good phone wiith some problems May 10, 2013

Reviewer:  bowling roach  (upper marlboro, md) -

I needed a basic phone and I thought this one would be the answer. I would have given a four-star review because I only used the phone to make and receive calls. It worked well UNTIL my Ford Edge computer was updated. The phone no longer syncs with the car OR to be honest it does sync with the car but that's all it does. I can no longer use the blue tooth, navigation system, find a business, or any of the other features offered by the "sync my ride" Ford computer. After taking my car to the dealer for a week thinking it was a car issue, it came back as a phone issue. I emailed Samsung and got an answer that SHOULD have fixed my problem. The phone still won't sync. Samsung wants me to send my phone to them and if they can't fix it, oh well, too bad. I tried to get a replacement but not the same basic phone for "good will" but no. So, if I want to use my car's programs I will have to get a new phone if Samsung can't get the phone to work. Thank you very much Samsung -- great customer relations!

Great Non-Data Basic Phone May 9, 2013

Reviewer:  Taylor T. Bentz 

I was worried by negative reviews, but I have had no issues with this phone. My wife has the same one and she is equally satisfied. This phone is great for texting, calling, and use as an alarm clock. A battery charge will usually last me about 3 or 4 days, depending on use. That includes leaving it on all day and night.

I don't use any data so I can't speak to its online capabilities, but if I wanted a phone to use with the internet I would have gotten a smartphone.

Also, buying through Amazon saves a ton of money. I paid a one time $30 activation fee, compared to the $200 I would have had to shell out at the Verizon store.

Great phone at a great price, I would buy again.

Worst phone i ever had April 28, 2013

Reviewer:  Verizon sucks 

A lot of the buttons on the phone are advertisements. The phone does not function well. Verizon is awful. Too much to say about this just don't ever this phone.

Great Basic Phone April 23, 2013

Reviewer:  David & Michelle 

Not sure why so many negative reviews. I have an android ICS tablet, and had an android phone that I gave to my daughter. This is no android, but still it is a nice touch screen. Before I owned my first android touch screen, getting used to the on screen keyboard took a while, but after I got used to it it was second nature. This on screen keyboard is smaller so takes some getting used to as well, when typing on mobile web, but it works just fine. To just do a quick news headlines check, or quick weather check, it is fine. Even send facebook post via text, or view facebook mobile text only posts. At 1.99 per MB on Verizon (or signup for the $10/mo for 75Mb Mobile Web if needed - although I don't think I will even need that), it is a very nice phone that does not require the $30/mo data plan from Verizon. MyVerizon page lets you see how many MB you have used. If you go over 5MB, just call Verizon before end of your billing cycle and ask them to add the 75MB ($10) feature for that month. Still a lot cheaper than the extra $30/month that you HAVE to signup for if you get a smart phone.

Unless you want to be on your phone on the web all the time, viewing videos and online pics or music that use lots of data, this is a great phone. I can check facebook for pictures when I get home using my PC.

Great as a phone, texting, facebook quick post/check, weather check, news headlines check.

Mine did not come with blackberry maps preloaded, so it seems the only navigation option for me is VZNavigator which costs. I may sign up for that every now and then just when I am going somewhere I have never been before.

If you want to save on your monthly bill, and still have a little infrequent access to mobile web this is a great phone.

I have not had any of the problems of it dialing someone by accident, and the touch screen works fine. Even the camera is decent.

Dave

do not buy this phone, it is the worst April 22, 2013

Reviewer:  Joy Blaker 

My husband and I both have this phone and we both hate it. We experience all of the sensitivity and hanging up issues others have mentioned. it is a not very funny joke - when anybody calls us, they can count on our hanging up on them while trying to answer - then we call them back. imagine what it is like when one of us tries to call the other - it is a circus. i have never written a review before because i am too lazy, but we really, really hate these phones.

