When finished shooting you can save your clips and shots to the T659 or you can transfer them off the handset using Bluetooth or a message. You also can send an audio postcard. Internal memory is about 80MB, which is quite respectable, but you always can use a memory card for more storage space. Photo quality was pretty good for a 2-megapixel shooter--colors looked natural and there was a little noise. Just make sure that you have enough light since there's no flash.
The music player is fairly basic with a simple interface and controls. Features include an equalizer of sorts, an airplane mode, playlists, and shuffle and repeat modes. The T659 doesn't support album art but you can set visualizations. Music quality is tinny and flat over the external speaker. You're best off using a headset.
You can personalize the T659 with a selection of wallpaper, alert tones, and background colors. More options and additional ringtones are available from T-zones with the WAP browser. The handset comes with two games: Platinum Solitaire 2 and Brain Challenge 2. T-Mobile offers more titles for purchase.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Samsung SGH-T659 world phone in San Francisco using T-Mobile service. Call quality was admirable. Conversations were clear and the signal was strong with little noticeable static. Voices sounded natural. Though, there was a slight amount of "GSM buzz." It mainly amounted to a background hum and we wouldn't characterize it as interference. The volume level was sufficient, except when we were in very loud places.
On their end callers said we sounded fine. For the most part they could tell that we were using a cell phone, but a couple of our friends didn't know. They also heard a slight GSM buzz, but for the most part, they didn't have significant problems. The experience wasn't quite as good when we called from a noisy place, though even then it wasn't a deal breaker. Automated calling systems could understand us as well, but we needed to be inside if we weren't going to repeat ourselves. Speakerphone calls were average. Voice quality on our end was distorted at the highest volume, and we had to speak close to the phone.
The SGH-T659 supports T-Mobile's AWS 3G network. That's a welcome feature even if the WAP browser doesn't put it to best use. Pages loaded in seconds--not that they wouldn't on a standard 2.5G connection--but the stripped-down Web pages don't make for the best browsing experience.
The SGH-T658 has a rated battery life of five hours talk time and 12.5 days standby time. Our tests showed a talk time of 5 hours and 27 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-T659 has a digital SAR of 0.733 watts per kilogram.
What You'll Pay
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