The Straight Talk website has recently added the Straight Talk Samsung R451C to its online store for $99.99. Why is this news? Because the R451C is the the first QWERTY keyboard phone to be offered in the TracFone family of prepaid wireless services.
I don't have my hands on one of these yet, but along with the slider QWERTY keyboard, it has a 1.3 megapixel phone, an mp3 player, and bluetooth. I won't list all of the details here, because you can find them on the Straight Talk website, but it's not a bad feature set for a prepaid phone.
Of course, you have to activate the phone with either the $45/month unlimited plan or the $30/month 1000/1000/30 plan, so factor that in to your initial outlay of cash to get this phone. The website lets you purchase the phone in a bundle with one of the airtime cards to make it easy. Plus, they're throwing in free shipping right now too just to sweeten the deal.
If you're new to Straight Talk, you can read my initial Straight Talk Review to get a better idea of how it works and how it's different from TracFone and Net10.
Update: The curiosity was too much, so I checked my local Wal-Mart to see if they had any Straight Talk phones in stock yet. Alas, they did not. Not to be deterred so easily, I ordered a R451C from the Straight Talk website with the overnight shipping. Stay tuned for pictures and hands-on details in a few days.
Update 10/26: I've had a chance to test out the R451C a bit over the past few days. I'll get a full review posted in a few days (hopefully), but I'll go ahead and post a few highlights now.
I was able to successfully connect both via bluetooth and via a usb cable to my computer and move files back and forth between my computer and my phone. The usb cable and microSD card are NOT included in the package when you buy the phone.
I was able to copy a mp3 file to the R451C and both play it with the music player on the phone and set it as a ringtone.
I've been able to send mms picture to and from the R451C both to another phone and to email.
I've been able to browse to any website I want. Here's a pic of my phone logged in to m.facebook.com
I was able to record a message with the voice recorder and set it as a ringtone. You can set different ringtones for different contacts, so now when I get a call from home, my ringtone is my wife telling me that I'd better answer! :-)
I was able to copy files from the internal memory to the SD card. I went with a 2GB card because it was the cheapest.
I haven't seen any way to sync your contacts with outlook or any other way to download them from the phone. I was, however, able to log in to my gmail account from the browser.
To lock the keypad on the R451C, you hold down the * key. It took me a while to figure that out. To unlock the keypad you press the left soft key and then the * key. Sliding out the keyboard also unlocks the phone.
You find all the official specs on the Straight Talk website and here's a link to the manual, which I was surprised to find in printed form in the box. In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away on an official review, but for now I'll say that in general I like this phone and haven't found any major disappointments.
Update 10/31: While waiting around for trick-or-treaters tonight, I thought I'd post a couple of link you might find helpful. The first is the official R451C page on the Samsung website. Be sure to click on the tabs across the middle of the screen to find more details about the phone's features.
The next link is to some Samsung R451C tutorials on the Straight Talk website. If you don't have the phone yet, these tutorials will help you explore the features on the phone.
If you have found the information on Fone-Review more helpful than the sales clerk at your average big box retailer, please help me to continue helping everyone!
Once you get the phone, can you let us know what kind of keypad lock it has? I want a QWERTY phone, but these phones with the front panel subset of keys don't seem to come with good keypad locks to prevent accidents (i.e. press OK twice versus a password unlock like a Blackberry)
Thanks
Posted by: Weather42 | October 20, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Have you received your ST Samsung R451C yet? Any first impression? What are the positive/negative things about the phone & service? Thanks for the feedback...
Posted by: Echo | October 23, 2009 at 12:13 AM
There is NO WEB BROWSER so if you think you're looking for a phone that can also surf the net.....this is NOT the phone. TEXT only!
This per Straightalk agent.
