I got an email today with a promo code for $25 off the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent. You can click the image below to go to the Straight Talk website where you can order the Precedent and get your $25 discount!
While your there, you may want to check out the new Straight Talk LG Optimus Q slider with full qwerty keyboard. I got another email today stating that mine has shipped, and I'll be posting a review soon.
The Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent coverage area map shows that it uses the Sprint network as the carrier, but the question came up in regards to roaming.
This map gives a general idea of the service, but you can click here to go to the Straight Talk website where you can enter your zipcode and see if the Precedent is available in your area.
Also, to get a closer look it's helpful to look at the Virgin Mobile coverage maps, since they also use Sprint.
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/check...phone-coverage
But will the Straight Talk Samusung Galaxy roam when it leave the Sprint coverage area? I did a little test today to find out.
According to the Virgin Mobile map, the Sprint network should not cover the little town of Everton, MO, which is a half an hour or so away from my home.
My 4 year old daughter wakes up at 6am every day, without fail, no matter how late I got to bed the night before. Sigh. Anyway, today we got up at 6, packed some snacks, and hit the road for Everton. What I found was that on HWY 160 between Ash Grove and Everton, I could still get coverage when I was up on the hills, but in the low spots and in the town of Everton itself I got this:
Alas, no roaming. So far, I've been happy with the Galaxy. Everything I've tested so far seems to work as expected with nothing locked down, but the limited Sprint coverage area may be a show stopper for some of you.
For others, however, it might not be that big of a deal. Many people don't regularly venture outside of population areas and highways, and sometimes it's a blessing that your cell phone just won't work when you're on vacation or at the lake. $45/month for a no contract Android phone with unlimited talk and text and (mostly) unlimited data is a pretty sweet deal, and if it has coverage in 99% of the places that you normally go, then it may be worth it.
It's also important to mention that other stuff on the phone works, even when you're outside the coverage area. For instance, you can still take pictures and videos, you can still play all of your music, and you can still run apps that don't require an internet connection. The GPS works too, though Google Maps won't be able to download the higher resolution maps as you travel through an area with no coverage.
Anyway, you'll have to make the call on how much the coverage area will impact your usage of the phone.
One last thing. I may be aging myself here, but in my day we didn't worry about coverage maps because we didn't have fancy cell phones at all. We talked using tin cans and string, and we LIKED it! Now, get off of my lawn. :)
You can click here to go to the Straight Talk website to get more details and/or order the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent.
I thought I was going to have a couple of weeks before I needed to work on my Staight Talk Samsung Galaxy Review. Like I mentioned in my Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Preview, the Straight Talk website (the only place you can currently order this phone) said the phones wouldn't ship for a couple of weeks. I guess 2 to 3 weeks in Straight Talk time is the equivaluent of less than one week of real time because mine arrived today!
I noticed on the bottom left corner that it says CDMA-S and the bottom right shows the map that says Nationwide Coverage on America's Best Networks. The support reps on Straight Talk's Facebook page have stated that the Galaxy will run on Sprint. All signs here seem to confirm that, but I'll verify once I get it unboxed.
Here's the code from the bar code sticker on the bottom of the box:
The box itself is pretty standard for Straight Talk with the flap that opens to reveal the phone and list more features.
Here are the features in case it's a litte small to read:
Did I just read that it comes with a 2GB microSD memory card?
It's time to unbox this puppy and see how it looks!
Yes, it comes with a 2GB micrSD card. I came in the phone, but I took it out for the pic.
It also comes with a usb cord and charger and all the standard Straight Talk pamplets (not pictured).
Here's the unbox video I posted on Youtube:
Tip: Read the instructions and activate on the Straight Talk website before turning on the phone. Otherwise, it sits there and thinks for a few minutes before it comes back and tells you it can't activate. Aside from that, the activation process went smoothly.
One of the first things I did was go to the Android Marketplace and download a free, though it has ads, version of Angry Birds. Success! It plays pretty well, but not quite as smoothly as on an iPhone.
Please excuse the lousy photography when I take pictures of the screen. It's hard to take a decent picture of a phone's screen, and the actual screen doesn't have those funny lines.
9/9/11
Here's a new video I made covering some of the main features of the phone.
So far, everything on the phone seems to work as it should, and I haven't found anything that's been locked down like is sometimes the case with TracFone, Net10, or Straight Talk phones.
Tomorrow I'll take a little drive outside of the Sprint coverage area to see if roaming works. <crossing fingers>
9/10/11
I did test of the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy coverage area, and unfortunately I found that it does not do roaming. Once I left the Sprint service area, I had no voice or data service. Click here to read more about my test.
One thing I did notice was that the GPS worked fine even when I was out of the voice/data coverage area. It's too bad you can't use the GPS satellites for voice and data coverage! One issue was that Google Maps couldn't download the higher resolution maps as I drove along outside of the coverage, so I soon got into an area where the map was a little fuzzy.
Once I got back into the service area, I called home to tell my wife that we were on our way home. I asked her what she thought of the call quality with the Precedent, and she thought it sounded better than the iPhone. I don't know if that's because the phone is better or because it's using Sprint instead of AT&T, but I agreed with her that the call quality sounded good.
9/12/11
I've been asked several questions, so I'll pull together the answers here.
First, I've been asked a few times is I recommend this phone. My answer is that as long as you are OK with the Sprint coverage area, then I do recommend the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent. Everything works as advertised, and having access to the apps in the Android market is a big plus. Sure, there are more expensive phones out there, but at $149.99 with no contract on the $45/month unlimited plan, I have no problems recommending this phone.
The Precedent does do 3 way calling. If you call the first person, then hit the menu button, you will have the option to add a call. That puts the first person on hold, and if you press the menu button again you can merge the calls. When you hang up, it ends the entire call and hangs up on everyone.
