.5 mm headset jack. Nothing big but there was certainly space to add it and would have made it a better device with it.
Overall, the Impact is a great device and can really do everything you possibly want. It’s priced right and has a very responsive touchscreen. This is available at Bell on the following price plans:
3-year contract: $79.95
2-year contract: $129.95
1-year contract: $229.95
No contract: $279.95
Discussion
55 comments for “Video: Bell Samsung Impact Review”
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can you unbox and review the xenon from bell?
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Is this a smart phone?
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NO…it is not.
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Umm yes it is….
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Hi, great review, one question i read somewhere that another draw back is that “Whoever you text, the history log DOES NOT ERASE! I’ve never had a phone that blocked that certain feature, and it’s very annoying if you don’t want to make mistakes as to who you send texts to” those were the words of someone so do you mind elaborating because i am seriously looking to purchasing this phone. Thanks in advance!
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Do u know if there is software for the pc for this phone. Also where do we download new widgets?
Great review its was in deep and convinced me to go pick up mine thx You
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Im interested in getting this phone but do not have internet in my plan. Is there much of a point of getting this phone if I wont be using the internet on it? Also, is there a way to lock the internet from starting up, in the case of accidentally hitting the internet button.
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This phone is pretty good, regardless of whether or not you use the internet. The major drawback for me was the lack of a regular headphone jack.
I’m not sure about blocking data, short of calling Bell and asking them to block it for you.
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how do you load songs onto the impact from the pc?
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I’ve read reviews of the american version of the phone that says the volume is really low. Is someone whose got one able to comment on the call volume? Its the only thing thats worrying me about getting one.
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I can shed some light on some of what has been asked so far,
I got my impact on bell about a week ago and I love it.
To load songs onto the phone you can either use the software found on the impact website or use UMS and drag and drop onto your phone providing you have a micro SDHC card
About the call volume, i haven’t had any problems hearing people overall I would give this phone a 9/10 because of it’s only flaw; not having a headphone jack
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whats the name of the software that you need for the computer to get music on the phone? like, whats the link to get it? …
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hey i was just wondering i got this phone today and the text ringer is SUPER low…and i believe i have it as high as i can get it, is this a default phone? is it actually really quiet? how can i change this?
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I just bought this phone yesterday, switching from an LG Vantage mobile phone. I have to say, I’m not overly impressed with it, it doesn’t have threaded text messaging, no flash for the camera, its pretty hideous, and the user interface looks windows 98ish. I have to say that the touch screen is pretty good, and the browser is excellent. However, I’m going to get what I can out of my old phone, and just splurge on an iPhone in a couple months. The “user-friendliness” of this phone is terrible..
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I bought it yesterday and im very happy. I had a list of 5 other model that i was looking for and i finnaly made my choice on the samsung impact because it has the tools i wanted. Of course, im not happy cause i thought i would be able to buy a kind of connector to plug my jack hearphones on this cellphone but i didnt find any…other thing, i want to play video on it and, the video player is telling me i need to update the player to get files from internet but i dont want to connect, i just want to play my video offline…the problem is, you just can “Accept” or “Quit program” If i want to play video offline, i have to be somewhere where the phone cant detect any frequency so the player dont try to find an update. Any idea someone? also, i dont know what kind of video files it support ( avi, divx , mp4 ?…)
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Wow Stephen. Ouch. First off, yes the text message notifier is really low but you will get used to it(vibrate). The call quality is awesome, it is comparable to a landline phone for what you hear and what your recipients hear. Also, the iPhone doesn’t have a flash camera either. It may be hideous to you but this is my first cell phone and I love it. Nobody really NEEDS threaded text messaging unless you are super forgetful on what you have texted somebody. To Eti iti, you should download the PC Studio from Samsung for all firmware updates, you won’t use the browser that way, I am pretty sure that the phone supports mp4…
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can i change the picture on the lock screen? if yes then how?
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yeah i was wondering the same thing because the lock screen pictures are horrible
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I’m seriously thinking about getting this phone. I have a few questions, it would be amazing if someone could shed some light on them!
Where can you download more apps at?
Can you turn that beeping noise off? (when choosing things / scrolling)
Can you turn mp3 music files into ringtones?
Hows the QWERTY keyboard?
What does the lock screen look like? – can someone take a picture of it or something?
Thanks! Nik.
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I just got the phone today.. LOVE IT!! I am trying to figure out how to load songs from my PC. Great phone, excellent call quality. Highly recommend.
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Where can you download more apps at?
From Bell web site, costly!