Wonderful phone for anyone April 21, 2013

Reviewer:  Davidthesecond 

wonderful phone.I just got the Samsung Bright-side and i love it.With it being a touchscreen and it opens gives me the best of both worlds. I have heard of people having troubles with banners and online backups, my advice would be to get rid of your internet and block it.If you dont use it and dont want the banners then, without the internet you wont have the problems.Without the internet the phone runs quickly and smoothly.If you have problems with your battery( i have not had troubles ) turn off your vibrate it saves the battery! While this phone doesn't have an actual Background for your home screen, your screen savor is your picture that you choose. I went in to upgrade for it and i went to radioshack and i only had to pay 50$ while i have heard other people paying up to 115 for an upgrade.I did have a smartphone but wanted to downgrade because i already have internet and dont use my phone for that but wanted a phone that has similar features and can get internet if i ever changed my mind.I have seen some bad reviews for this phone but mostly it comes from people who do not know how to run their phone or went into this phone for the wrong reason. All bad reviews aside this gets a 5 star from me for a wonderful basic phone for all of those who want a nice phone without internet.It isn't as fast as a smart phone but without the internet it is still unbelievably fast. If you want a smart phone get a smart phone, this isn't one but damn if it isn't as close as it can be to one while saving the internet bill and giving you good features. I got it on 4/21/13.

Pros: Cheap,Quick, Easy access to most features,Touchscreen and slide open, doesn't need internet but can if you want, durable, can have memory card, good camera, if you have internet it can go between devices.Wonderful phone!

Cons: main screen has to be the quick clicks( but can be arranged and changed), pictures load slow but you get used to it, not as fast as a smart phone.

Trouble retrieving pics from microcard January 14, 2013

Reviewer:  territ 

Got my phone yesterday...absolutley love love it. My only problem is I can'tfigure out how to retrieve my info that was saved to my card from my previous phone. I went ahead and manually entered all my contacts, but I really don'twant to lose my saved pics from previous phone. Other than that, user friendly, nice size, and I've. Really loved it so far

avoid this phone November 17, 2012

Reviewer:  Abhi 

I would not recommend people to buy this phone. The alarm and calender functions donot work and the battery loses charge without any reason. I had to replace my phone when adding to the above issues my phone started to show that it is being charged even when not plugged into power outlet. The replacement phone I got has similar issues.

Put a cover on it November 15, 2012

Reviewer:  Surreal 

I'm new to cell phones having only used a TracFone in the past. A touch screen was important to me but I had no use for texting, e-mail, Web surfing ect. All I wanted was a basic phone to talk on. At first, the Brightside was frustrating. It ALWAYS came on in my pocket and dialed voice mail several times a day because a gentle touch would set it off. Then I found a hard rubber texturized case for less than $3.00 on Amazon and all is well. The buttons are slightly recessed within the case which solved the problems. The phone is simple, meets my needs, and I love the touch capabilities. With little experience with cell phones, I wasn't sure how many stars to give this product. Three just seemed right to me.

A pretty good phone, but... November 13, 2012

Reviewer:  Christie  (Oregon) -

I haven't had very many problems with this phone. I noticed, like most Version phones it seems, it has some weird moments where it spazzes out and turns off or freezes up. Nevertheless, these moments don't occur all that often. But, the real problem I've had with the phone is the alarms. I have a busy life and tend to need to be reminded a lot, so I have programmed eight alarms on my phone. It worked just fine for a few months, now, none of the alarms will work, no matter what I do. I tried turning off the phone, I tried taking out the battery, I tried to transfer all the alarms to my calender and I even tried deleting all my alarms and re-adding them. Nothing worked. If you're like me and use mass amounts of alarms, I would suggest avoiding this phone. If alarms aren't a problem, then it's a pretty good phone. :D

Was a great phone - for about two months November 10, 2012

Reviewer:  Nick's Mom  (NJ) -

When I first bought this phone, it was a great alternative to a smart phone with a data package requirement. After about two months, the calendar reminders and alarm clock stopped working. Then the phone started randomly turning itself off. As I found out, there is a known problem with an entire batch of these phones. I am hoping that my replacement is going to be from the same batch.