The text messaging is organized into threads, so you can see the whole conversation.
There is a Netflix app that you can download, but I found the playback to be a little stuttery, and it gets a buffering message every couple of minutes. Overall, the Netflix app isn't an enjoyable experience on this phone. Youtube videos, on the other hand, have all played flawlessly for me.
You can configure the phone to unlock using a pattern on a grid of 9 circles, or a PIN, or a password. If you don't configure any lock settings, then you just swipe a little unlock icon across the screen. Here's a picture of the 9 circles thing:
What you do is configure a pattern through the circles that you swipe with your finger to unlock the phone.
Tomorrow I'll write some thoughts about the voice recognition features, and I'll post the answers to more questions.
9/13/11
When I first received the phone, I had tested some of the voice recognition features, and found that the phone was surprisingly accurate in translating speech into text.
One place you can use voice recognition is on the Google search widget on the home page. You can touch the box to type in your search term, or you can touch the microphone icon and say your search term, and it will magically translate your speech into text and pull up the search results. Kinda cool!
Another place you can use the voice recognition is on the keyboard. That way you can say the words for a text message, or whatever other short sentence you might want to enter.
This had all worked great until yesterday, when everthing I said was translated into text totally wrong. After pulling my hair out for a while, I finally figured out that I had accidentally hit the button on the keyborard that switches the voice recognition from EN (English) to ES (Espanol). Note to self, speaking words in English produces weird results when your phone is set for Spanish.
The EN/ES toggle key is on the bottom row next the the SYM key, which brings up the symbols keyboard. It's all too easy to toggle your voice recognition into ES if you're not careful.
The microphone key to activate the voice recognition is on the bottom right of the keyboard.
I was asked today if the phone does picture text messaging. I tested that tonight, and it worked just fine.
9/18/11
I've tested the Android voice actions on the Precedent some more, and it's pretty slick. Here are the options:
send text, listen to, navigate to, call, send email, map of, go to, note to self, directions to.
But rather than me trying to explain how it all works, here's a video Google put out that explains how the voice commands work. They all seem to work as advertised on the Precedent.
One thing I learned from my testing is that the voice to text feature isn't very accurate when a four year old is doing the speaking, but a four year old will endlessly pester her daddy, and find it wildly entertaining, to let her say words to see what words the phone comes up with when it translates it to text. If you also have young children, you've been warned. :-)
The Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent and the Boost Prevail are physical close, so any of the Boost Prevail Accessories
The Precedent does not have a proximity sensor, so when you place a call the phone locks. If you need to use the dialpad again during the call, or when it's time hang up, you press the power button to unlock the display. You can then swipe the dial pad slider up to show the dialpad, or you can swipe the end call icon across the screen to hang up. It's all intuitive, and I didn't find it very cumbersome.
I was asked if the wifi works, and I not noticed any problems with the wifi.
I was asked if you can change the wallpaper, and you can access several options when you press the menu button. One is to use one of your pictures on the phone or from your picasa gallery. You can also select from some images that come with the phone. There is also what it called live wallpaper, where the image can move and change. For example, the one I have now shows blades of grass swaying in the breeze and the sky changes from day to night based on the time. It's maybe a little gimmicky, but it's pretty neat.
Another question was whether you can upgrade to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It looks like Gingerbread required a 1Ghz processor, and the Precedent has a 800mhz processor, so you won't be able to run Gingerbread on the Precedent.
This brings up another point about the fact the the Precedent is an entry level Android phone. Let me just say it: The Precedent is an entry level Android phone. If money is no object, then by all means go out and buy a new high-end Android phone or iPhone and sign up for a 2-year contract. If money doesn't grow on trees for you, however, and you don't care if you don't have the latest and greatest fastest whizbang bells and whistles phone, then I think you will find that the Precedent will meet your needs just fine.
More to come...
If you have questions about the phone that you want me to try to answer, please leave a comment!
If you want to order a Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy for yourself, you'll can go to the Straight Talk website and enter your zip code to see if it's available in your area.
Big news out of Straight Talk today as they posted on Facebook today that the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent Android phone will coming soon.
Yes, a real honest-to-goodness smart phone on the Straight Talk prepaid plan!
I did you a huge favor and waded through the hundreds of comments on their Facebook page to come up with these juicy nuggets:
Now, Android 2.2 is not the latest version of Android, but you will still be able to run most all of the apps you know and love. The birds may be angry, but you'll be happy with the money you're saving every month!
Some of you may not be so happy, however, with the fact that the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent will use Sprint as the network carrier. Sprint tends to have a more limited coverage area that is focused around cities and major highways, so if you're off the beaten path a little, this phone may not be for you.
UPDATE! As of September 2, 2011 the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent is available for preorder on the Straight Talk website. They say it will take 2 or 3 weeks to ship.
Since you can order the phone on the website now, there's not really any reason to do the reserve stuff below. All it did was send an email announcing that the phone was available for
Straight Talk has setup a site at http://reserve.straighttalkandroid.com/ where you can enter your zipcode to see if the Galaxy will work in your area. Here's a partial screenshot:
After you enter your zip code and click the button, it will take you to the following page where it tells you whether or not the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy will work in your area and allow you to sign up to be notified when it's available.
Hooray, it will be available in my area!
When they say "reserve" your phone, it looks like all they mean is that they will email you when it is available for sale.
Here are pics of the front and the back of the phone, just because it's cool to have big pics of prepaid phones on a blog that's about prepaid phones.
So there you have it - the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent Android phone is coming soon! Straight Talk + Android = Goodness.
UPDATE! As of September 2, 2011 the Straight Talk Samsung Galaxy Precedent is available for preorder on the Straight Talk website, so there's no need to do the reserve anymore.
