Customer Reviews

Samsung Star GT-S5230 Unlocked Phone with Full Touchscreen Quad-Band GSM Bluetooth, 3.2 MP Camera, Voice Record, MP3 and MP4 Speaker Phone--U.S. Version with 1 Year Warranty (Black)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Well, nobody is perfect. This samsung S5230 is not perfect either, has very well touch monitor (not sensitive); The body is light, good small size, good reception, good sound, good display, ok photo, allow MicroSD with a good size of memory, quad band and unlocked, well structured display interface and button placements, very responsive lock button, etc. etc... The battery life is terrible, between 24-30 hours with very light use, i.e. 3-4 calls a day of 2-5 minutes/each. However, with the price of $130s, compared to LG Vue, or even iPhone... I think I can live with that (I have iPod touch that is pretty similar to the iPhone, just w/o 3G, GPS and GSM capability). Not recommended for those who are traveling a lot, but good for those who stay stationary a lot The features are awesome.

After some usage, I can tell I have used this cellphone enough for writing a review. It is a nice phone with really cool features. The size is good enough for you to handle it comfortably. The camera takes good quality photos but not so good quality videos. It only works on GSM so Internet browsing is slow --probably also depends on the provider-- The bluetooth is easy to turn on/off and the speaker is really good for conferencing as it's very loud. The screen sensibility is cut at the corners/borders. It reads MP3s and the FM Radio works only with the earphone but it is OK. The games it comes with are really good --especially the sudoku one-- I plugged a 4GB microSD class 4 card and no problems detecting the card or uploading/downloading stuff from it.

You've read the specs on the phone; the screen is nice, the touch works about expected, the OS is laid out logically, and it has a few goodies & apps tucked away so that you feel its more than a basic phone. It also works with AT&T with no problem.

Physically, the phone is light, smaller than it appears, and the battery seems to be fine, although I don't talk a lot on my phone. The Camera works well in either landscape or portrait mode, and the camera app fast and works fine.

Here's the stuff that isn't so great:

1) While the phone supports bluetooth, it only appears to support very basic profiles, so it doesn't look like you can transfer pictures, addresses, and data with your computer which is a significant drawback
2) I was very disappointed to realize it doesn't support a normal headphone. Instead, it has a weird proprietary headphone jack, and the headphones supplied are about the lowest quality
3) The FM radio is great except that it won't play the FM radio without the headphones attached. But here's the weird part, once the headphone is attached you can play it through the speaker. You can't make this stuff up.
4) No WiFi, which means data access will always cost you money through your carrier.

I would buy it again. The screen quality and size make it worth $100. But don't expect this to compete with a smart phone. Its more like a basic phone with a few extras.

I bought this phone for my son, thinking since it says US it would be in english.. but no it was spanish. I did finally about 3 hours figure out how to change the the language settings. How am i supposed to know how to change them when I cant read the screens it comes set to.

But for those of you out there that might be facing the same issue. Here is how you change it,

when you power on the phone there will be three icons at the bottom. In spanish they are
teclado, contactos,menus

check the menus in the bottom right hand corner there is a button called adjustos push that buttom,( icon of a gear wheel) the go down to telefono click that,( icon has a phone with a sunshine in it) the first button at the top of the screen is idioma ( language in spanish) click that and set both defaults to english. and at the bottom of the screen click Guardar ( save in spanish) if you do not click Guardar it will not change.

If your phone happens to come in a different language the same steps apply the icons will be listed on the screen just named something differently.

I will not be purchasing anything else from this seller.

Had no problem with this phone, works great in Afghanistan, Kuwait and the US. Would recommend to anyone who needs a quad band unlock phone.

After 4 days of use, I can say that I love this phone - especially for the price. It is not as sophisticated as an Iphone (but what else is?) All the GUI aspects of the phone work perfectly. I read several reviews where the users were having trouble removing the back cover. They must have not read the directions or looked at the cover. The little arrow suggests that you slide it in a specific direction - pretty simple and you will not break the case as some have suggested if you do it the right way. The call quality and ability to pair up with bluetooth devices has been very good, too.

For the budget concious, who don't need every possible bell and whistle, but who want a good smartphone that works well, this is your baby.

Re: unlocked new phone S5230
Do not buy cell phone from the OEM shop. They shipped a defective phone to me. I found color box was resealed. Also, the speaker was dented. It is a used phone not a new one. I contacted them for many times to return the phone and take full money back. They did not response to me immediately. Eventually, I contacted the OEM shop through Amazon website, then I received good answer to take money back. The Amazon is a very good communication plate between consumer and seller. Amazon protected the buyer. Thank you for Amazon.

This phone was purchased as a replacement for an existing older phone. It works great but the inernet function is useless due to it being an international phone. Great for texting and voice.

I picked this phone because it was supposed to be a US phone. IT IS AN INTERNATIONAL PHONE. After I finally got it set up it works. To send pic mails you have to hit send, it pops up an error message then when you go into the outbox and resend, it goes through. The camera has no stabalizer and no flash. If your hands are really steady and you're in the sunlight, it takes good pictures. I'm pretty happy with it over all.

I was happy with the phone but found out that it is not compatible with AT & T, they worked with me on trying to get it running but I can not get any media messages. I only wanted it for a short time til I switch to T Mobile, hopefully, I can use the phone with them.. But the delivery came quick....