Bottom line - if you want a phone that is similar to a smart phone, without the added costs, this would be a good phone to buy, if you get one that isn't defective.

However - had I known about the potential to receive a defective phone before I bought it, I wouldn't have taken the chance.

Piece of crap October 17, 2012

Reviewer:  Brandon V. 

Didn't know samsung was capable of making such a crappy phone. I upgraded to this from my lg chocolate touch which I didn't even like and this phone is way worse! It lags like crazy when doing something. When i unlock it, half the time, it won't even unlock
. It unlocks after like 3 times due to the lag of this phone. Also have to be careful if it's unlocked. After two weeks of having this stupid phone, i was already annoyed because i kept accidentally opening the stupid web browser. Garbage phone. Wish i could return it and unsign my contract so i could get a better phone later.

Bought it for my daughter. She LOVES it! October 17, 2012

Reviewer:  Scott Walton  (North Carolina) -

I do have to start out saying that I have only spent about 20 minutes using this phone. I bought it on AmazonWireless for my daughter. It was easy to set up and felt good in my hands. I ask her how she likes it and she "beams" and says "I love it". The only challenge we had with it was figuring out how to put music on it and getting it to show up on the phone's display. She finally figured it out but it seemed like it was somewhat bastardized by Verizon to only play nice with Rhapsody (paid) or VZW's own (paid) music service.

It is worth noting that she has dropped it numerous times. It usually "explodes", with the back, phone, battery & SD card going in different directions. Much to my surprise (and pleasure) it is still working perfectly, which is surprising, seeing that it has a slide-out keyboard.

The screen is slick and responsive. It was by far (IMHO) the nicest "feature phone" in VZW's lineup. I have data turned off for he but it can do social networking and email, we just have no experience with it on this phone.

Highly recommended for a feature phone!

Poor voice quality, very frustrating October 16, 2012

Reviewer:  celticverde 

First and foremost, I think a cell phone should have excellent voice quality, this does not. Basically, I use the phone to make calls and a few text as well. I don't spend a lot of time talking on the phone either. The battery lasts for two days of very basic use. I notice when I have about two bars, the voice quality is horrendous. It's so bad that it comes in totally incomprehensible, so it fails in it's most common feature-making phone calls. It had one bar, and I plugged it in to charge it, and still I could not understand what the person was saying. Very frustrating. I am not here to persuade not to buy it, but to gripe that I have a poor quality phone. I bought it from Amazon, great price, but verizon still charges 30 for upgrade. What upgrade is it? I bought it from Amazon, verizon did not have to upgrade anything. Good luck
Thanks!

Don't waste your hard earned money October 12, 2012

Reviewer:  sunny3818  (PA USA) -

Can't use this phone for anything other then cell phone calls, today I couldn't even add a new contact, the keys are so sensitive have to turn it off when not in use so it doesn't do things I haven't typed in, it is a heavy phone, I am just using it as a backup since barely anything works on the Samsung brightside, just don't feel it is reliable, Verizon customer service is worthless with trying to resolve issues with this phone. FYI I ended up purchasing an AT&T prepay as a backup and love it.

junk October 10, 2012

Reviewer:  Sparafucile  (Thousand Oaks, CA) -

Have owned the phone for 4 months. One day I went to use the phone and 1/2 the screen was black, no visible cracks. Verizon store inspected it, said no cracks and ordered a replacement. The following month there was a $99 charge on my bill for a damaged phone. After much arguing with Verizon they reversed the charge. last week the one month olde brand new replacement phone has a solid bright white screen, no damage. Neither of these phones were dropped, dunked or rough handled in any way. I feel there is an issue with the robustness of the displays and the consumer is paying for it. I would have given zero stars in this review but the template won't allow it.