If you're looking to buy a Straight Talk phone, now is a good time, because there are now free Straight Talk phones listed on the Straight Talk website.
Click the image above for more details.
They have reconditioned models of the Samsung R451C, LG290C, and LG220C that are free with the purchase of an airtime card. The "all you need" card is $30, and the unlimited card is $45.
The R451C is a steal at that price, so I think it's quite cool that Straight Talk is finally running the free-phone-with-airtime-card-purchase offer like TracFone has done for quite some time.
I don't know for sure how Straight Talk does it, but when TracFone runs specials like this, they include the airtime card in the box separately instead of having it already added to the phone. What's cool about that is that you can add the airtime to any Straight Talk phone, not just the one that comes with the card.
So let's say you already own an R451C, 290C, or 220C, and you need to buy an airtime card. You could order one with this special offer, and then you could use the airtime card on your current phone, and keep the refurbished one just to have a spare battery and battery charger. Or just sell the refurb on ebay or craigslist and pocket a little extra cash.
I've never owned a refurbished Straight Talk phone before, but I have bought refurbished TracFone phones in the past and never had a problem with them. Most of them looked brand new, and one had minor scratches, but they all worked just fine.
There's no expiration listed for the free refurbished phone offer, so it may or may not be around for a while.
The Straight Talk website is also running another special offer where you get free overnight shipping when you order any Straight Talk phone. This offer runs through 12/17/10
Click image above for more details.
Note that overnight shipping does not necessarily means that you'll get the phone the next day, because sometimes it takes them a couple of days to actually ship the phone once you order.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm going to break my Straight Talk Nokia E71 Reviews into a series of videos that I will post on here this page. That way I can make shorter videos covering specific features on the phone and post them as they get done.
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Get on the Straight Talk website.
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A quick note from Keith: I am wanting to do a marketing test with Fone-Review, and I need a few test subjects who would be willing to follow a few easy steps while ordering your new Straight Talk phone and report the results. In exchange for your help, I'm offering a rebate of up to $30 on the purchase of your new phone. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact me using my contact form here. If not, then simply keep reading and watching the E71 reviews!
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If you don't have the time to watch the videos, let me sum them up for you by saying that the Nokia E71 is the best Straight Talk phone available. It is an honest-to-goodness smart phone that has features that are not crippled as with earlier phones. If you want a Straight Talk phone, this is the one to get.
OK, here's the first video where I give a quick Overview of the phone's features. Nothing earth-shattering here, but I thought that the background music I chose was pretty snappy. :)
Click here for more info about the E71 on the Straight Talk website.
The next video gives an idea of how well the E71 works with YouTube. Overall, I was pleased with how well it worked. The videos loaded without a long wait time, and they played without stops or stutters. The sound on the phone works well, but unfortunately I couldn't get the actual sound from the phone to come out right in my video review, so I just stuck with some jazzy background music. I had already downloaded the YouTube app before making this video, but you can also play the videos directly on the YouTube website.
Click here for more info about the E71 on the Straight Talk website.
The next video shows how Facebook works on the E71. Status updates, pictures, comments, likes - they're all there. Viewing pictures was easy just by clicking on a thumbnail, but I couldn't get videos to work. It would show a black box with a message about needing Flash, even though Flash is installed on the phone. That limitation will also prevent you from playing games like Farmville on the E71. The best way I could think of to sum up the Facebook experience on the E71 was to call it "Facebook Lite".
The Facebook app that comes with the phone simply goes to the Facebook mobile website. A bit of researching on the web revealed that there was a true Symbian Facebook app for the Nokia E71, but it doesn't seem to be working anymore. I downloaded it from here and got the same invalid key error talked about here. The official Nokia Ovi website says that the app is not available for the E71. I don't know what's going on there, but the Facebook mobile app works fine so you can definitely still have the Facebook experience on the E71.
Click here for more info about the E71 on the Straight Talk website.
OK, here's a feature that I won't make a video about, but I had a question come up about any features on the phone for the visually impaired. I did a little research, and I found some instructions for adding text-to-speech capability to the E71. Basically, you download a voice package to your computer and copy it to the phone with the Nokia PC Suite. I haven't done this myself, but it looks like it should be fairly painless.
Check back soon for more updates in my series of Straight Talk Nokia E71 Reviews!
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Get on the Straight Talk website.
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There has been a lot of conversation about the Straight Talk Samsung T401G, which is probably due to the large amount of features this phone offers. Whenever you begin a review, you need to look at lots of information. You need to read manuals, other reviews, websites, and most importantly, examine every feature of the phone itself. Hopefully, I won't give you a lot of information overload, but instead, help you understand the features that most appeal to your needs.
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A quick note from Keith: I am looking to do a marketing test with Fone-Review, and I need a few test subjects who would be willing to follow a few easy steps while ordering your new Straight Talk phone and report the results. In exchange for your help, I'm offering a rebate of up to $30 on the purchase of your new phone. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact me using my contact form here. If not, then simply keep reading and watching the T401G review!
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If you don't have the time to watch the videos, let me sum
One of the things that has made the Samsung T401G so popular to Straight Talk customers is the slide out qwerty keypad. This phone is made for texting! The large, easy to read qwerty keypad makes texting a breeze. The screen rotates, so that it is facing you when you are using the qwerty keyboard. The directional buttons will also rotate when the qwerty keypad is opened. While the alpha/numeric keyboard is a hard plastic, the qwerty keypad is a soft, rubber material. It seemed easier to press down on the qwerty keys, and you didn't have any noisy clicking while texting. Messages on the screen are large enough to read easily, and phone numbers are very easy to read on this screen, as you can see here:
At about 4 and half ounces, this is the heaviest phone I have reviewed. I must confess that I have dropped the phone, the back came open, and the battery fell out. Although I was impressed with it's durability, I would highly recommend buying a case for the T401G. The camera short cut is on the side of this phone, along with volume control. The headphone, the USB, and charge connections are all on the side as well. I found the battery life on the Samsung T401G to be exceptional. For the most part, the phone stayed charged for over a week.
