Samsung's new card in Sprint's deck can go where most Sprint phones can't. Does that mean you should take it with you?
Review summary of the Samsung Ace:
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 The Samsung Ace does an excellent job with tethered modem support. And, if you are a Sprint fan who travels abroad, this is one of your few options. But otherwise, the Samsung Ace falls well short of the competition, and perhaps even its own family members. The lack of software we usually consider a given on smartphones, like an Office Suite and IM client, is troubling. Though the phone is an obvious relative of the BlackJack, it doesn't get the improvements we enjoyed in the BlackJack II, like the improved battery life, GPS and better (debatable) navigation. For the $200 price tag, there are certainly better options, even for a dual-mode device. Release: February 2008. Price: $200.
Pros: Dual-mode support means Sprint users can bring phone's abroad. Great tethered modem connectivity.
Cons: No IM client, no Mobile Office. Keys are different, but not better, than BlackJack. Seems more like BlackJack I than BlackJack II.
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Full Samsung Ace Review:
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Design - Good
The Samsung Ace on Sprint bears a strong family resemblance to the BlackJack phones on AT&T. On the outside, the main difference is the keys. The Ace has some interesting angles on the keyboard, and it was nice and comfortable, but we're not sure the design change is any better than on AT&T's phones. The Ace uses a thumbwheel, instead of the scrollwheel we saw on the BlackJack II, or the optical joystick we found on the SGH-i780 at Mobile World Congress. It's still not an attractive phone, but the Ace is as usable as this design idea gets, until we start seeing touchscreens and styli.
The Ace is just slightly taller and heavier than the BlackJack, perhaps owing to its dual-mode status. It isn't a large phone, but gone are the days that these slab-QWERTY phones impress with their svelte size. The phone's screen, at 2.3-inches, also feels a bit small, especially considering the large border around it, though it is at least as large as the screen on it's cousins. The interface is pure Windows Mobile 6, with no special overlays or add-ons to reduces menu drilling.
Calling - Very good
Call quality on the Samsung Ace was good. We got a consistent four bars of service on Sprint's network in Lower Manhattan, and calls never suffered from static or noise issues The phone also packs a plethora of our favorite calling features, including a solid, loud speakerphone; voice dialing; conference calling; and Bluetooth for hands-free calling. In our battery tests, we managed a call just over four hours, which is what Sprint tells us to expect, but we always like more talk time.
Of course, the most interesting call feature is the Samsung Ace's dual-mode capabilities. In the U.S., you get the benefit of Sprint's EV-DO network. Abroad, where CDMA phones usually don't work, you can use a SIM card to access most global GSM networks. Data speeds aren't nearly as fast, but for calling and light messaging, it's does the trick. As Sprint subscribers ourselves, we were annoyed that we had to leave our Sprint Treo behind on our trip to Barcelona, so this Ace might have been a better option (though our iPhone, which uses GSM exclusively, worked just fine).
Messaging - Good
Here, the Samsung Ace falls a bit short of its relatives. While the phone features good e-mail options with the mobile version of Outlook, and of course SMS and MMS messaging, there is no IM client onboard. This is Windows Mobile, so many third party software options are available, but we prefer to have this sort of messaging app preloaded. Also, Outlook is great if you have a Direct Push account with an Exchange Active Sync host, but if you need to use Gmail or another POP service, you won't get the benefit of html e-mail messages and all the fancy shortcuts that Outlook provides.
Typing on the Ace's keys was an interesting experience. Because of the way the keys are angled, like miniature pyramids almost, it was easy to move our fingers from row to row. But moving horizontally, from the letter "w" to the "e," for instance, was more difficult, and challenged our typing ability. The special keys were also printed in a tiny font, so we had to squint to make out the "Caps / Shift" key.
Scheduling and productivity - Mediocre
The Samsung Ace, as a Windows Mobile phones, features a robust calendar app, with some of the most fully-featured scheduling in the business. We like being able to synchronize with our Outlook calendar, and invite associates directly from our contact list.
For productivity, we expected to complain about the limitations of the mobile Office suite, but Sprint spared us the trouble by neglecting to include Microsoft's Mobile Office. Instead, you can view Office files in the file viewer, but don't expect any editing. Frankly, we have never used Mobile Office in a practical setting, but we folks who rely on it for light editing and proofreading on the go. Those people either need to buy an app like DataViz DocumentsToGo, which is neither free nor cheap, or simply pick a smartphone loaded with the proper programs.
Multimedia - Good
If you are already using Windows Media player to manage all of your music and videos, the Samsung Ace will play nicely with your setup. Of course, the memory slot tops out at 2GB, which is less than we're seeing on the newest smartphones, but not too bad. For multimedia services, Sprint goes about halfway, maybe less, giving the phone access to Sprint TV, but not the Sprint Music store, which is unfortunate, or the more rarified Sprint Movie store. The phone paired easily with our stereo Bluetooth headphones, but we would always prefer a standard 3.5mm headphone jack so we can use any pair of cans we have lying around.
Laptop sidekick - Excellent
If there is one this Sprint got right on this phone, it is certainly the tethered modem support. By wisely opting to use the Windows Mobile program "Internet Sharing" instead of the buggy Sprint Connection Manager software, the Samsung Ace becomes one of the easiest tethered modems to setup and use. You just open the app, click connect, and plug it into your computer. It's so easy, it's almost Macintosh-like. We were also impressed by the speeds we saw from the tethered modem. We easily topped 500Kbps, which is very good on any network. The only drawback to the Ace for road warriors is the proprietary USB connector, which means you'll have to remember the phone's extra cable on your travels.
Price and availability
The Samsung Ace is available from Sprint for $200 with a contract agreement. A mail-in rebate of $100 is available, when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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