The Samsung Behold (SGH-T919) is the second 5-megapixel camera phone to be released in the U.S. and it follows the path of the MOTOZINE ZN5 on T-mobile. While 5-megapixel cameras are nothing new to our readers abroad, it has been a long journey for U.S. carriers to accept the idea of a phone replacing our digital point and shoot camera. As you might have seen in our camera phone shootout where we put the Behold up against the Nokia E71, HTC Touch Diamond and iPhone 3G, the quality of camera phone images is rapidly improving. But what about the core functions of the phone? Has Samsung left behind basic functionality and performance as a sacrifice to offer a high-end camera? Let’s find out.
Build Quality
At first glance Sprint subscribers will notice similarities in design to their Samsung Instinct. The 3.1-inch touchscreen with haptic feedback running at 240 x 400 pixels (Instinct is 240 x 432 pixels) 262k vibrant colors, and dimensions of 4.1 x 2.1 x 0.5 inches (Behold) versus 4.57 x 2.17 x 0.49 inches (Instinct).
If we had to rate the styling of the Behold versus the Instinct, we would have to give the edge to the Instinct since we like the touch sensitive controls over the traditional button bar on the Behold. In terms of build quality and ruggedness, the Behold and Instinct are equal and we thoroughly enjoyed how easy it was to remove the battery from the back of the device. However several times we accidentally opened the lock mechanism when the Behold was in our carrying case.
Imaging
The Samsung Behold features a 5.0-megapixel (2560 x 1920 pixels) camera. The camera offers a LED flash, autofocus and 4 different effects that can be applied when taking pictures: Black and White, Sepia, Negative and Water Color, of course the default setting has these disabled. To help adjust your pictures for the proper setting you can adjust the White Balance to Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent or Cloudy. Rounding out the camera settings is the Scene selection where you can choose between Portrait, Landscape, Night, Sports, Sunset or Dawn.
Here are some sample pictures of the Samsung Behold’s 5-megapixel camera in action. You can also see the full comparison shots with the Nokia E71, HTC Touch Diamond and Apple iPhone 3G here:
OS – Software
The Behold makes use of the TouchWiz UI which packs a collection of widgets in a drawer along the side of the homescreen. You can drag and drop these widgets as you please, providing easy access to the programs you use the most. The problem with this interface is that even at 240 x 400 pixel resolution, desktop space is minimal and only the most critical widgets should be placed on the screen. What we would have liked to have seen is a multi-page homescreen similar to what is used on the T-mobile G1 where users have 3 or more home pages to place their widgets.
A major issue when it comes to opting for a full-touchscreen phone is deciding whether productivity will be hindered by the lack of physical keyboard input. This might not be a big concern for the casual email or text message, but power users come in all shapes and sizes and having a reliable keyboard is priceless. The text input on the Samsung Behold is the same as we have seen on the Insinct, when the phone is vertical a standard shared keyboard appears or in landscape mode a full QWERTY keyboard is used. Typing on the Behold is adequate, but heavy text messages and emails became bothersome.
Web browsing is on par with other non-smartphones despite the device being listed as HTML browser equipped. The precision of the Touch Screen and the quick access buttons along the side of the browser delivered a comfortable experience. Support for T-mobile’s 3G network and the web browser downloaded pages quickly and effortlessly under full reception. The bottom line is that the browser gets the job done despite lacking the glitz and glamour of full-fledged smartphones.
Instant Messaging compatibility via AIM, ICQ, Windows Live and Yahoo! is also bundled with the Behold. While the T-mobile Sidekick will always remain our top pick when it comes to AIM, the Behold covers the bases. If you are choosing the device based on Instant Messaging alone, you are clearly trying to turn the Samsung Behold into a Sidekick, which is not the light the device should be seen in.
Comparison
A picture is worth a thousand words so the best way to compare the Behold’s design is to put it side-by-side with the industry’s top sellers: the Apple iPhone 3G and the BlackBerry Storm. Keep in mind that these three devices are intended for much different users.
With phones like these it is hard to decide when it comes from style so we’ll leave that up to your personal preference. One comment we’d like to throw out there is that when it comes to image quality, the Samsung Behold is unmatched by either the iPhone 3G or BlackBerry Storm despite their 100 million dollar advertising budgets.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Behold delivers a stable full-touchscreen experience for T-mobile users. The affordable price and adequate feature set make it an excellent alternative to the Samsung Instinct if image quality is a priority. Our only hesitation in recommending the device instead of the Instinct is due to the limited 3G coverage on T-mobile’s network as compared to Sprint’s EVDO.