As with most Straight Talk phones, the menu is very easy to read and navigate. To scroll through the menu, you may simply press the up, down or side keys to get to where you need to go. The menu is comprised of Prepaid information, Contacts, Recent Calls, Messages, Browser, Games and Apps, My Folder, Tools and Settings.
The best way to give you an overview of each of these options is by giving you a summary of each one as we go along.
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Prepaid:
In this option you may add airtime, see your own phone number, get your airtime information showing how many minutes you have and when more will be due. You will also see your phone's serial number under this option, your SIM number, and code entry mode.
Contacts:
You may hold information for up to 1,000 contacts in the address book/contact section. You may add a new contact, add someone into a group and view information that way, set up a speed dial list of up to 9 numbers, a reject list, and contacts settings where you have a lot of organizational options. Contacts--as well as many other features of this phone are completely customizable. You may add a contact's picture, or specific ringtone. You may also add, first and last name, mobile, home and office number, and email.
Recent Calls:
You may view all recent calls, missed calls, incoming or outgoing calls. You may delete all the information at the touch of a button, show times when calls were made, and show call data volume.
Messages:
Here you may create new messages, view your inbox, see any drafts you may have, or view the texts you have sent out. A neat little feature with messages on the T401G is text or picture message templates. If you are at a loss for words you may insert some of the most common simple messages, such as: "Call me when you get this message," "I love you," etc. Voice mail messages are also included here, as is management, where you may delete all messages or see memory status.
Browser:
The browser on this phone is tops when compared to the other phones I have seen and reviewed. The internet on the T401G was as fast as my internet access at home and didn't encounter problems with my session closing out before I was finished like many of the other phone browsers I have encountered. The home browser page brings up standard convenient options such as Email and Networking, Walmart Mobile, Mobile Websites, Weather, Sports and more, downloads, and even gives a Spanish option. From the Browser option key you may add favorite sites, enter a specific URL, or clear your cache. The easy to use qwerty keyboard makes accidentally hitting the browser button nearly impossible, and that makes for much less frustration, since I have always had problems with that on other phones.
Games and Apps:
The T401G is one of the few prepaid phones that include gaming options. Not only can you buy games for this phone, but it already has 2 games on the phone. A+SUDOKU, and another called Jump Boy. I had trouble figuring out how to play Jump Boy, but then again, I'm not a gamer. I have read some comments from people that have been able to download free games for this phone, but I did not try it myself.
The Music Player is also under this feature. In order to use the music player you will need to download music using a USB cord. You may then add, rearrange or remove music files. The Samsung T401G comes with 2 gigabytes of memory, but is capable of holding 16 gigabytes to expand and store your music, videos and other files. A con about the MP3 player is that it will not accommodate standard earphones. You will either require specific equipment to fit the Samsung, or you will have to use an adapter.
The Samsung T401G features a 1.3 mega pixel camera. There is no flash on this camera, however, it has the ability to control brightness using the up/down keys and a very nice zoom using the left/right keys. You may also edit a photo using the image editor which is also under this icon. You can use effects such as black and white, negative, sepia, blur, sharpen, sketch, posterise, and solarise. You may adjust color, brightness and contrast, and flip or rotate the image. You may send the image via Bluetooth or email. Overall, I was very impressed with the camera!
Here's a quick snaphot taken with the camera.
This phone also boasts a camcorder which is perfect for a quick video that you might need to send. You can even zoom in quite well during recording, but if good video quality or video length is important to you, I would suggest using a regular camcorder.
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A great little option that can be found under the games and apps icon is the voice recorder. You may use the voice recorder on the phone rather than carrying an additional voice recorder. This is great for when you want to remember something, such as a shopping list item, or to play back a speech before a big meeting.
My Folder:
The sounds from the voice recorder, images, videos, music, other files and memory status are all found under the "My Folder" icon.
Tools:
The Samsung T401G has more tool features than I have seen in a prepaid phone. If you like to have organizational gadgets, you will be thrilled with what you see here! Under this icon you will find an alarm with 3 alarm settings, a calendar with views of the month, week or day. There are sections to include a complete schedule, anniversaries, miscellaneous, task, missed alarm events, and memory status. Under Notes you may include even more, whether it is a grocery list, or ideas for a school paper.
There is a regular calculator that you can even do some basic algebra on, as well as a tip calculator. There is a converter showing conversions of currency, length, weight, volume, area, and temperature. There is also a regular timer and a stopwatch, as well a world time showing.
Settings:
Under settings you will find more customizing options including; sound settings for your incoming calls, messages, keypad tones and volumes, tones for powering off or on, slide tones and if that is not enough...extra tones! There are 15 ringtones to chose from that sound kind of like video game tunes. There are display settings for wallpaper, theme (black or white), main menu style, (block or list), info display, dialing display, and backlight duration and brightness.
If you are really interested in high tech options, you may look under phone settings where you will find time and date, language, shortcuts, my own number, you may set to airplane mode, or turn auto key lock off or on. In call settings you may opt for a send key, auto redial, show my number, and call waiting. You will also find all the important bluetooth options under the settings icon, as well as the browser and reset settings.
When I first began to research the Straight Talk Samsung T401G, I felt really overwhelmed. There where so many options requiring examination, some of which were more high tech than I cared to dabble in. There were so many other reviews and comments, and information overload. After I did all my research and used this phone for about a month, I realized I really liked it! In fact, I liked it more than any other phone I have reviewed. My favorite feature, of course, was the slide out qwerty keyboard. If you are not interested in texting or gadgets, this phone is NOT for you. But if you text at all, and enjoy having some high tech features, you may just wonder how you ever got along without it!