Can you turn that beeping noise off? (when choosing things / scrolling) NO
Can you turn mp3 music files into ringtones? No
Hows the QWERTY keyboard? Looks good
What does the lock screen look like? nothing special
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yes you can turn the beeping noise off when scrolling and looking for info, ringer settings, when you press normal, another screen appears, go to the drop down menu (top right) scroll to phone, scroll to the bottom and change the volume level to 0, now whenever you touch the phone’s buttons it will be silent….also, just turn the phone sideways and the QWERTY keyboard will appear…you can use your music for individual ringtones….they will be stored on the phone vs your memory card and can be found in sounds, music.
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I recently bought this phone, but it didn’t come with any software to transfer music or pictures taken. Windows 7 doesn’t have drivers for it, and the Samsung product page shows no downloads other than manuals. Any suggestions?
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Wondering how to lock the web button on the bottom of the screen? My kids have connected twice without realizing it!
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Is there a way to clear my recent recipient list for text messaging? I’ve checked the user guide and can’t find any answers.
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Just got this phone for my bday. Love it…it’s great…but I can’t figure out the volume! How do you keep the ringer volume up AND turn the keypad volume down! Nothing more annoying than hearing every button you push! Help?
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yes you can turn the beeping noise off when scrolling and looking for info, ringer settings, when you press normal, another screen appears, go to the drop down menu (top right) scroll to phone, scroll to the bottom and change the volume level to 0, now whenever you touch the phone’s buttons it will be silent.
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Great video review! You mentioned about watching TV on the Samsung Impact. How much does Bell charge for data?
Does the Samsung Impact have WiFi capability so I can use my home wireless internet on this phone?
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I also am wondering how to lock the web button. I have accidentally connected twice as I was sliding it into a case. Please help.
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I have this phone for about one month. I don’t recommend this phone with Bell because of a lot hidden costs for this phone.
Bell charges a lot for each service seperately, beside of unlimited browser you have to pay Live TV just to get (2news channels and 2 weather channels)- You have to pay $8 for Personal e-mail – $8 for Windows live Messenger- $5 for Personal IM etc.I will never back to Bell after finishing my contract.They don’t clarify anything before buying.Plus the phone doesn’t come with a software CD. I checked the samsung website but it says you have to use through Bell to download the applications.
Then I think you should think about other options in the market with other Mobibile service providers at this price.
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jenn and Nikolas:
About the volume– the touch volume is the same as the ringer/alert volume, which means it’s super annoying when you have it on a high setting and everyone around you can hear loud beeps and bloops as you tap the screen. It didn’t seem like a big deal the first couple of days at home but once I was out, it was actually so annoying that I will be returning the phone tomorrow. Keep it in mind if you’re considering this phone.
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this phone is a pain in the arse….
i bought it cause i was told that i could listen to music & watch videos on it…and yes…BUT, when i filmed live gigs, and tried to transfer it onto my computer, it doesn’t have sound….not only that, but once transferred to computer, you lose it from the phone
the computer also says that the phone driver is missing and when you go to samsung website for it, it states that they NO longer support the drivers for this phone….
it’s good as just a phone and emergency camera (quality is crap for a 3pix)…my other samsung phone was only 1.5 pix and it was better quality.
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I just got this phone and so far it sucks. The texting in the phone is the absolut worse…I don’t think i am ever going to get used to it i have been trying for hours.The touch screen is very unresponsive, I have to PUSH the screen in order for something to happen. Also the second worse thing is the ugly unchangable slide show of lock screen. Too bad i was told so much good news about this phone. Very disappointing.
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Ummm I really want a new phone through bell that’s NOT a smart phone but is good like one and this seems to be that type of phone. But I was just wondering if there is ally of widgets and if their usefull/costly thanks
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I am a Bell unhappy customer, don’t go to bell which people call them hell, when you have problems,they don’t care, nobody can help you, my cell phone had problems since the first month, I ask for exchange they said can’t do that only do the repair, I said ok, do the repair, when I got it back, I still have the same problem which is the phone shut off by itself, without warning, even I just fully charged, I took it back and told them I still have the same problem, and then they said have to send it back again, ok, I asked for replacement they said they don’t give the replacement only can fix the problem, its been going on like this for back forth 4 times and I still have the same problem, talked to their retention and supervisor… nobody really can help, most of their phone sucks, avoid hell if you can, if you don’t belive me wait till you have a problem, you will be to push around.
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I just replaced my OLD Nokia Phone with this one yesterday. I have never used this type of phones before. The experience is awesome. After spending 2 ~ 3 hours optimizing the phone, I am pretty happy about it. Yes, the connection with the PC took me some time to make it work. I still have to find out why the PC Studio didn’t connect with the phone. Voice quality is good. Vibration is reasonable. The ring tone is OK. Music m4a and Video 3gp files work perfectly. For those who are new to this mult-media thing, you should download the “I am too 3gp converter” which can convert your media files to the 3gp (video) and m4a (music) which are playable in this Samsung phone. Again, USB cable connection is just like a USB storage device. I can copy files over to the phone easily. Bluetooths works on my Nokia handfree!!
