Samsung Drift Specs, Features & Reviews

I just can't say how much I love this phone! I switched to Helio from Cingular and am happier and happier everyday with my choice. First of all, let me say that I switched from a Treo 680 to the Drift. Needless to say, I thought I would have a lot of trouble moving from a full-fledged PDA phone to a regular slider due to the lack of QWERTY and a touchscreen. BUT I couldn't be happier with it, most likely because the Drift is far from just a regular slider. The number of features this phone comes with is incredible and so is the intuitive, easy to use interface.

Let me try to list some of the greatness of the Drift:

-Never dropped a call; always great signal

-AMAZING screen quality, which translates to beautiful video quality also

-Incredibly easy to use and navigate through

-GOOGLE MAPS AND GPS!!! This is my FAVORITE feature! The other day, I had to find a Toyota dealership in the area and all I had to do was click Find Businesses, type in Toyota, and seconds later, I was given a choice of dealerships, numbered according to their proximity to my location! THEN, I clicked on Info and it showed me the phone number, allowing me to call just by clicking on it, and let me get directions from where I was!

-Lots of FREE videos, including many upcoming movie trailers!

-FAST internet that's unlimited! It's truly amazing that I don't need to worry about my usage.

-Really cool MySpace app that was especially designed for Helio. I just downloaded this and, though I don't even use Myspace often, I love this app. It's incredibly easy to use and allows me to see my comments, friend requests, etc. NOTE: this is an actual App, not the Myspace link that's accessible from the home page when you click Surf.

-Full fledged music store! I never bought music on my phone until I got Helio. The music store is really easy to use and allows me to preview music before I buy it.

I could go on and on about how amazing this device and the service is, but I'm running out of space.

What an amazing phone, everything is great on this phone, however it would be nice if the plans were cheaper. It would be so nice if this phone was available for sprint this would be top seller no doubt......

I just recently got a drift..But man do i love the phone..It gets great reception the amount of things you can do to personalize it is crazy and the google maps is the coolest thing i have ever seen for a phone..You can view anywhere in the world in a map view or a sattalite view which is the best..The only con about this phone is its to easy to open and close and the buttons take some gettin use to but other then that its a perfect phone...

If you're looking for GPS functionality in a very small handset with a killer screen, the Drift is your man. Google Maps works amazingly well, thanks largely to it just being a well-written application. Even in dense urban area with tall buildings, the GPS is surprisingly accurate. If you're in the suburbs, it's dead on.

Helio's web site makes some pretty fanciful claims about its capabilities that I have to take issue with though. First of all, "3G" is far from lightning fast. Sustained transfer rates may be significantly higher than they used to be but what good is a 700kbps connection if you have to wait five seconds every time you click on a link? Latency seems as bad as it ever was.

MySpace mobile is a complete and utter joke. They make it sound like a custom front end was written and optimized for the mobile experience but I can assure you, that's far from the case. All you can reasonably do is check bulletins and email. Browsing through profiles is effectively impossible since it doesn't seem to load any images.

One minor bummer I found -- and this is true of all sliders -- is that with a single LCD, using the phone as a watch is kind of a pain. I miss the monochrome external LCD of my PEBL since you can see it even in dim light without having to turn on the backlight.

For some reason, I can't get Gmail in any form whatsoever on this phone though. I've tried every URL I can think of, including their mobile-optimized gmail.com/app, none of which return any kind of result. Being a Gmail user, this is a deal breaker for me. What I don't understand is how this oversight happened when they obviously have a partnership with Google.

The bottom line is, if a sweet looking phone with GPS is what you want, look no further. Just don't expect any kind of real web surfing to be going on, despite Helio's claim: "It's your internet; we haven't built any walls around it"

They say that but yet they also say that they'll optimize sites for mobile use. Whatever.

Just upgraded to the Drift from the Hero. Love the new phone - form factor much smaller and more ergonomic. This phone really shines in reception quality, high speed web access, great display and user interface. Has so many features and style beyond the typical phones found at the major carriers - would be hard to go back. GPS mapping features, wireless syncing and Bluetooth (finally) round out its PRO's. Only CON is short battery life (3 hour talk time) but will be remedied shortly with extended battery accessory from HELIO.

Absolutely love my new Drift. This thing is so light and thin yet is a complete powerhouse.

PROS:

1) Great form factor
2) Very light
3) Great reception
4) Awesome QVGA screen
5) Best UI I've ever used
6) Google Maps
7) Buddy Beacon

CONS:

1) Ringers are not too loud
2) Display goes dim when closing slider

Overall, I definitely recommend this device to anyone seeking an alternative to the already overdone RAZR. Hopefully Helio will address the ringer volume in a firmware update down the road.

Pros:
-Small
-FAST downloads
-GPS Google Maps changes your life!
-Great Screen
-2MP camera

Cons:
-It's just a phone not a smartphone or a qwerty device.
-Camera flash mode is incredibly slow
-Managing your photos is clunky

I can't say enough good things about GPS Google Maps. Way cooler than Google Maps on the Treo!

Buddy Beacon is fun, but don't believe the hype in the commercials and from fanboys. All GPS services are only accurate to a few blocks so you won't be finding your way to the party with it. You can however stalk your friends/wife/boss/etc. and see if they're at the party they said there were at! :-)

Dropped Verizon like a call on their network a month ago, Went to Cingular based on raising the bar ads, Not only did they NOT raise the bar, I think they dropped the bar and then tripped over it, horrible service including busy network, horrible sound quality, etc. Got out of that contract within 30 days and figured I'd give a Helio Drift a try, couldn't be any worse, actually, it's like night and day, call quality is outstanding, calls are connected quickly, no dropped calls as yet and really good reception, As for the Drift I have one major issue and a few nit picks...here ya go.

Pros
Great reception
Outstanding call quality
Great UI
In General: Loving the phone and the service

Cons
HORRIBLE battery life, won't get you through the day if using the web, gps.. etc. and extended battery not available yet.
While charging, screen doesn't go into sleep mode, annoying if you use it for an alarm clock on your night table and no snooze feature.
Magnifying glass needed to read GPS map directions, font WAY to small.

I'm use to having to go through sprint to have a decent EVDO network in my area until I saw Helio. But I refuse to get a Pantech or VK phone no matter how many features they have. But I'm so geeked about my new drift. The screen has the best resolution that I've every seen on a phone, The camera quality is unmatchable, and the GPS is a nice touch. Battery life does go down quickly with internet, the phone will light up on occasion by itself, and the ringers really are not that loud. But I still can make it a full day without charging it, and it's fine being on vib. and ring. Nice job Samsung!

I was going to a party the other night and I couldn't find it. So I asked my friend to turn on his buddy beacon and BAM there he was. I was sippin on Grey Goose and tonic just a few minutes later. Google Maps is dope cause it has GPS with traffic conditions this helps me navigate the mean streets of So. Cal. Very thin phone with a powerful onslaught of features. Don't know what i would do without my Helio. Other phones look like dead bodies to me now.