Review by Shaunna Wood
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Straight Talk Samsung LG 290C Review
A Great First Impression
Whenever you get a new phone, there is always some kind of first impression involved. The first things that you notice about the Straight Talk Samsung LG 290C are the fabulously smooth sliding opening, large alphanumeric keyboard, and the good sized, bright, clear LCD screen. Thankfully, there is plenty more to be impressed about as well.
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First of all, when you press the menu key, you see 9 bright, colorful menu choices. These are: Prepaid, Contacts, Messages, Recent Calls, My Folder, Browser, My Schedule, Tools, and Settings.
If you prefer, you also have the option to see the menu in a list form. When you open the phone, you even have 4 shortcut keys to fast track the most accessed options. These are: Text, Images, Camera, and Calendar.
My teenager was impressed at the smoothness of the sliding feature that opened the keyboard. It appears to be very good quality and durable. By sliding the phone closed, you also can exit out of something quickly. Although QWERTY keyboard phones might be a good choice for some, the closeness of the keys can be a challenge to many. This numeric keyboard is extremely easy to see and text on since the buttons seem to be good sized. It might make a good choice for larger, or less sturdy fingers, or for someone that might have difficulty seeing.
The 1.3 megapixal camera takes good, clear pictures, as you can see below:
The camera has a zoom feature by pressing the center up key. There are several ways to access the picture taking option, so it is very simple. There is the photo button on the side, the menu, and the shortcut icon button that is just above the keyboard. You may send pictures to another phone or email address, or you may send files via Bluetooth, although it is a little tricky. I found good information on how to do this on this Howard Forums link.
On a side note; I have found Howard Forums to be an excellent source of information on cell phones, as well as this site.
This phone features a long lasting, lithium battery. I found the battery life to last even longer than a week when I didn’t access the browser. However, when I did access the browser often on a trip, it used the battery life very quickly. Within 2 days I needed to recharge the phone. The battery connection jack is at the side of the phone. It is very similar to a micro USB connector.
The features on this phone are extensive, yet simplistic. The address book can hold 1,000 contacts. Contacts are organized by; name, mobile number, email, home, work, fax and a group option if applicable. You also have the option of assigning each contact a specific ring tone or image.
There are several things worth noting about the message feature. One feature that I feel is helpful is there will be a red light flash in the corner of the phone to alert new messages. I thought that might be especially helpful if you are using a mobile phone rather than a land line and might not always have the phone with you, or if you are unable to hear the ring. There are 41 options for ringers. Most of them are on the smooth jazz or new age genre. If that is not enough, for whatever reason, ring tones may also be downloaded. As I was checking into information on this phone, I noticed that you may use the voice command feature to audibly announce who is leaving a message.
The folder contains photos, images, and voice recordings. You may also take photos or record voice by accessing the folder. There are many beautiful images to choose from including moving backgrounds. You also have the option to download and buy wallpaper if you desire more choices.
I have a few complaints about the browser. If I pull my phone out of my purse, it is very easy to grab it and press the browser button. I would suggest using the locking feature on the phone to avoid this problem. As I mentioned before, using the browser quickly sucks the juice from the battery. I lost my internet connection several times on a business trip. However, it did access everything I had need of after a time, so it might be best to use the browser only out of necessity.
I was very surprised to find the alarm clock listed under My Schedule. I thought it would make more sense to list it under tools. There were 5 different time listings under the alarm clock, so I assume it would make sense that you would be using that feature for scheduling. Calendar and notepad are also listed under My Schedule.
Tools contains many options. Voice command, tip calculator, standard calculator, world clock, stopwatch, and unit converter are all listed under tools. I haven’t used every tool option on the list, but I did use the voice command and had a bit of frustration with it. I had to repeat the command several times to get it to accept. There is a volume control on the side of the phone, and it is also hearing aid compatible. The Bluetooth is one other way to access automated dialing other than the voice command. You may also use a speaker feature, if you need your hands free. I didn’t feel the speaker was as loud as I would like, and although I heard the person on the other end very clearly, I wondered how well they could hear me.
A few other things that are slightly on the negative that should be mentioned are that there is no video option on this phone. Although, the screen and graphics are quite large and vivid, there are no games on this phone. The only other slight con would be that this phone does weigh 4 ounces, so it is slightly on the heavy side for a cell phone.
Straight Talk LG 290C, Samsung R355C, Samsung R810C, Samsung R451C
Overall, I found the LG 290C to have excellent signal and voice reception, and to be very user friendly. If you should need further information or tutorials for this phone, you can click here for an excellent interactive tutorial on the Straight Talk website.
The phone I reviewed is a reconditioned model. That does not necessarily mean that the phone has been reworked or repaired, it simply means it was returned, for whatever reason. That didn’t matter a bit where quality was concerned on this phone. The reconditioned models usually run about $20-$30 less than the new phones. The reconditioned model also comes with a 1 year limited warranty.
From the website about the warranty:
STRAIGHT TALK will repair or replace your phone and/or accessory that contains a manufacturer's defect that hinders or prevents its proper operation for up to one year (90 days on all accessories) from date of purchase (proof of purchase required)
The Straight Talk LG 290C not only left a nice first impression, I feel that for about $100, (complete with airtime) for the first month, you could have a very easy, reliable phone with several nice features and options.
Review by Shaunna Wood
A “Newbie” Goes (kinda) High Tech with the Samsung R355C from Straight Talk!
I’m about as green as it gets when it comes to all things, “high tech.” My past experiences of telephones involved rotary dials and untangling cords! When I was asked to do a review on the Straight Talk R355C, I thought, “Great, I love to tell what I think about things!” But I have never really talked about something I was really, really new to. Hopefully, if you are a low tech newbie, like me, this review will be just what you need to make a decision, or glean some information about what I have come to know as a really great phone.