The design and style of the Behold offer a professional look not seen by non-smartphones like the T-mobile Sidekick or T-mobile G1, but as a dedicated messaging device we’d still prefer the Sidekick LX. The best user of the Samsung Behold would be a casual text message user looking to have basic email access, IM connectivity and a camera that could replace their point-and-shoot. If you are a power user who enjoys the style of the Behold, but would prefer a full-fledged smartphone, we recommend looking at Verizon’s Samsung Omnia instead. However if you fit the qualifications above and currently reside on T-mobile’s network, the Behold is ready for the taking.
CF Rating: 7/10
[rating:7/10]
OMG….. I love this phone…
I mean, I don’t have one,
but I want one and eventually I will
get one!!!! Loving it already…
when is this coming to canada??
I got this phone 3 days ago, and it is just what I wanted.
I was looking into getting the Iphone, but I dont like AT&T.
I love the touchscreen, its very similar to the iphone. The difference to me is that u can get picture messages and I dont have to pay an additional 100 dollars a month for their service. (I have two lines).
I just love it!!! lots of extras, nice camara, can use my own music for ringtones, loud speaker.
does anyone knows where i can get hebrew firmware for SGHT919
I have been looking into getting this phone ever since i seen the commercial on tv for it. But when I went into the store to check it out.. they only had a “toy” like model out to see…From what I observed from the model, I thought it was too small for what I wanted because i generally like cell phones that don’t look like the “typical” phone. But the more I research the more I want it!! I have a T-mobile Dash right now and I have loved it for ever a year, but it’s time for a change. lol But yeah…almost 100% convinced that I want this one, especially since it is one of the only chic looking phones that T-mobile has to offer…
and one more thing.. i text A LOT. Should that hold me back from buying it?
I have this phone and I do like it. the only problems I have with it is when im on a call I keep hitting speker phone almost always. also the persons voice on the other side is so loude everyone can hear are convo it always sounds like its on speaker phone
I’m getting this phone for Christmas and I was just wondering…If you put screen protector on it (so that it doesn’t scratch), is the touchscreen less effective?
l0v3 this ph0n3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I put a screen protector on my Samsung Behold and the touch screen sensitivity didn’t change one bit. It’s a great phone, and I’m gonna disagree with this article when it says the Sidekick LX is a better messaging device. For those of you unfamiliar with Sidekicks, they are absolute pieces of crap. In the year and a half I owned one, I was forced to replace my Sidekick a total of three times due to no fault of my own and simple hardware failure. In fact the reason I now own a Behold was because I could no longer stand my Sidekick and its spotty service. The keyboard itself is a little smaller than the Sidekick’s, but with a little learning you get used to it really quick. I text frequently and have no problems in that regard. Also, while it may not be 100% full HTML in more than accomplishes the goal most non-smart phone users are looking for e.g. checking sports scores, blog posts, facebook, etc.
All in all a great phone, plus Samsung’s are extremely durable so this one can last you for the long haul.
I love this phone, I have it already it’s perfect I love the flash for the camera. The screen protector is great it, its thick but it does not affect how you touch the phone. It has a reset the touch settings if your having a problem with the touch screen and its soooooooooooooooooo much better than the G1. AIM is great Pictures great Video great. This phone is perfect anybody.
My daughter inadvertantly placed the memory card in the SIM slot and now it’s stuck. Does anyone know how to get it out??!!
Get an eye glass repair kit and use that tiny screw driver to take out the 6 screws to get the back off, then u can get to the memory card. Problem solved. Just dont do what we did and dig around in the sim card slot with other tools trying to get it out, as we damaged the reader. We figured it out a little late I guess to just take the back off
Guys I Put the Sd in the Memeroy Card stolt it got stuck and i tried unscrewing the 4 screws but the top 2 dont come out what do i do???
When I take pictures, it takes so long for the picture to take, by the time it snaps the image moves, does anyone know how to make it take pictures faster?
I have had this phone for almost two months and i still love it! I text a lot, and this is a very nice phone for texting. At first you have to really get used to it and change the settings to your liking, as with any new phone. The camera is of good quality. I like the music player a lot, only i wish it had better bass, i haven’t used the headphones yet, but they probably sound pretty good. The only things that i don’t like are; 1) The charger is unique, so you can’t buy an off brand charger if you need to, 2) I can’t find any accessories for it, ie. screen protector and a cover, 3) You can’t change the screen saver. I went up to T-Mobile and the salesman told me to keep checking for a software update, which might help me with my screen saver problem. But overall this is a great phone for anybody.
