Samsung’s Blast Phone Slides onto T-Mobile

By Nick Mokey August 7, 2007

Samsung

Samsung’s PR folks are probably cringing over the release of their company’s latest text-friendly phone on the same day news breaks regarding the dangers of texting and driving – but we won’t let the somewhat untimely release hold it down. The SGH-T729 is Samsung’s newest slider, a red-and-black phone that slips open to reveal a QWERTY-like keypad that Samsung boasts is perfect for text input. It will be available exclusively on T-Mobile.

Judging by pictures, we’re having a hard time recognizing the new keypad layout. There are two more vertical columns of buttons than on a traditional alphanumeric setup, but each key has two letters assigned to it, presumably with some sort of shift button to toggle between them. Samsung’s press release was short on details of how this setup actually functioned, but did claim it would increase the speed of text entry and make it more intuitive. T9 predictive text entry is also included for all the times you find yourself texting something like “onomatopoeia” to friends.

“The Samsung Blast is a terrific phone for anyone who thrives on sticking together with friends and family through text, instant messenger and e-mail,” said Jeff Hopper, T-Mobile’s vice president of marketing, in a statement. “While the Blast is great for making and receiving phone calls and rapid exchanges via text messaging, the slender form of the phone doesn’t compromise on size or style.”

Besides the allure of quicker texting, the phone also includes access to a broad array of IM clients, a 1.3-megapixel camera, external memory card slot, MP3 player capability and voice recognition. Data transfer is provided through the EDGE standard.

Editors' Recommendations

Managing Editor

As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…

Mobile

This Android phone is so bad I couldn’t review it

A person holding the Punkt MC02.

I can’t review the Punkt MC02. I went into it quite excited, as I liked the Punkt MP02’s unique style. I expected to treat the MC02 like any other smartphone by putting my SIM card inside and using it every day to assess whether it was a device worth buying. But this privacy-first phone does not make life easy, and although I’d be happy to put in the effort with the software if the hardware was really cool and enticing, unfortunately, it is a serious letdown at every turn.

There’s a chance I’m not quite as security-focused as the MC02’s intended audience, but if that also describes you, then you should approach this phone with a very open mind, a great deal of patience, and very low expectations. This is why.
What is the Punkt MC02?

Mobile

An Android phone you haven’t heard of just won the charging game

Infinix Note 40 Pro Plus with MagSafe green-colored compatible vegan leather case kept on a table.

Infinix is an underdog phone brand that's slowly gaining momentum in developing nations. It offers a variety of low-spec and midrange phones with premium designs and features at astoundingly low prices. That continues with the newest midrange series, the Infinix Note 40, which packs some unusual perks, most notably frictionless charging.

The series' top-of-the-line Note 40 Pro+ is crammed with features you wouldn't otherwise find on other sub-$300 phones. Among them is a 120Hz curved AMOLED display with an in-display fingerprint scanner, built-in AI features, dual speakers tuned by JBL, a super-slim profile with a vegan leather finish and gold accents, and wildly fast 100-watt wired charging.

Mobile

I turned my phone into a camera, and I don’t want to go back

Promotional image for OuttaFocus. A person holding the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, with the Photography Kit fitted.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has one of the best cameras I’ve used on a smartphone ever, but Xiaomi also sells something that could potentially make it even better. It’s called the Photography Kit, and it’s a pricey set of accessories that puts the emphasis on the phone’s camera element to an even greater degree.

I've been using it, and although I started out feeling underwhelmed, I soon discovered the one thing that makes the Photography Kit unique, exciting, and incredible. It's so different, in fact, that it's poised to change the way I think about phone camera accessories in the future.
A phone accessory unlike any other