Well, Verizon has brought a decent device for the people who like QWERTY keyboard. It is the Samsung Stratosphere which from its left side can slide and open up a keypad to type the message. It is an amazing feature, though it reminds of Samsung Corby Mate and many other devices. Even though it cannot be said as a power packed monster which others probably want, but is worth a look. It is the first model that the Verizon has brought with 4G LTE QWERTY. You can buy this device from Verizon Wireless for just $150.
What is it?
Samsung Stratosphere is the first LTE phone that has got a physical QWERTY keyboard; no wonder, it will attract many people who just cannot stay away from a keyboard style phone. It’s a touch screen device, but after sliding out its keyboard, you can type from it without using the touch screen. So, two options is what you get to enjoy through this phone.
Key features
Samsung Stratosphere is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone and boasts some great features like LTE capabilities and a sliding keyboard. In fact, the phone gets a makeover on its 4-inch Super AMOLED screen. It is run by a 1 GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor and has a 5 MP camera with an impressive LED flash. It provides great experience through its 720p HD playback and 480p DVD-quality recording. It also has a front facing 1.3 MP camera for video chat. For those who want a 5-row keyboard to flaunt and enjoy the new device can rush to buy this phone for $150. Its AMOLED screen enables its users to watch movies, videos and play games even in outdoor environments or bright light. The services that you can enjoy are YouTube™, Google Search™, Gmail™, Google Talk™, Google Maps™ and also access to more than 250,000 apps, all are easily available for downloading from Android Market™.
What’s innovative
It has AllShare which helps the wireless connectivity to pass through the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA). This enables its users to send multimedia files to other DLNA Certified devices like laptops and TVs. It also has a Media Hub from Samsung and provides a series of films and TV programs which you can rent or purchase. It supports multiple video file formats including XviD and DivX. Talking about its Wi-Fi connectivity, it has got 802.11 a/b/g/n. You can share your 4G connection with total eight Wi-Fi enabled devices. Moreover, 3G connection can also be linked with five devices.
Price and availability
Samsung Stratosphere has entered the market on 13th October with a price tag of $150. You can buy it from Verizon Wireless or can even wait for the retailer Amazon to offer at much less price which is expected to happen soon.
Accessories
Bluetooth of this phone is based on 3.0 technology, support for headset, stereo, hands-free, object push for vCard and vCalendar, and phonebook access. The phone is available with a battery, charger, USB device, CD for set up and headset.
The up side
The phone gives download speed of 5-12 Mbps for 4G network by supporting LTE and gives uploading speed of 2-5 Mbps through broadband 4G LTE mobile coverage. The other special feature that this phone offers is the support access cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN 2.1. This facilitates users to get connected to the private corporate networks.
The down side
The major problem is that even after boasting so much of features, the phone lacks behind in the competition when compared with other high-end phones. It does possess 4G, Bluetooth, Android and Wi-Fi connectivity, but still there are few features that have not been added to this phone. If we consider the cons of this phone, it is bulkier as well as heavier from outside. Also, the battery backup is comparatively low; 8 hours talk time and 212 hours standby time. Newer offerings in the market come with dual-core chips, but this phone runs on a single core processor. Talking about its video capture is again poor as compared to the competition with smartphone (480p).
Our experience
The carrier Verizon has made a great attempt, but this didn’t quite go well in the market as people are already running for far better and more loaded features. The Mobile Hotspot Technology might impress many and the phone has pre-installed Quick Office application as well as pre-installed Google widgets. The phone has got almost same look like other phones with dimensions – 4.96-inch x 2.54-inch x .55-inch. Internal memory is of 4GB and can be expanded up to 32 GB.
The bottomline
Verizon’s first mobile has received almost positive response in the market, especially because of its 4G LTE running device and productive design which caters to the business category. Moreover, its superior messaging capabilities make the phone more demanding.
