The 5 MP rear camera on the Reverb may have a smaller megapixel count and feature-set than the 8 MP shooter that’s in the S II, but it carries over some of the features of the S II, like smile detection and panoramic shots along with some cute effects filters thrown in from the S III’s camera app. I’m spoiled from reviewing cellphones with much better cameras though. While the Reverb tries, it’s just not up to par with the S III, iPhone, or the HTC One line.
Note that this was taken through slightly tinted glass.
The full-sized for this one is a little softer than I’d like, and colors are off a little.
This picture was sharp enough that I could read the text on the pen. Not bad.
Normally, I’d review any sort of unique features now, but the fact of the matter is that there is basically nothing unique about the Reverb. It’s a basic Samsung smartphone and that’s that.
Hackability
As of this writing there is no news on rooting the Reverb, so don’t expect to run Cyanogen or any other custom ROMs on it. I don’t think Virgin’s user base includes a lot of the XDA Dev crowd, so this is hardly a deal-breaker.
The Strengths
Samsung has managed to stick a fast chip in a decent chassis and aim it at the budget buyer. However, …
The Weaknesses
…the Reverb is only a good phone in the context of Virgin, and even then, it’s a bit overpriced at $250. The comparable/superior HTC One V is a mere $199 (and is on sale right now for less). The Reverb fails as a budget model for that reason.
Additionally, taken and compared to about any phone on any other network, be it contract or pay as you go, there are scores of phones I would recommend before the Reverb. That’s based on specs, skin, camera, and that aforementioned price.
Wrap Up
While it’s pretty cool that what we consider a basic smartphone is something with more than enough enough power for the average user, it also raises the bar for what we should expect. A phone like this, with absolutely no standout features and a price that’s about a $100 too high, is not something I can recommend in good faith to anyone not completely married to Samsung’s ecosystem yet wants to be on Virgin.
Thank you for a thorough, well-considered review! You explored most of the main points woth considering and I was glad SOMEONE comment on whether or not the display is gorilla glass or not. This little tidbit of information seems to be a Samsung secret, as I’ve not seen it listed in any of the spec sheets I”ve found online. I finally went to the Samsung site to see what I could find out. Curiously, the support agent I asked about it (via chat session) said that, according to Samsung data base, the screen is Gorilla Glass 2 but a subsequent visit to the Corning site listing all phones w/gorilla glass did not have the Reverb listed. Very odd. So I’ll go by your appraisal and be disappointed that Samsung didn’t give this phone at least THAT little embellishment of quality.
Since I need to replace my LG Optimus V, I’ve been doing a lot of research on this phone — and waiting for the price to come down to where it should be. I agree, about a $100 or so too high! It’s currently about $50 off original price (down to $199) but Black Friday and Cyber Mon. are almost here and I’m hoping that Virgin repeats its CM deal of last year (half off). And now, of course, there’s also the Galaxy S2 you mentioned that was just released for $369. It’s now on sale for $299 but will it come down even lower in next few days?
I guess the question is, for me at least, how much more is the S2 worth over the cost of the Reverb? If, for example, the Reverb were discounted to $150 or $125 and the GS2 further discounted to say $250, which do I buy? Tough choice, given a limited budget, but the upside is I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy with either phone. That’s an outcome on a prepaid carrier like Virgin that wasn’t too likely in the not too distant past. Prepaid is the future in mobile!
It’s a dang good question. You might want to try a side-by-side comparison of the two phones on PhoneArena or other such sites.
Personally, I think the S2 has a better screen, so there is that.
Thanks for comments! I ordered the Reverb at $99 price, figuring that the GSII will, most likely, not be discounted too much below the $299 price that it currently is discounted to. I just don’t see the GSII being worth 3x the price of Reverb, esp. when I saw on a video review that the GSII has a limit of 2gb for apps! Why woiuld they impose that sort of limit when there’s so much more space there and Google has begun blocking apps2sd feature?
I’ve heard conflicting reports on how much space is available for apps on Reverb. Can you clarify that for me? One review I saw said it only has 1gb for apps while someone left comment saying it has 1.5gb. I see in your review (and screenshot) it says 2gb available space, but is all of that 2gb available for apps? I guess I’ll find out in a few days when i get my phone but any extra info is welcome. I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on phone after using it for a week or so.
I’ve actually sent my review unit back, so I can’t help you there.
Let me know how you liked it.
Reverb is now on sale for $99.
Samsung Galaxy Reverb is a midrange smartphone. Dimensions are 4.80 inches height by 2.52 inches width by 0.44 inches deep, they provide Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, 5 megapixel primary camera, it will give straight 8 hours and 42 minutes of talktime backup. http://www.techiecop.com/cellphones/samsung-cellphones/samsung-galaxy-reverb-review.html