Samsung Convoy 2 user reviews (Verizon Wireless)

4.0 stars

"Has more features than you'd expect from a basic phone!" on August 16, 2011 by Coffee_Kaioken

Pros: Customizable Menu Interface
Long Battery life
Noise cancellation
Flashlight tool
Self portrait capability
Ability to text 20 people at one time

Cons: Limited space for notes
Low resolution when recording video
"Driving" mode is a little confusing to operate

Summary: I haven't decided to test the military-grade ruggedness via submerging it in water or anything like that, but I do like the idea that if I drop this phone a few times, the screen isn't going to crack or bleed on me like my previous LG EnV Touch phone. I bought this phone on a whim, seeing as it hadn't gotten a CNET editor's thorough review yet, but I was not disappointed.

The main menu screen is customizable in the sense that not only can you change the themes, but the shortcuts as well. There are 9 shortcuts on the grid, and you can swap out 4 of them with pretty much anything you want. I think the manufacturers must have guessed that not everyone would use the VZ Navigator, for example, so you can swap that shortcut out with something else on the main menu. It's a good way to compete with touch screen phones where you can put your own shortcuts on the screen! I've now got shortcuts for my notepad, alarm clock, and phone search function, on there, and there's even a neat wizard program that'll guide you into customizing your phone "the easy way". The front screen didn't come looking the way this phone has been advertised, but you can change the front clock setting to match.

Not even my previous EnV Touch had a "phone search" feature - essentially, it works the way a search tool on your own computer would work. You can find programs, pictures, and files simply using this search rather than rifling through menus and folders.

The camera has pretty nice quality for it's 3.2 megapixel specification. I didn't like, however, how the maximum video resolution was 176 x 144 - previous phones I've had could record up to 640 x 480. But some of the picture modes were nice, such as the Mosaic and Panorama functions. Also, you don't need video or picture mode to use the camera's flashlight - there's a button specifically for that. If you know how to work the front screen menu, you can take self portraits as well.

I found the sound quality to be rather nice. My friends have said that they can hear me about just as clearly as on my previous EnV Touch. I have yet to see how the noise cancellation works, however. The ringtones are probably the best I've had so far.

The T9Word mode makes texting with the numeric pad relatively easy - you don't necessarily need a QWERTY phone as long as you know how to use it. Additionally, it'll store new words in the memory that you input, AND what really had me stoked is that whereas you can only text up to 10 people on most other phones, you can text up to 20 on this one. Which I love, because I'm one of those annoying mass texters.

The battery life, so far, is proving itself. On a full charge, it takes about a whole day of use before even one of the bars goes down, and while texting or browsing the menus, you can see the time right next to the battery display so you don't lose track.

Overall, despite not having a QWERTY keypad, decent resolution for a video camera, or even a touch screen, I must say I like this phone a lot so far. The Samsung Convoy 2 is one of those phones which shows that a basic flip phone is still far from being obsolete.