Generally speaking, I am not a heavy phone user and I am happy with this phone. It provides me the basic need and it gives me some new features which I can have fun after office hour.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you want to have a basic phone with some smart phone features.
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“Can you turn that beeping noise off? (when choosing things / scrolling)”
Menu > Ringers > Ringer Settings > <Ringer Profile, ie normal, outdoor, or driving
On this screen, in the top right corner, there is a dropdown menu, currently on "Call". Scroll down to phone, and set "Phone Sound Volume" to 0
Not sure if you still need this information.
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Thanks Tony.Y
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how many characters can you send in a text message? I know the video mentioned 160 but is that the maximum?
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How is the battery on this phone?
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How do you download pictures from the Samsung Impact to your computer? Only place it will download is to Facebook and I don’t want all the pictures on Facebook.
Help Please!
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Text messages are zoomimg in to larger print how do you fix this??
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Jenn: to keep the ringer volume up and turn the keypad volume down:
Menu > Settings > Ringer Settings > Select whichever setting you prefer for the ringer (ex: Normal)
On the screen that displays the call alert type, ringtone, call alert volume, etc there is a small drop down box on the top right (on this screen it will show Call in the box). Open up that drop down box and select Phone. Adjusting the volume setting in the window this opens up adjusts the volume and sounds for the keypad, power on, etc but does not affect the ringtone.
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i am considering getting this phone and just had a couple questions about a couple small things. if i upload .avi videos to a microSD card to put in the phone will it be able to play those videos, and can i use mp3 songs i put on the phone with the micro SD card as ringtones? just small things but it would make this phone much more awesome for me if it can do this stuff. i’ve been looking through review and comments trying to figure this out and keep getting different answers. if anyone replies to this, i don’t know much about music and video formatting, only really mp3, mp4, avi, so put it in lamen’s terms if possible if it gets complicated. thank you
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I’m thinking of getting this phone but I was wondering a few things.
Does the lock button go off easily while in your pocket and is it easy to text on or do you hit the wrong keys alot?
Also after time does the touch screen start to be less responsive?
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I just got my Samsung Impact and it has been a hell. First no support from Samsung you can ask anyone anything even when you register your phone. The back cover is so hard to take off that I have to pry it off with a knife to get to battery and a sim card. On top of that the main reason I got it was the good camera for a price, but I can’t download the pictures! the PC software is crashing one of my computers every time I run it, the other one doesn’t crash but just flashes on and off mindlessly and there is no way to just connect it via USB to get the data images out, very frustrating, my recommendation get a different phone.
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Hey does anybody know how to add widgets on the Samsung Impact
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hey i was wondering can you put music on the impact without the memory card ??
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Apparently, you can get an adapter that will allow you to connect regular head phones to it… I did a google search on it and found a few of them going for 1$ up to 5$ so maybe you can buy the things at bellworld or something??
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Hello, I can’t seem to figure out how to transfer photos from my phone to mt laptop, and how to transfer songs from laptop to my phone!
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This is how I figured out how to transfer photos to the computer from the Samsung Impact.
Check out the following: To set USB connection, follow the steps below
1. From ‘Start’ go to ‘Settings’
2. Go to ‘Basic Settings’
3. Select ‘General Settings’
4. Click ‘ USB Connection’ and then ‘Active Sync’ or ‘Mass Storage’
* Mass Storage: Use your mass storage(2GB/8GB/16GB) as a USB device
* Active Sync: Connect your Cubic37 device to PC through ActiveSync
* Caution: after select an option, please click “OK” or “Done” to apply the change
After you have done this ou can plug your USB cable from phone to computer and it will recognize the phone. Mine defaulted to Adobe Photoshop Album Starter 3 and I could transfer photos easily there. I got the info from Samsung.ca
Hope it helps. Also, I copied the photos to the memory stick in the phone as well. Some phones will only transfer photos etc. from a memory stick. This I would think would also work with songs etc. I am using Windows XP. According to what I read on the Samsung website PC Studio doesn’t work with the Impact even though it’s in the USB connections settings…?
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my older sisters all have samsung for the past few years and thier phones are awsome i cant wait to get mine which one should i get galaxy 2 or impact
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how do I shut off the beeping sound that happens as the battery is dying?
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Please help
I have a Samsung Impact and I would like to know when creating a text message how can I stop the key tones?
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i bought this phone a few months ago, the only downside ive had so far is the headphones,it took awhile but i found a site to purchase an adapter for the impact i’ll try to post a link-http://www.gocellular.ca/impact-headsets,so hopefully this helps a few people out
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