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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
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17 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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J-M Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 4:06 am
NO…it is not.
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Mayo29 Reply:
December 13th, 2009 at 9:02 am
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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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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