Samsung Stratosphere™ - 4G LTE

Who should get this phone? Consumers who want a fast Android 2.3 smartphone with a slide-out tactile QWERTY keyboard.

What cell phone compares to this model? It has a similar form factor and user interface as the Samsung Epic 4G for Sprint.

Why should I get this phone? You want a powerful Android smartphone with Verizon 4G connectivity that can be used for work, but it also has enough entertainment features that it’s fun to use.

In a nutshell: The Samsung Stratosphere has a lot to offer including 4G connectivity, a speedy 1GHz processor, and something not often found on Android smartphones – a slide out tactile QWERTY keyboard.

The Samsung Stratosphere may not be the slimmest Android smartphone in the Verizon line-up, but that’s for good reason. It has something not found in a lot of other Android smartphones: a slide-out 5-line tactile QWERTY keyboard. We appreciated the spaciousness of the keyboard and that there is plenty of room surround the chiclet-style keys. While we rarely encountered mistypes when using the keyboard we did find ourselves often hitting the period button instead of the space key. There are also quite a few thoughtful additions for the keyaboard including four arrows for navigating though menus and placing the cursor, dedicated Home, Menu, Back, and Search Keys that mirror the four keys found at the base of the Stratosphere when the keyboard is hidden, one-touch access for adding an emoticon to a message, and the top line of the keyboard are for numeric keys. When this keyboard is in use the cell phone screen automatically goes into horizontal mode. Of course there is a touchscreen keyboard that supports SWYPE. You can use either keyboard to send messages, write notes, or search for stuff on the web. Additionally, the on-screen dial pad is big and easy to read.

Although the phone is a bit bulky it does feel solid in the hand and doesn’t take up too much pocket real estate. The 4-inch WVGA Supser AMOLED screen is bright, details are crisp, and it’s viewable in direct sunlight. We found the combo of the slide-out tactile keyboard and the 4-inch display seems to be the sweet spot for screen size when compared to the slightly larger 4.3-inch and 4.5-inch phones. The Stratosphere’s rounded corners and gunmetal-colored bar surrounding the cell phone gives it a slimmer appearance. There are minimal buttons on the side: power button, volume keys, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a microUSB port. On the back of the phone is a 5-megapixel camera with a flash and the front top right hand corner on the front of the Stratosphere is a 1.3-megapixel camera. You’ll need to remove the back black rubberized cover of the cell phone to swap out the microSD card, but not the battery. It also uses a smaller 4G SIM card then the one used in most Verizon 4G LTE smartphones.

Testing the Samsung Stratosphere

Making Calls: During phone conversations we could hear callers pretty clearly and callers said they had a similar experience on their end. However, we recommend locking the screen once a call is initiated since we did occasionally push the “End Call” button when we held the phone too close to the face.

• Volume Adjustment: You can use the side buttons to adjust the volume, but we rarely needed to use them.
• Speakerphone: Call quality is solid when using this feature. We didn’t cut each other off when speaking simultaneously and callers didn’t know we were using the speakerphone.

Operating System: The smartphone comes loaded with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, sports a 1GHz processor, which makes for a responsive user experience. Along with the included 4GB microSD card (it will support up to a 32GB microSD card), the smartphone has 4GB of internal memory so there’s enough room out-of-the-box to store music, photos, videos, and more. You can switch between five home screens and launch applications without delay. This also means video playback is smooth and seamless. Overall, the user interface is fairly straightforward and icon friendly.

At the base of the screen are four quick launch buttons for Apps, Phone/Contacts, Messaging, and Applications. . Verizon has included a few apps on the cell phone such as the Blockbuster, Amazon Kindle, the company’s Backup Assistant, Lets Golf 2, NFL Mobile, Slacker Radio, and of course access to the various V CAST offerings. We should also note that this cell phone will work with corporate e-mail accounts, and offers VPN access.

• Web Navigation: Surfing the web is fast on this cell phone using Verizon’s 4G LTE network. It also shows the full web site in a single view. You can zoom in and out of a page, set bookmarks, and manage multiple windows. We did also appreciate that you can have multiple browser windows open simultaneously and easily navigate between them. The cell phone does support the latest Adobe FlashPlayer.
• Social Media: The smartphone doesn’t come preloaded with a dedicated social networking app, however you can add Facebook and Twitter account information by accessing Accounts and Sync in the Settings section. If you want access to more social networking options you can easily download them from the Android Market.

Camera Features: The Samsung Stratosphere has a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera with a flash and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera that can be used to snap self-portraits.

• Shutter Speed: We found the shutter speed to a bit slow, using Sports scene mode only speeds up the shutter slightly. Best bet is to set the Shooting Mode to Action to capture impromptu shots. There are multiple shooting modes including Single Shot, Continuous, Panorama, Add Me, Action Shot, and Cartoon.
• Picture Quality: We found colors to be true and details sharp.
• Photo Settings: You can control the flash, exposurezoom, focus, set a timer, white balance, ISO, metering, contrast, saturation, sharpness, image quality, set blink detection, effects (normal, black and white, negative, and sepia) and scenes (sport, night portrait, landscape, party, beach, sunset, dawn, fall color, firework, text, candlelight, and backlight). Plus you can turn off the Shutter Sound – a definite plus. If you like a picture you can share it to Picasa, V CAST Media Manager, via e-mail or text, and Bluetooth. If you don’t like it, you can always use the included editing features to improve it.
• Video Features: The camera can record videos (highest resolution is 720x480) with this Android cell phone. We found quality was acceptable. If you don’t want to shoot your own videos, you can also watch movies downloaded from the Blockbuster, Media Hub and V CAST video apps.

Music Features: Playback of music through the phone’s speaker is loud, but can be a bit tinny.

• Formats Supported: We were able to play MP3, and unprotected AAC (Apple’s audio format), and unprotected WMA (Microsoft’s audio format) music files.
• Features: Repeat, Shuffle, and Playlists (you can even create playlists on the cell phone). You can save tunes stored in your cell phone as a phone ringtone, caller ringtone, or set as an alarm. Additionally, you can share music via V CAST Media Manager, messaging, e-mail, WiFi, and Bluetooth. If the music app is launched, you can still pause or play music even when the phone is locked.

Connectivity: The Samsung Stratosphere works with Verizon’s 4G LTE network. It’s fast. When there’s a 4G connection available there’s no need to use a WiFi for a faster connection

• Bluetooth: The cell phone worked seamlessly with the Motorola Roadster. Callers didn’t know we were using a Bluetooth connection. We were also able to connect the Samsung Stratosphere by Motorola with a MacBook Pro and transfer contacts, pictures, and music.
• WiFi: The 4G/3G data connection can be shared with up to 8 other WiFi-enabled devices via the Mobile HotSpot feature. We were able to log onto available WiFi networks to surf the Web or send/receive e-mail. It just takes moments to set up. The only thing needed is the name of the WiFi network you want to use and password if needed.

Battery Life: The battery life performance on the Samsung Stratosphere was on par with other Android 4G smartphones. We were able to go a full day before needing to recharge the cell phone, when we had the cell phone’s screen set at full brightness and used it to check e-mail, surf the web, listen to music, play games, and take a few pictures.

With its 4G connectivity, corporate-centric features such as VPN access, and slide-out QWERTY tactile keyboard, the Samsung Stratosphere is a solid choice for business users.