I found covers and screen protectors at the local after-market stores (i.e. swapmeets) check there.
Hi Gloria and Anonymous. My daughter also inserted the memory card into the sim card slot and of course it got stuck in there! When I brought it into the TMobile store one of the employees told me that they have had alot of customers that brought their phone in because they had also stuck the Mem card in the sim card slot! The guy even told me that one of their employees had done the exact same thing! I tried to call TMobile and Samsung to complain, as I think if that many people are inserting mem card into sim card slot, then the directions aren’t clear enough! Of course they refused to take any responsibility for the issue and said it is my daughter’s fault and not covered under warranty!
Anyway, I had no choice but to send the phone into Samsung to try and get it repaired! They charged me $76 dollars just to check it out! It has been there since January 5th and it has not been repaired yet! If either of you read this msg, please write me and let me know what you did to get your mem card out!
Thanks!
As I said above. Take the screws out, the reason it didnt come off for you is because there are 6 screws to take off. Use an eye glass kit. Dont stick anything in there, such as mini tweezers or the like trying to get the mem card out. You will ruin the mem card reader. Take all 6 screws out and take back off then card will be right there and visible.
omg im waiting for my behold should be here tomorrow… there are some pretty cases for this phone on amazon.com.. and all accsesories i know that is not spelled right but you get it..lololol….
wow!!! blind people here!!! bri i think the reason why T-mobile does not want your phone back is because there are p i c t u r e s (pictures) on the manual, phone and everywhere you look, (look at the pic’s above where the show the behold back cover open) telling you where (and how) put the sim card and the same thing for the micro memory card, i am sorry for you that you have this problem but i had have my behold for couple mos already and i don’t find a reason to talk bad about the phone nor the companies. i love my phone EXCELLENT CHOICE!!!!!!! but don’t blame nobody else for your own mistakes love,love,love, my samsung behold!
I had a wing before the Behold and I like the Behold alot better mainly due to size and weight. However I just realized that there is no Sim manager on the Behold and whenever I receive a text msg it saves it to the Sim card. There is no way to change this setting as I was on the phone with Samsung for 45 minutes. They said that once the Sim card is full then it will save them to the phone. I think that blows. Also one other little thing is that when i put my widgets in a particular order they seem to change back to the original order…weird. Other than these 2 things, I love the phone.
A nice phone, wanted a g1, settled for the t919. If you like aps, not the phone for you, no abilties at all. I prefer the blackberry curve for browsing, and g1 for feel, but on a plus note, a very nice camera, fast response, easy to learn. I give a 4.2/5 over all
I was wondering if the behold had texting like the g1 how its kinda in an AIM format with you then the person. I know the G1 is formated like that but Is the behold?
I have had the Samsung Behold for a month now and I love this phone. I love the easy to use features and the big touchscreen. It is beautiful and economical… the best of both worlds!
Great Phone for tmobile ive had the shadow(horrible) the sidekick(horrible) the blackberry curve(great cant knock blackberrys) and the moto e8(ight) but i recently traded the rockr e8 for the behold and i think it was a great trade everything works great the texting the pics the only thing tmobile has to work on is theyre 3g network when u have signal its great but when u dont it gets super slow but in time im pretty sure tmobile will have it up all around other then that great phone to have A-
The other day I was messing with my behold, well deleting some text messages and an unusual pop up menu came up. It had various options, and I thought that it was a normal pop up menu so I just touched the screen and it went away. Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is that this phone does have a front facing camera, because one of the otions on that menu was video call. I haven’t been able to bring that menu back up. Also when I connect to studio PC III some files come out that can not be moved or copied, they appear as JPEGs. Has anyone had this happen to them? I love my phone. I think it is perfect for a lot of things. vs others. But would love to get the full benefits of using it. Any one other ever had that menu come up?