Not my favorite phone. September 26, 2012

Reviewer:  G. Wright  (Utah) -

I bought this phone 5 months ago. It is not as good as my previous phone. It's touch screen is sensitive some of the time and other times I can touch it to open a text several times before it will respond. It will go to a screen just because I touch the side of the phone. I have trouble with playing the music. I removed what I had on it and now when I tried to down load music onto my phone the connection won't work. Every time I see an ad for this phone at some crazy price I think, "People don't be stupid, this phone is a pain." My daughter in law and her mother both bought this phone too. None of us like it. It seems to me that if you don't want a data plan are you have so few choices for good phones. I loved my last phone. I wish it stilled worked. I am not happy with the Brightside.

Most annoying phone I have ever had September 16, 2012

Reviewer:  Stephanie  (Delaware) -

NOT ONCE can I pick up, put down, or try to access something on this phone without it automatically opening something I didn't want it to open. I have to constantly close something before actually accessing what I wanted in the first place. It is waaay too ultra-sensitive! I have never hated a phone so much. I am now stuck with it for 2 years (contract). My mother got the same phone and has the same exact issues with it opening programs you didn't want it to open. She hates it more than I do (if that is even possible). Also, it is very annoying if you are in the process of typing a text and someone texts you at the same time...it automatically throws the message you were typing into the draft folder. It has a very generic home screen as well. The home screen is just a grid that looks like it is out of the 80's. I could go on and on about things I dislike about this phone. Only good thing is that the battery life lasts a decent period of time. But that could be because I have learned to NOT USE this phone and therefore hard to drain the battery. ...Worst, most annoying phone ever!

I would rather take a swine flu shot than deal with this phone! September 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Lewis Sofman 

This phone is truly awful, appalling, poorly designed and engineered. It seems to have a mind of it's own due to touchscreen issues, as well as on/off sensitivity. Forget locking the phone-forget turning it on or off! It loads up applications or programs by merely breathing on the touch screen. The touch screen itself is horrendous for operation. This phone can drop calls through any physical movement on the user's part. Call sound quality ranges from good to atrocious, depending on the alignment of the stars or some other unknown quantification. It is uncomfortable to hold in the hand and uncomfortable to hold up to the ear, left or right. I have used this phone for over 30 days and now I'm stuck with trying to get rid of it. Luckily I got it at a deeply discounted price, so even if I give it away, it won't be a large loss. I have just reactivated my Samsung Reality, which, even though beat up with battery issues, is a far superior product to the Brightside. I have been snookered once-never again! All in all, the Samsung Brightside is a putrid product, with no redeeming qualities.

Probably the best "basic" phone you'll get September 11, 2012

Reviewer:  nightwish224 

*Reviewing this phone after having it for two weeks:

Upon my own research, I was actually a bit skeptical buying this phone. But hey, for $0.01, I really could not beat this price. Verizon Wireless tried charging me $119 to upgrade to this phone. Overall, I like how Samsung designed this phone.

*If you think you're buying an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, then you're mistaken. This is *not a smartphone, but it looks like one at swift glance :) It does not require a data package.

Note: SOFTWARE UPDATE this phone when it prompts you. I haven't experienced too much sensitivity or glitches. I purchased this phone when this patch was available, so maybe that's why there are some mixed reviews on this phone.

Pros:
-I think the display is great
-I can avoid the Verizon Wireless store, (please, we all know what that's like)
-Great keyboard -- it's responsive & has a good feel to it (not slippery)
-Touch screen for a basic phone -- I was quite surprised! It's pretty smooth
-Option to text on the touchscreen (not full keyboard texting, though)
-It groups your texts, similar to how iPhones and Galaxies do -- I haven't had to to clear my inbox like other basic phones
-Loud volumes / ringtones
-Battery life
-Look of the phone/feel

Cons:
-I can understand why some people would think it's sensitive, but it really wasn't too bothersome -- (experienced this mostly when trying to set the alarm clock on/off)
-Sometimes I hit the voicemail option by mistake
-No flash on the camera
-I hate T9.... why do we still have this feature?

Nothing else so far!

*The slide to unlock feature really didn't bother me.... maybe some people are too picky? It's not a iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, so please realize what you're purchasing.

I'd still give this a 5/5 for a basic phone!