Product Review: Samsung Reclaim

I’ve been a loyal Sprint customer for many years, and overall I would have to say that I’m happy with my mobile phone service. I get free roaming on any call I make which means I rarely (if ever) have trouble finding a strong signal. My cell phone plan costs roughly $100 a month and includes two phones (my wife and I), unlimited calls on nights/weekends, and unlimited text messages.

Why am I writing about this?

I am boring you all with the details of my cell phone carrier because I just upgraded my phone. Sprint gives me a $150 credit towards a new phone every two years – provided, of course, that I renew my contract for another 24 months. (I don’t know if other carriers do that, but I assume they probably do.) Given that I’m happy with Sprint’s service I have no problem extending my contract.

So what phone did I upgrade to?

(Drum roll…)

After reading a bunch of reviews on the Sprint website I chose the new Samsung Reclaim. For me, the choice boiled down to these factors:

• the full keyboard is covered when not in use (protecting it from accidental typing)
• the phone has a 2.0 megapixel camera
• it comes with a calendar
• it has a nice internet browser and can view my email*
• the screen is a decent size

* I don’t pay for the internet service, so I don’t use the browser or check my email. That being said, I will one day when I can afford to pay for that feature.

As TreeHugger.com will tell you, the phone is also marketed as “eco-friendly” – hence the green color. It’s casing is made of 40% corn-based plastic, and the phone’s packaging is made of 70% recycled materials. Sprint also claims it will donate $2 to some conservation group. TreeHugger.com’s review is hesitant to offer Samsung glowing remarks, though it’s obviously a step in the right direction.

I’ll point out that the “eco-friendly” aspect of this phone had zero impact on my decision to buy it. I think it’s all fine and good that someone is finally thinking about this issue in the electronics industry, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it’s not my top priority. My top priority was a shiny new toy.

How I like about the Samsung Reclaim:

Overall. . . I love it!

• Aesthetically, I like the green color.
• The carousel navigation system is nice – though I wish I could hide it as it blocks about a third of my background image.
• It comes with a 512MB storage card, which is more than enough for what I use the phone for.
• I also like how you can set each of the ringers (calls, messages, alarms, notifications, etc) at a different sound level OR tie them together at the same volume.

What I hate about the Samsung Reclaim:

As I previously said, I do love the phone. . . BUT there are a few things which really bother me:

• I can’t hide the carousel when I’m not using it
• the buttons on the keyboard are really close together
• the default sounds are just awful

Speaking of the sounds and ringers, I am officially demanding that Sprint offer me some free downloads. The ringers on this phone are terrible at best, and really f*&$ing annoying at worst. There are two sounds I actually like: the “Classic Bell” and the “Animato Tone” ringtones. Although the phone comes with like 30 ringtones and melodies, they’re absolutely horrible. I’m talking about frog and insect sounds, crappy song melodies and aggravating tone sounds.

I understand that Sprint makes money when people download ringtones, but you’ve got to be kidding me. You’re basically forcing people to go out and spend money – particularly as you have to use the internet to download the tones (which costs money!). Sprint may as well only have a single ringtone on the phone; why even offer me the choice between crappy tone A and crappier tone B?

The bottom line.

Would I buy this phone again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat.

Seriously though, if anyone from Sprint is listening out there, I really want some free ringtones. Or free internet service. Something. I’ve been a customer for like 10 years and I constantly say good things about you. Hook a brother up.

This is not a paid review, and I do not work for Sprint or Samsung.