Posted by: Florida Gypsy | October 23, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Echo - I did receive my R451C yesterday. I charged it up and activated it last night, but haven't had much time to play with it yet. So far, it looks like nothing has really changed much from my initial Straight Talk review:
http://tracfone-blog.fone-review.com/2009/06/straight-talk-prepaid-wireless-first-look.html
Gypsy - The Straight Talk agent was mistaken, because you can definitely surf the internet on this phone. I've been able to surf to pretty much any site I want, and I'll post pictures when I do my full review.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM
I would like to buy the R451C with unlimited for my teens but our zip code is 16201 and the WalMart web site tells me that this model won't operate in our area while the straight talk web site tells me that it does. Now I don't know what to do. I have to buy 2 of them and 2 $45 service cards by Christmas and I need the phones to work. I'm sure my daughters would love the qwerty keyboard. Can you help me?
Also, is it really unlimited, no surprises? Would my girls be able to call any landline and any cell on any network, text any network and surf the web as much as they want for $45? It seems too good to be true. Thank you
Posted by: Nicoletta | October 23, 2009 at 05:49 PM
Nicoletta - If the Straight Talk website says it's available for your zip code, then it should work in your area. Straight Talk runs on the Verizon network, and the Verizon website shows coverage for 16201, so you should be good to go.
Yes, it really is unlimited with no surprises, and your girls can do all the calling, texting, and surfing they want.
The browser is rather simplistic, and it works best with the mobile version of websites. So it's not an iPhone type of experience, but it's not bad for a prepaid phone. The keyboard definitely makes it easier for entering website addresses.
Here's a link back to the Straight Talk website where you can check the coverage map one more time and read all the details about the phone and service again:
http://www.fone-review.com/Straight_Talk
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 23, 2009 at 09:57 PM
Ok, I just ordered the R451C. Came with $30 card but I plan to go with the $45/month unlimited.
Blackberry junkie since 1998, I hope I like it.
My last BB was thru Earthlink
Voice subcontracted from Verizon.
Unlimited Data and 1000 minute plan was costing over $110/month. Too high.
But EL is dropping BB support as of Nov 1.
I read all the complaints regarding contracts and all the major carriers. NO WAY!
Hated how Sprint wanted more personal/financial info from me then my mortgage broker did a few years ago! Didn't go with them last time I looked to switch.
Wife has Tracfone and its OK and alot less $$$ as she doesn't use it much.
Will post again when I get it next week.
Tks all who posted info/reviews here.
Pete
Posted by: Pete | October 24, 2009 at 01:22 PM
Thank you Keith. You are very helpful.
Posted by: Nicoletta | October 24, 2009 at 01:57 PM
Hello,
Do you know yet if the phone is unlocked and works with USB? Can you transfer files between it and the pc easily?
thanks,
Daniel
Posted by: Daniel | October 25, 2009 at 08:04 AM
I just updated this post with more details that will hopefully answer some of the questions about the phone.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 26, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Hi Keith and thank you for your last update; It's most helpful. I was wondering if you had the chance to test mobile to mobile with a Verizon phone using your straight talk phone to see if minutes are charged to the Verizon phone since my daughters have many friends on the Verizon family plan and I don't want their parents to ge a sirprise bill. Thank you.
Posted by: Nicoletta | October 27, 2009 at 07:30 AM
I'm seriously considering this phone and was reading info on it on Samsung's site. They said in the specks that it Does Not list dialed/missed/received calls. That seems outrageous! Is that true??
Posted by: Jeni | October 27, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Does it list missed/received calls? Also, can you go to any website? I read elsewhere that the browser only allows specific websites. Thank you!
Posted by: Jeni | October 27, 2009 at 07:39 PM
I have a phone, waiting to activate. The website is down, I guess I'll just barrow a friend's phone. Hopefully it will all work smoothly.
Thanks for the info about the mp3 file to ringtone.
To answer Jeni's question, the phone has a recent calls section with outgoing, incoming, missed, all calls, call timer, and a data counter. (He posted a link to the manual which might answer other questions regarding the capabilities)
I hope I didn't step on any toes answering the question.
Thanks Keith for the info.
Posted by: Logan | October 27, 2009 at 08:34 PM
Logan - You'll never step on my toes by giving out good answers. Thanks for helping and contributing!