Straight Talk is now offering a free reconditioned phone with the purchase of airtime card. These refurbished Straight Talk phones work great, and the savings are BIG. I mean, you are saving over $100 by going with the recondition phone!! Click the image below for more details on the Straight Talk website.
Click here to go to the Straight Talk Wireless website where you can learn more about the prices and availability in your area, along with coverage maps and tutorials on how to use the phone.
Now, back to the review. The appearance of the R355C is very much like some versions of Blackberry. It has a full QWERTY keyboard which has its own set of pros and cons. An obvious pro would be that it makes for faster and easier texting if you already know how to type. The size of the keys; on the other hand, would be a con. It might not be the best choice for very large hands or fingers, or people with substantial vision problems.
The screen is adequate sized and easy to read for most. The browser button gave me a bit of trouble. You may want to hit the back key and accidentally lose the information you were working on due the placement of the keys.
Battery life is pretty good on the R355C. I was usually able to keep the phone charged for 3-4 days. The charger connector is on the side of the phone and the cover is attached, so there is no problem with losing a small piece.
The size of the phone fits nicely into my hand and the pocket on my purse. One thing I did notice is that the construction of this phone is slightly less than durable. I have dropped the phone, and in doing so, the memory card fell out and I even put a scratch on the phone. I would definitely recommend getting a case for anyone that might be lacking in grace.J
Below I have a picture of a Blackberry, and a R355C. You can see some of the differences and similarities in appearance when pictured together.
The Straight Talk R355C features a 3.1 mega pixel camera. You will find slightly better on more progressive phones, but the 3.1 is certainly adequate. My biggest disappointment was that it doesn’t include video ability. The camera takes a few seconds longer than I would like to load, and you can zoom using the up/down center keys. I found the zoom capability barely noticeable. However, you have several options included that are not available on more simplistic phones. For example, you can very easily adjust settings, and can jazz up your pictures with fun frames, or fancy shots in just a few clicks. You can also take a picture of a contact and add it to their info the address book.
Below is an example of a fun frame I put on a photo of my dog.
In regards to contacts,the address book can hold up to 1000 contacts. Each contact is allowed 5 options; home, work, mobile, pager and email. You can customize a ring tone for each contact along with their picture. You may also add them to a group if needed.
I was easily able to make a 60 second custom voice record ring tone on this phone of my daughter saying; “Mom, answer the phone, mom, answer your phone!” I didn’t feel a real urgency to answer the phone before, so that was good for me, even if it was annoying.J
Voice command is excellent on the R355C. You simply state whom you wish to call and it may ask which number and it dials for you. Bluetooth may be easily added, and the combination of it and the voice command makes for hassle free, hands free conversations. I receive very good reception on my phone and have not had a single dropped call. I want to also add that unlimited 411 calls are standard.
On my texting, however, I did run into the problem of receiving a text while I was texting someone and it saved what I was writing under drafts, which was kind of aggravating to go back and find.
The MP3 player has very good audio abilities. You can create your own play list on the music player menu, but if you are new to all things “techy,” I would suggest looking over the tutorials and getting started manual. The online tutorial is absolutely fantastic!
I have never seen an interactive tutorial before and it explains everything so simply. Make sure you bookmark the link below if you have purchased the R355C, or are considering doing so. It will answer so many of your questions.
Click here for the Straight Talk R355C tutorial.
The web browser has several frequently accessed sites programmed on its menu. This is what it looks like:
You can look up sites by http, but I tried looking up by mobile website option and got this message:
Other than that you can do a fair job on web searches which includes 30 MB of data memory even on the least expensive, $30 option. You can, of course, get unlimited mobile web access for just $15 more. You do get a condensed, no nonsense version of some sites, such as Facebook. Here is an example of what that looks like:
Some of the other extras that you will find on this phone are an alarm clock, world time, tip percentage calculator, a stop watch, calculator, and a converter, which can convert, currency, length, volume, area, or temperature.
A negative on this phone is that there are no games. I did some research on it, and it appears that there is no way to add them either.
After I got some initial questions answered, the activation on this phone was really very simple. You can activate through another phone or through the Straight Talk website. At first I tried to activate by phone, but quickly gave that up based on the wait time. If you already have a pin number, you will be able to go to the website, put that in, and bypass a lot of the other ordering and filler that can make things seem more difficult.
Overall, after listing pros and cons, and researching information, I’m pretty impressed by the Samsung R355C. I’m especially impressed by the fact that Straight Talk has provided a way to have lots of impressive features without being locked into a contract. You will have to decide whether the $30 or the $45 option works best for what you need, but I feel Straight Talk has given customers a lot for their money.
If you need a ton of apps and options, the Straight Talk Samsung R355C won’t be what you are after. But if you like to look like you are high tech without a lot of unnecessary gadgets, this could be what you have been looking for.
Larger families might find that a contract plan works better for their budget, but singles, couples and smaller families can probably save a bundle by giving Straight Talk a chance.
Click here to go to the Straight Talk Wireless website where you can learn more about the prices and availability in your area, along with coverage maps and tutorials on how to use the phone.
Review by Shaunna Wood.
The Straight Talk Samsung R810C is the latest phone offering from Straight Talk, and at over $300 is easily the most expensive phone in the TracFone/Net10/Straight Talk family.
Is the R810C worth the extra expense? Only you can answer that question for you, but my goal in this review is to give you my hands-on experience with the Straight Talk Samsung R810C to help you make an informed decision.
Click Here For Web Exclusive Offers From Straight Talk
UPDATE: I now recommend the Straight Talk Nokia E71 as the phone to get if you're interested in the best Straight Talk phone. It's a true smart phone running the Symbian operating system, and it gives a better overall experience than the R810C.
