Techcitement Review: Samsung Gravity Smart

As a Verizon customer, I’m not used to seeing a lot of the low- to mid-range Android smartphones that have flooded the market the last few years. For that matter, they’re not typically what we see here at Techcitement, either. So, the Samsung Gravity Smart is a bit of a departure for me, and I have to say, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s not going to be any power user’s next smartphone, but it could be the first smartphone for someone they know.

With its soft-touch plastic back and rounded edges, the Smart reminds me a rubber ball, especially since I was reviewing the Sapphire Blue model (the phone also comes in Berry Red and Lunar Gray). It’s not the most professional look I’ve ever seen, but the handset feels sturdy. This is not a phone you worry about dropping. There’s a simple volume rocker on the left side, headphone jack on top, and a power button on the right. The right side also has a micro-USB port, which is covered by a door that needs to be pried open with your fingernail. Personally, I find such doors to be an unnecessary hassle for something used as often as a charging port.

The main function keys on the face of the device are laid out a bit oddly. Most Android phones have the four buttons (Menu, Home, Back, and Search) laid out in a single row, though the sequence tends to vary by manufacturer. On the Gravity Smart, you get Menu, Back, and Search as capacitive buttons below the screen and a physical Home button centered below that. At first, I thought that button doubled as an optical track-pad, which would at least have given it a reason to be positioned like that, but it’s just a single-purpose Home button. Experienced Android users may find the layout unusual.

The 3.2 inch touch screen isn’t as pretty as the Super AMOLED Plus displays Samsung is using on its high-end devices these days, but it’s bright and not too reflective in direct sunlight. The QVGA display isn’t terribly high resolution, but given the small size, it produces excellent results.

Cameras on smartphones vary widely these days, and unfortunately, the Gravity Smart doesn’t impress in this area. Three megapixels is more in line with what you expect out of a feature phone these days. On the other hand, Samsung’s Gravity line generally fits that description. They’re messaging devices, and this is the first one with a smartphone OS, so seeing a camera that isn’t smartphone quality isn’t too shocking.

While we’re on the subject of the Gravity messaging line, let’s take a look at the keyboard. In addition to pre-installed Swype, the Gravity Smart also has a slide-out keyboard. The sliding mechanism is very smooth, allowing for easy one-handed opening and closing, but with enough resistance that I never found myself moving it by accident, and it’s sturdy, so you won’t worry much about breaking it over time. Inside, the keyboard is surprisingly roomy for such a small device. The keyboard has some nice features, including good back-lighting and a few dedicated keys for search, messaging, web browsing, and social networking. There’s also an emoticon key, which is probably useful for the younger crowd that makes up this device’s target market. My one complaint about the keyboard is that the keys are too flat. They depress nicely, so you know when you’ve pushed a button, but typing by feel is difficult, despite the large spacing between keys.

The Gravity Smart’s biggest weakness is probably lack of storage. It comes with a 2 GB micro-SD card pre-installed, which doesn’t leave room for a lot of music or videos. That’s a minor issue compared to the internal storage of 152 MB, which is not nearly enough to install the average amount of apps most users have these days. I found myself picking and choosing which apps to keep, even among the ones I use frequently on my usual device. That’s despite the fact that the Smart runs Android 2.2 Froyo, which supports moving many apps to the SD card. If you install a lot of apps or like having a bunch of games on your device, this is probably not your next phone.

T-Mobile provided a few pre-installed apps and I would have preferred a bit more free space instead of having Bejeweled 2, Uno, and Tetris. Some of the other bloatware offerings are things I use, so it wasn’t as much bloat as ware. In particular, the presence of Lookout Mobile Security strikes me as a good idea on a phone whose users are probably among the least likely to consider the need for a security app themselves. T-Mobile also included their WiFi Calling app that allows users to make their calls over their home WiFi connection if they’re facing poor reception. T-Mobile isn’t known for universal network reliability, so this is a great feature to bring to the table. Call quality was fair, about the same as conversations over the regular network. Be warned that WiFi Calling uses up your plan minutes just like any other call.

The Gravity Smart is a surprisingly snappy little device, despite its 800 MHz processor. The lower screen resolution means the phone can really take advantage of what little power it has. It also means surprisingly good battery life. I’ve gotten used to phones with huge displays and fast processors that require me to walk around with a spare battery all the time (never mind what 4G does to newer devices), but the Gravity Smart lets me unplug and make use of it for a full day without any trouble. Granted, I also use it less than I ordinarily would my regular smartphone, thanks to the lack of room for apps. For someone new to the smartphone world, that probably won’t feel like a bad trade.

As for the overall size, we’re not talking about an HP Veer or anything, but the Smart is fairly small in an age where my Droid Incredible is starting to look like a lightweight at 3.7 inches. The Smart is easily pocketable despite the thickness that comes with a slide-out keyboard.

I do have some concerns for the long term future of the Gravity Smart. Limited storage capacity is one of the biggest reasons why Android devices don’t see anticipated upgrades, and this phone was about as limited as it gets in the storage department. Despite being released just this summer, it’s unlikely to see even an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which has been out since December. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, coming later this year, is likely out of the question.

It was no surprise to find that there is a rooting option for the Gravity Smart. I can’t think of a single Android device that wasn’t rooted sooner or later. That means the adventurous can free up a little extra storage space by removing some of that bloatware. I can’t find any custom ROM options for the Gravity Smart, but that wasn’t a shock either. I wouldn’t expect many people looking for custom ROMs to also be interested in a device with this little storage.

The Samsung Gravity Smart is not a terribly powerful phone, but it was never meant to be. As an advanced messaging phone, it makes for a pretty nice upgrade. You’re looking at adding some basic smartphone functionality for a class of device that normally lacks it, and the price is definitely right at $30. As an entry-level device, this one is tough to beat. I don’t think too many Techcitement readers are the target market for entry-level, but I’m pretty sure most of us know someone who is. If that friend whose looking to dip his toes in the Android or smartphone world is looking for something that gives him a little more flexibility without breaking the bank, you may have just found a winner.