Jeni - Logan's is correct that you definitely can see a list of all calls made/received/missed on the phone. In regards to websites, I've been able to pull up any website I want in the R451C browser, and I posted a pic of the phone's browswer at m.facebook.com.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 27, 2009 at 09:10 PM
I buy phones based on low SAR rating. The rating on the manual "linked above" says that the head value is lower than the body. [[The SAR limit set by the FCC is 1.6 W/kg. The highest SAR values for this model phone were Head: 0.84 W/kg, and Body: 0.967 W/kg.]]
Does anyone know if this is acurrate? I have not seen any indication of this phone on the Samsung website or at CNET reviews/SAR ratings. These values are low (very good!!) and it helps my decision to go with StraightTalk if it is acurrate.
Thanks for any details you have given so far... great blog!!
Posted by: Russ | October 28, 2009 at 06:07 AM
Hey thanks for the info on the phone i really like it and am planning on getting one but i have a question- I see that the background is white when you go to menu can you change that to like black or another color and how is the camara does it take good pictures can you set them as your display background? thanks again!
Posted by: anna | October 28, 2009 at 09:31 PM
Anna - There is a theme you can select that makes the background black instead of white, but those seem to be the only 2 choices. The camera is 1.3 megapixel, so it takes decent pictures for a cell phone, and you can make them your wallpaper or a picture ID for a contact.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 28, 2009 at 09:48 PM
Aww thanks for answering me so fast! =)
and thanks i might just get it!
Posted by: anna | October 28, 2009 at 10:04 PM
wow i was browsing in walmart the other day and i seen the straight talk phones shocked because it did seem to real to be true im from connecticut and pocket wireless offers an unlimited 45 dollar plan but there service isnt that great so i was considering going with straight talk but a little worried about the service i gained alot of information through reading everything here so i would like to say thanks i think i am going to purchase this phone =]
Posted by: emily | October 29, 2009 at 08:54 AM
In response to the keypad lock topic, if you open the slide while the keypad is locked, it unlocks the phone. Just something I've noticed.
Posted by: Logan | October 30, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Looks nice. Does this phone do video messaging? Does straight-talk as a service support this either sending or receiving?
Posted by: Marcus | October 30, 2009 at 07:49 PM
Marcus - I've never tried it, so I don't know for sure, but I don't think any Straight Talk phone does video messaging.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 30, 2009 at 10:29 PM
I've been using StraightTalk for two months and am very happy with the service. I would very much like to trade my RAZR in for this Samsung phone, because then I would be able to reply to emails more efficiently on the QWERTY keyboard. Do you happen to know if that can be done? Thanks!
Posted by: Shannon | October 30, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Shannon,
I think you can just buy the new phone and then swap ESNs (phone serial numbers) with your Straighttalk account.
Can someone confirm that, please?
Posted by: Weather42 | October 31, 2009 at 10:12 AM
You can definitely transfer your number to a new Straight Talk phone, but there's no type of "trade in" service. You would have to buy the new phone, transfer your number from your old phone to your new phone, and then sell or give away your old phone.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 31, 2009 at 01:30 PM
Nicoletta - I've heard conflicting reports on whether Straight Talk phones work with free mobile to mobile on Verizon. Some people have said it works, others don't. I tested it one time with a guy who was on Alltel, and he said the call was not free. He said that he could do free calls with actual Verizon customers. It would make sense to me that Verizon would not want to allow free mobile to mobile with Straight Talk phones.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 31, 2009 at 01:55 PM
Does this phone have GPS capability under the browser? If not, do any of the straight talk phones?
Posted by: Jim | October 31, 2009 at 06:56 PM
Jim - none of the Straight Talk phones have a gps feature.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 31, 2009 at 07:39 PM
Is there an email app that you can use to check gmail, yahoo, etc. or do you have to do it through the web browser? Has anyone tried to install Opera Mini or Bolt Lite web browsers and gotten them to work?