You can click here to go to some good R810C tutorials on the Straight Talk website to help familiarize yourself with the phone, which will help you understand what I'm talking about when reading my review.
You can click here to go to the Straight Talk website to check the current price and availability of the R810C. As of this writing, the phone is not yet available on walmart.com, but I've heard reports of a few Wal Mart stores having one or two in stock.
You can click here to go to the Straight Talk coverage map to get an idea of the coverage in your area.
Anyway, let's get to it...
FORM FACTOR - The R810C is a touch screen phone that is somewhat similar in look and size to an iPhone. I have an iPod Touch, and here's a picture of the Touch and R810C together (you can click on any picture in this review to see a larger image).
The R810C is a bit thicker than the Touch, but it's probably about the same thickness as an iPhone. It's hard to get a good picture of the screen, and neither device has the grainy lines on them in real life. The R810C screen is brighter than the Touch in this picture, but it's probably just the settings I'm using. The R810C screen is a bit smaller than the Touch/iPhone, but it is clear and easy to read.
One quibble I have is that the R810C screen doesn't rotate when you rotate the phone. So when you go to the internet browser, for example, you have to hold the phone horizontally. On my Touch, I find it more comfortable to hold it vertically, and it's screen does rotate so I'm not reading everything sideways.
The R810 screen is a touch screen, and you can use your fingers or a stylus, though the phone does not come with a stylus and there's no slot in the phone to hold one.
There's no slide out keyboard, but rather the phone uses a touch-screen keyboard that I found to work well.
INTERNET BROWSER - The Straight Talk Samsung R810C uses a browser that says it is the ACCESS Powered NetFront Browser v3.4. The browser looks nice on the R810C screen, and the EVDO data access downloads pages reasonably fast. The browser is not locked down. You can go to any site you want, though the mobile version of a site is still going to give you a better experience in most cases.
In fact, many sites will automatically take you to their mobile version. For example, entering www.facebook.com will take you here:
If you look, closely, though, there a line that says "To access the main site click here", which takes you to the regular version of Facebook. The picture below also shows how the screen looks if you go into full screen mode by touching the little box with arrows on the right-side menu bar.
This is a good time to mention that you can't pinch or double-tap to zoom like you can on the iTouch/iPhone. There is a zoom in and out feature, but it's not entirely useful. Expect to do a lot of right and left scrolling to be able to read pages, because it won't zoom out far enough. And if it did, the text would be too small to read anyway. I found that the scrolling around on a page is not as smooth as on the iTouch.
The browser itself is not what I'd call a full html browser, since there are some sites that give it trouble. For example, although gmail works fine, I see the following warning message:
It doesn't seem to do the AJAX type of stuff that lets you click and drag things around within a browser session. I also noticed that on Google Maps instead of being able to click and drag to move the map around, you have to click little arrow buttons.
Having said all that, I'll say that the browsing experience isn't necessarily painful, it's just not as rich as on the iPhone or iPod Touch and doesn't always support all of the features that a given website might have if you're surfing on your laptop or desktop computer with a full browser.
I also tested Yahoo mail, and it seemed to work fine. I use the classic version, though, and I didn't try to test using their updated version. I suspect that the updated version would not work properly in this browser.
I went to m.youtube.com, and you can see what videos are available to watch, but you can't watch them on this phone. It gives a file type not supported message.
I also tried to download the Opera Mini and Bolt browsers, but neither would download. Another file type not supported type of error message.
Of course, www.fone-review.com works like a charm! :-)
Tether - Speaking of internet, a question that comes up a lot is whether you can tether the phone to a laptop to use it as a modem to connect to the internet.
I gave it a go, but I couldn't find a way to make it work. I saw that the phone has an option to put it into modem mode, and I thought aha!
I connected the phone to my computer with a usb cable and went to the Windows Network and Sharing Center to try to setup a new dialup connection using the phone as the modem. Windows recognized the phone as a modem, and I used #777 as the number to dial, but it didn't work.
I also tried DataPilot software and Samsung PC Studio, but neither of those programs would recognize the phone as a supported phone.
Maybe there's another way to approach it, but after reading the following in Straight Talk's terms of service, it's clear to me that they do not intend for their phones to be used for tethering.
Straight Talk Unlimited talk, text and data plan Features cannot be used: (1) for access to the Internet, intranets, or other data networks except as the device’s native applications and capabilities permit, or (2) for any applications that tether your device to laptops or personal computers other than for the use of Wireless Synch.
In another place it says this:
A person engaged in prohibited uses may have his/her service terminated without a refund.
After reading that, I decided I would drop the idea of tethering, as cool as it would be.
Well, it's late and this post has gotten long enough, so I'm going to stop here. Next week I'll cover more features of the Straight Talk Samsung R810C such as the camera and camcorder, bluetooth, widgets, and even handwriting recognition!
If you haven't done so already, this would be a good time to click here to check out the interactive R810C tutorials on the Straight Talk website. Hopefully that will keep you busy until I can get the rest of the review written! :-)
Update 6/30/10 - Yes, it's been 6 months since I wrote part 1 of this review, and no I haven't written part 2. I won't go into a lot of details, but I had a lot of things come together all at once that totally consumed my free time. Nothing tragic, just a perfect storm of life situations. Things have settled down a bit now, and I do intend to write part 2 over the coming weeks.
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.
Click Here For WEb Exclusive Offers From Straight Talk
UPDATE: I now recommend the Straight Talk Nokia E71 as the phone to get if you want a true smart phone from Straight Talk. The E71 runs the Symbian operating system and does all that you would expect a smart phone to do.
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:
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.
