Straight Talk Samsung R451C Review - Overview

For my Straight Talk Samsung R451 Review, I thought that I would break the review up into several parts.  That way I can go into more detail on each aspect of the phone without creating a monster review for you to wade through.  Plus, it lets me level out the workload over several days.

So let's get started with an overview of Straight Talk Samsung R451C.  The first thing you'll notice is that it has a slide out QWERTY keyboard, which comes in real handy for entering text message or website URLs.  

The keyboard also makes the phone look a lot like a smart phone, which can be good or bad.  It can be good if you're trying to impress your friends with your fancy new phone, but it can be bad if you expect it to have full smart phone functionality.

For instance, when I first took the phone to work, my buddies said "cool, can it synch to Outlook?"  Um, no.  When I showed it to my brother, he asked "can it open Excel and Word documents like my phone?"  Um, no.  I've had a couple of readers ask "can it run the Opera Mini or Bolt browser?"  Um, no.  Can it run Windows Mobile, Symbian, Droid, etc.? No.  Can it tether to a laptop?  No.  

In short, you can't expect to pay $100 with no contract and get a full blown replacement for your Blackberry, iPhone, Sidekick, or any other smart phone.  And no, you can't port your smart phone over to the Straight Talk service, since only Straight Talk phones will work with their service.

So what can you expect?  You can expect a decent prepaid phone that has the slide out QWERTY keyboard, and 1.3 Megapixel camera that takes OK pics but no video, an mp3 player, bluetooth, MMS picture messaging, voice recording and dialing, and a bunch of other standard features that you can find on the Straight Talk website.

Of course, one of the best things about all Straight Talk phones is that they work with the excellent prepaid no contract service plans offered by Straight Talk:

• $30/month for 1000 minutes 1000, text messages, and 30 MB data
• $45/month for unlimited

I cover more details in my Straight Talk Prepaid initial review and Samsung R451C first look (be sure to read the comments for a lot of questions and answers).  

To close out this overview, I will say that I've been using the phone a couple of weeks now, and overall I'm pretty happy with it.  The keyboard makes it MUCH easier to enter data of all types into the phone, which is a big reason why this phone will be attractive to many people.  No, it's not as full-featured as a smart phone, but it's also not as full-priced as a smartphone, and you don't have to lock in to a 2 year contract to get your hands on one.

Stay tuned over the coming days and weeks as I continue to add more installments to this review by covering the phone's features in much more detail.

Comments

[Gill]

Can you use NET10 - Samsung R451 for StraighTalk as well ? It look identical... It sells at Best Buy online for $80 vs $100 for R451C at StraightTalk or Walmart. The only difference is the name. ST calls it Samsung R451C not sure what the C is for ???
I researched everywhere online and couldnt find the answer to this.

[Tyrone Thomas]

what do you need to do to get the mp3 to work on the samsung r451c,i can't get it to do at all.trying to get some help with this email me with the instrution at bigtye35@yahoo.com thanks.

[Ty 234]

You must get a micro SD card to store songs. Its located on the back under the cover.

[Bruce]

downloaded music to sd card but can not get files to music. downloaded then to music and sounds but can not play. how do i do this?

[MBurgin]

I appreciate the price for the service but buyer beware as far as the advertisement on the phone which states 3 way calling thats a negative and call waiting only hangs up the person your talking to to answer the person calling you. mp3 player advertised negative no mp3 player my problem with this is the phone does not indicate these features as optional yet there is that infamous clause left on the back so you have no recourse because they smart talk is not responsible. the phone does not carry enough memory to access most things on the net other than that I am satisfied with the coverage for the price so all in all with my disappointments I really can't complain as I have not had a dropped call or any problems with my text messages except 1 service I can't receive pic mail from. but $45.00 still gives more for your money than any 2YEAR PLAN or any contract plan.

[ric]

Have any other users of R451C on StraightTalk had problems with their mouthpiece volume? I just got the phone and everyone I've talked to so far has commented that my voice seems very muted, hard to hear unless I speak unusually loudly. Anyone? Any ideas?

[Felicia]

I Have The R451C On Straight Talk And This Phone Is Not Worth A D*mn The First One I Got The Internet Would Not Work Is Would Say "502 Bad Gate Way" They Told Me There Was Something Wrong With The Phone...The Second One I Got The Phone Turned Off And On By Its Self And They Told Me To Go Back To Walmart And Get A New One...The Third One The Screen Turned White And They Said The Color Gone Out In The Screen So I Took It Back Now Lets See If The Fourth One Is Going To Work!!!! I Have Not Had Good Luck With This Phone At All I Would Not Recommend It To No One At All!!!!!

[michaelwat]

for you to listen to your music on the SCH R451C you must make sure they are in .mp3 format. and you do have to have a mini sd card in your phone and the pc connection setting set to USB mass storage in your phone settings (settings/phone settings/pc connection/usb mass storage. get yourself a .wav to .mp3 converter.

[michaelwat]

Samsung R451C
i know that in the contract it says that you can not tether your phone to use as modem. but i have managed to get as far as to get it to actually allow me to set it up as a DUN (dial up connection)but once it gets on the internet it goes to a web page that tells me my phone is not currently allowed for this service.

has any one managed to get past this? and if so would you email me with some info.
michaelwatkins2@gmail.com

you have to enable DUN in the hidden menus. if i could get a Bitpim to actually read my phone i could figure out the rest.

[Skip]

MBurgin-Straigth Talk uses the Verizon Network. I have a Verizon phone and I had trouble using three way calling and call waiting when I first got my service. Prior to that I had AT&T and these service work different then on Verizon. I am assuming you are having the same rouble I had. Here goes. When you are talking to someone and want to add another person.While still on with the first person dial the second number and press the call botton. That will deal the first person. Once it starts to ring or after the second person has answered the call press the dial botton again. This will connect both calls. I think you can switch between the calls by pressing the dial botton again.

I have not used call waiting but I think you press the dial botton during a call to receive the second call. That will place the first call on hold and then again switch by pressing the dial botton.

[Bruce]

This seems to be a simple phone. If you're looking for something to cruise the internet or download stuff this isn't your phone. I can't wait to get this phone and try it out. All I do is call and text. This should cut my bill in half. To the people that only call and text....any problems and can I use my old Verizon number that I currently have?

[Sami]

ive had this phone for about a year now. it freezes up and shuts off on its own. but other than that it is a pretty good phone im a thirteen yr old girl and i love to text so if your like me this is a great phone for you. i just cant figure out the mp3 bluetooth thing...