Also I read the specs of the phone at Samsung's web site and it said the screen resolution is only 96x96, which seems terrible. Is this really true or was it a misprint? The very similar t401g (Net10) supposedly has double this resolution. Can someone confirm what the resolution is on the R451c?
Posted by: A Smith | October 31, 2009 at 09:07 PM
There's not an email app. You have to use the browser. I've read that people have not had success downloading Opera Mini to the R451C, and I was not able to download Bolt Lite (It says "file not supported").
That screen resolution must be a misprint, because the screen resolution is decent. I'd say double the 96X96 figure is more like it.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | October 31, 2009 at 09:49 PM
A email App is crucial for me as I am trying to replace a Blackberry.
What OS does the 451c run?
If there was a way to get the browser to auto load and go to gmail by default once a hour I could live with that.
Pete
Posted by: Pete | November 01, 2009 at 07:55 AM
A few more questions about the R451c. Does the music player only support mp3, or will it also play other formats like wma, aac, etc.? Does it have video recording or just photo? How is the photo quality? Finally, as for the web browser, I'm still not sure what the limitations are. Can you go to any site you want, but it is just that only mobile formatted sites (e.g. mobile.nytimes.com, etc.) will work well. Or does Straighttalk have some very limited set of sites you can go to (and you can strictly only go to those sites)?
The Samsung T401g seems very similar, but does have a video recorder. I wonder if you could use the T401g on Straighttalk.
Posted by: A Smith | November 01, 2009 at 02:02 PM
first person who commented...if you to menu then settings then phone settings then select security a screen comes up asking for you to choose a 4 letter code. once you put that in and the phone goes on standbye you click any button and you have to submit that code to unlock your phone.
Posted by: isaac | November 01, 2009 at 03:53 PM
Hello, Was wandering if Youtube Video Streaming is available on this phone. I think I know what the answer is gonna be, but just wandering :)
Posted by: Andy Brown | November 02, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Can anyone confirm or deny whether Opera Mini (4.2 or Beta 5)or Bolt browsers work in this phone? The Samsung site states Java downloads supported. Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Posted by: Papa John | November 02, 2009 at 07:48 PM
Pete - The R451C just runs on a standard Samsung operating system. It doesn't have Windows Mobile or Symbian or Android or anything like that. This phone isn't really meant to be a replacement for a smart phone like the Blackberry.
A Smith - The specs only mention MP3, and I couldn't get a .wma file to copy to the phone. The camera is 1.3 megapixel, so the picture quality is decent for quick pics, but nothing spectacular. No video camera. You can use the web browser to go to any site you want, but the mobile versions will definitely work much better. Only Straight Talk phones will work with Straight Talk, so the T401G won't work.
Andy - I tried m.youtube.com today, and I could see that videos were there, but it gave me a "malformed URL" error when I tried to watch a video.
Papa John - When I tried to download Opera Mini or Bolt, it gives me a File Not Supported error.
Posted by: Keith Tyndall | November 02, 2009 at 09:09 PM
My job requires me to receive email on my phone so that I can respond to clients quickly. Is there anyway to do an automatic forward from Outlook to receive email as a text on this phone?
I really and truly don't want to have to get a smart phone.
Posted by: Pam | November 03, 2009 at 10:30 AM
I've been using the R451C for a few days now and am in general very pleased with it. I've been quietly following this thread for a while as well, and it has helped me in making my decision to switch to Straight Talk from AT&T.
One thing I am concerned about, and wondering if anyone else has experienced this, is when trying to access my Yahoo email from the browser, I always get the same error, 502 Bad Gateway. I am able to get to the login screen, but beyond that I get the error. Gmail works fine, as does my godaddy webmail for my business, but not yahoo. Any ideas?
Thanks for the great info and posts!
Posted by: Brandon M | November 03, 2009 at 02:58 PM
Brandon: Try this URL: wap.oa.yahoo.com Then look for a Mail link
Posted by: Fred Derf | November 03, 2009 at 07:19 PM