The Straight Talk website has recently added the Straight Talk Samsung R451C to its online store for $99.99. (You can now get a FREE refurb R451C with purchase of airtime card!) 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.
Click above image for more details.
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.
Also there are some tutorials on the Straight Talk website under the support section. 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!
UPDATE: I now recommend the Straight Talk Nokia E71 as the phone to get if you want a true smart phone from Straight Talk. The E71 runs the Symbian operating system and does all that you would expect a smart phone to do.
In an earlier Straight Talk coverage map post, I mentioned how the actual coverage area seemed more extensive that what was shown on their official map. Well, the good folks at ST have now posted a new coverage map on the Straight Talk website that much more accurately reflects true coverage area.
Straight Talk has been running offers on the website where you can get a FREE reconditioned phone with the purchase of an airtime card. Yes, I said FREE, and I even said it all caps just so you would see it. Here, let me even make it bold and red for you: FREE!!
Seriously, if you are at all interested in trying out the Straight Talk service, and I assume you are since you're at this site, then click on the banner below for more details. The refurbished phones work great, and the savings can be over $100 depending on which phone you buy. Awesome, awesome deal.
Now, as I was saying, the coverage map updates are good. ST has been in test mode with TracFone and Verizon for the past several months, but it looks like they are ramping it up just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
There can be little doubt now that Straight Talk has passed the test and is going to be a long-term part of the TracFone family. This gives me better warm-fuzzy feeling about buying one of their phones, since I can be reasonably sure that the service isn't going to be pulled any time soon.
As of the fall/winter of 2010, Straight Talk has also been offering some phones on AT&T, so definitely check the coverage maps.
Straight Talk Prepaid Wireless is now showing a new service plan on their website: $45 for 30 days of service, unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, and 30 mb of data. A very attractive prepaid offer indeed!
You can read my initial Straight Talk Review to learn more details about how the service works, and I've also written about the Straight Talk coverage in my area to give you a little more insight in what to expect.
Their phones are still sold exclusively by Wal Mart and on the Straight Talk Website, and they still have the same 3 phones available, but I've seen rumors that new phones may be available soon. No rumors, however, on when or if the phones will be available at retailers other than Wal Mart.
Update - The rumors were true! There are now new Straight Talk phones, including a QWERTY keyboard phone. See the Straight Talk Website for more details.
On slight gotcha is that MMS text messages do count towards your 30MB of data, according to the fine print. So you can't send and unlimited MMS messages, but 30MB is a LOT of data when your talking about MMS messages.
One thing that makes this unlimited plan especially enticing is that it basically makes nights and weekends plans irrelevant. There are no time-of-day or day-of-week gotchas in this unlimited plan.
It's encouraging to see TracFone continue to improve the Straight Talk service. Their $30 plan (30 days, 1000 minutes, 1000 texts, 30MB data) is probably enough for most people, but for you heavy cell phone users out there, this $45 plan may just prove too tempting to pass up!
In my initial Straight Talk Prepaid review I mentioned that although the service is powered by Verizon Wireless, the service area shown on the Straight Talk coverage map is clearly much more limited than the full Verizon coverage area.
Is the coverage map outdated, or is the coverage area really that limited? Today I had a chance to find out.
Before continuing, I want to take a moment to let you know that the Straight Talk website has some web exclusive offers where you can get a FREE reconditioned phone with the purchase of an airtime card. The reconditioned Straight Talk phones work just fine, and the savings can be over $100 depending on which phone you buy, so it is totally worth it to check it out. Click on the banner below for more details.
OK, back to coverage map talk. Springfield, MO is within the Straight Talk service area, but Buffalo, Missouri is not. If you enter the zip code for Buffalo (65622) when looking at the details for one of the phones on the Straight Talk page on walmart.com, it says that it's not operable in that zip code.
Buffalo is, however, within the Verizon prepaid coverage area. My parents were heading up to the lake today, and the their route takes them from Springfield, through Buffalo, over to Pomme de Terre lake. I loaned my Straight Talk W385 to my dad and asked him to test the coverage along the way. I explained how it probably wouldn't work in Buffalo, but to give it a try anyway.
I was in a meeting today at work, and my pager kept going off because of messages being left on my voicemail.
The first message was from my dad calling on the W385 as they were passing through Buffalo.
The next message was from my dad calling on the W385 as they were passing through Mohawk Corner, which is basically just a crossroad community out in the country.
The next message was from my dad calling on the W385 as they were passing through Pittsburg, MO.
The last message was from my dad calling from the living room of their lake house. Interesting. My TracFone Nokia 2600 on At&T does not have coverage there. In fact, the only cell phones that do get coverage there are on Alltel. My dad mentioned that the Straight Talk W385 seemed to have the exact same signal strength as his Alltel phone.
Tonight I had him open the web browser on the W385 and browse around on www.fone-review.com to make sure that the data services worked there also. Worked like a charm.
So does this mean that Straight Talk has coverage on the post-Alltel-merger Verizon network instead of the pre-Alltel network as is implied by the coverage map? Well, that's hard to say. It certainly seems to be true for the lucky residents of Buffalo, Mohawk Corner, and Pittsburg, but I can't say for sure that it's true for anywhere else in the country.
If you enter your zip code on walmart.com and it says that the phone is not operable in your area, then I probably wouldn't risk buying one unless you know that it actually does work in your area.
If you have a Straight Talk phone and have the chance to test the coverage in areas shown as "no coverage" on the Straight Talk coverage map, can you please leave a comment with your experience?
Here's something else I just noticed on the coverage map.
Notice how the legend mentions service ACTIVATION area instead of service coverage area? Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but one could almost read that to mean that the green areas are where you can activate the phone, not just where the phone has coverage. Hmmm....
Note that the Straight Talk coverage map may have changed some since this post was written because Straight Talk now has phone with AT&T, not just Verizon.
