Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Samsung Brightside is no smart phone. But for a basic phone with no required data plan, I believe it deserves "Best in Class." The call quality is good, and Verizon offers the best coast-to-coast coverage in the cellular industry. The touch screen feels accurate and responsive. As with their Galaxy Tab, Samsung has proven they can build a good touch screen. One uniqueness is that the Brightside offers both a touchscreen and a slide-out physical keyboard. This adds some girth to the phone, but it's still lightweight, and the frame does not feel bulky. It's a welcome accessory for heavy texting. Other perks include a camera and music player. The 3.2 megapixel camera is just what I need for those unplanned "Kodak moments" when I don't have a regular camera around. It's far superior to the 1.3 megapixel on my previous two phones. The music player is pretty straightforward and puts out a good sound that's not too quiet or tinny. That said, there are a few negatives. I would've appreciated more customization options with things like home page colors, font sizes, etc. When testing out some PDF files, I found the document viewer slow and clunky and see myself using it very little. I had some problems downloading drivers when I first plugged in the USB. It also took me a while to get the phone to recognize my music files. But with a little persistence, all seems to be working smoothly now. Sure, we'd all love to have a smart phone. But the $30/mo. data plan is hard to swallow when many of us already have internet access. If you're looking for a sleek touch screen phone and don't expect to use internet much, the Brightside is a great option.