Well I am writing to tell about the new pink samsung behold I bought my daughter just a few days before xmas. I bought it from tmobile and I paid 350.00 for this phone because i upgraded my daughters phone. Well last week on the 14th of jan. she had plugged it in to the wall charger the nite before only to wake up to a very very hot phone that would not power up/on. It was so hot (as it seemed to me as if it had overheated and shorted out) I googled only to find out this phone just came out at the end of nov. We did purchase insurance but being it was new it was under manufacturer warranty. Well tmobile would not switch the phone out in the store here in jacksonville so i was told i would be sent out another one . Well just for all who would think oh ok i will be getting a new replacement. Welp no just because it has a manufacturer warranty does not mean the manufacturer has to send you out a new phone. I just got the replacement yesterday and it was a refurbished phone. Can you believe it , refurbished already. Its really something when you pay so much for a phone that only due to the manufacturer shorts/burns out and then they send you a used one (mind you it had scratches on the bottom of the phone)I am really disappointed in this considering this phone cost so much. It also seems as when I did a google search the new G1 phone is also having the same issue of overheating. So please research a bit before investing right away into this phone, maybe wait a little bit longer to see how many actually overheat.
well i did want this phone really badly.. i like begged my mom for it everyday and now i got it
and i am kinda bored about it i am thinking about selling it …its not what i expected
Can anyone tell me where the six screws are located. I’m thinking the two I don’t see are under the slider that locks the back but how do I remove that?
hi my name is dannie i have a quick question , ive had tha samsung behold for like a month now and its awsome , but tha only thing i dnt like is the screen saver. no matter if you change tha wallpaper,tha screen saver changes after its lock , how do i get rid of tha screen saver??? thanx!
Yes, I have the same problem as Star. Is there someone knowing how to remove the slider that locks the back?
I would like to know if you can download any apps for this phone, apps like the iphone has, if anybody knows please tell me how. Thanx
is there any place were i can download the software for this phone!????? help please, i been searching, and is impossible to find the software, to get the pictures etc.??? help please
I love it!
Had this phone for almost a week now, my biggest issue is the problem im having with the proprietary OS. Havent found a way around the OS to download Skyfire, Google maps, or Opera…ghey
I do like the phone, its my first touch screen, first web-browsing enabled phone too. But if I knew I could get away with it. I’d get a different one, I dont know which different one, but a different one none the less. I WANT MY ADDONS!!!!
okay so i just did the same thing gloria and others did. so my question is that there are two screws at the bottom that i can’t acess because there is the back slider thing that slides up and down and its covering the last of the screws. so how do i get around that?? please answer back i just got this phone and now i can’t even use it.
dang!!!!!!!11 this phone is hot
The slider on the back can carefully be slid back even further exposing the screws. Just remember that is the easy part. The hard part is separating the case without scratching or gouging it. You VERY CAREFULLY use a thin exacto to gently prt apart the case
how do i change the locked picture i…..i don’t like the little flowers………
i got the samsung behold as a gift yesterday and it is a cool phone however it isnt an upgrade to my blackberry curve. except for a touchscreen and a bigger mega pixel and more option camera there is no comparison to my blackberry curve . i guess once you go blackberry you cant go back but if you havent it is a cool phone lol
ya this phone is amazing. i luv this phone because i have it. i use this phone for everything. ( that’s how i made this comment) I strongly recommend it!
also put memory card in sim slot, found the right screwdriver, got it open now need help to get the card out.
I’m wondering if anyone have problem viewing videos from Youtube? Were you able to view everything from the youtube? I can’t view it. It gave me an error saying I don’t have the latest Flash Player. I called T-Mobile & they told me that this phone don’t support Adobe flash player. Is that true? Pls advice. Thank you!
RE: Vivian
I have no problem with Youtube. Try calling Samsung, they might need to send you an update.
Has anyone had a problem with the vibrate option? Mine hasn’t worked since I had it serviced by Samsung in February. I tried all the options, vibrate level and everything. It worked at one point but now, nothing!
if this phone doesnt have wi-fi how does it have internet?…what benefits does a phone with wi-fi have as to one that does not?
this phone is worthless piece of metal. the company as well!
i put my Behold in my pocket while doing yard work. the phone has a “wet” spot under the glass screen. does anyone have any idea on how to get rid of the “wet”spot? i can’t do anything with it and i’m afraid it is ruined.. HELP
Hi, I am Tyler, from below, and I just have to tell you something. If you have a myspace, I just started a group about the Samsung Behold. It is for whoever has this phone. If you would like to join, come on and join, if not, oh well. But I would like to have many people join so we can discuss and talk about the phone, good or bad. Go to the address bar and type in http://groups.myspace.com/samsungbehold and add the group if you are interested. Bye and thanks!