Connectivity
I used a generic Samsung data cable to connect this phone to my computer for data transfer. I could transfer music, ringtones, pictures and video between the Finesse and my computer. However, I noted that this was only possible when a memory card was installed in the phone. I was able to view only files that were stored on the memory card, not those on the phone’s internal memory. I could not find a way to access the phone’s internal memory through the USB cable.
This is important since the camcorder and camera default to storing videos and pictures in the internal memory. To change this setting, go to Menu>Settings>Memory Manager>Save Options. Unfortunately, I could not find a way to change the save location on the voice recorder, so bluetooth remains the best option for transferring audio recordings off the device. Alternatively, you could use the camcorder at the lowest quality setting for recording your audio.
Another option in the phone’s settings allow the user to switch the Phone-PC connection between “USB modem” and “USB Mass Storage” (see picture below). The mass storage option allows for the data transfer I described above.

Presumably, the USB modem function would allow the phone to be connected to a computer for use as a modem, thus allowing the computer to connect to the internet through the phone’s cellular connection. However, I was unable to get this to work. It’s also worth noting that the Straight Talk terms of service specifically prohibit this “tethering” and point out that service may be terminated for violating their terms of service. I don’t know enough about the technology to know whether Straight Talk might actually be able to detect whether you’ve been tethering your phone, but I’m not willing to risk it with my account.
From all that I’ve read, no one else has been able to tether this phone either, so it seems very unlikely that it’s possible. I’ll keep monitoring various forums to see if anyone makes it work, though, and post back here if I learn more.
I don’t have any GPS systems to test this phone with, so if anyone reading this can comment on how well that connection works, I would appreciate it. However, I was very happy with how the bluetooth connection worked with my regular old headset. Through the headset I was able to use voice commands to initiate calls. I assume that this is a good sign that it will work well with navigation systems.
Tomorrow I’ll post again with info about the web browser, and hopefully I’ll be able to put together a little video to demonstrate the internet experience.

Sorry for the long delay since my last post – real life got in the way of the online world. Anyway, I’m back with more info on the Samsung r810c Finesse from Straight Talk, which I’ve been reviewing in detail. Here’s the next installment:
General Phone Function
I’ve been slightly disappointed with the reception on the r810. I’ve been comparing it to the LG 290c and LG 100c, and it seems like the LG models are a little better at pulling in a signal. In fact, as I’m writing this very portion of the review, I’m a passenger in a car traveling through a very rural area of Wisconsin. I just now tried making a test call from both the LG 100c and the Samsung r810c. The LG was able to complete the call, despite showing no bars on the signal meter. The Finesse, however, could not complete the call. I received a message “CDMA service not available.”
Further, while traveling through that same area of spotty coverage, I experience dropped calls with the Finesse, but not with the LG models. Again, this was in an area with very poor coverage, but it’s still worth mentioning in terms of the comparison.
I found this poor reception to be very disappointing, especially on a device this expensive. Interestingly, however, I was able to access the web via EVDO within seconds of a failed test call, and indeed while the phone was still showing no signal for voice calls. So I guess if web browsing is more important to you than voice calls, the reception issue might be a little less important to you.

On the other hand, I thought voice calls sounded pretty good, when I was able to make them. This was dependent upon the signal strength, though, as spotty coverage unsurprisingly resulted in choppy audio. I felt that the normal audio quality on the Finesse sounded a little better than the Samsung r451c, but not as clear as the LG 290c and LG 220c, which are all available from Straight Talk as well.
I also noticed something rather interesting when comparing the call volume on these models – the Samsung Finesse produced better volume while in speaker phone mode, but the LG 290c was louder and clearer using the normal earpiece. The Finesse also produced very loud ringtones. However, it does have the annoying Samsung standard of ringtones starting out low, then gradually increasing in volume until the call is answered.
Another nice feature is that the phone can be set to announce the name or number of the person calling, followed by the ringtone. If the caller is in your contact list, the phone will announce their name, otherwise it will read off the number from which the call is coming. To activate this feature, go to Menu>Settings>Call Settings>Call Alert.
The r810c also allows for a specific ringtone to be assigned to a contact. Alternatively, you can place a contact within a group (i.e. Family, Friends, Colleagues, Business), and assign a separate tone to each group.
Battery life was an admirable 48 hours of heavy use. I used the phone for maybe 15 minutes of voice calls, did a lot of web browsing, some bluetooth use, some picture messaging, and a lot of general playing with the menus. Considering that usage, I thought 48 hours was a decent, but not great, battery life for this kind of device. This, as well as other Samsung phones, seem to charge very quickly. Mine charged in about an hour on the car charger and took about the same on the 110 volt wall charger to charge completely from nearly dead.

Internal display/keypad
I really like Finesse’s display, which measures 3.2 inches diagonally. I found it to be bright and vibrant, and very readable, even outdoors. The brightness and backlight time can be adjusted by the user. The touch-screen function gives a vibration feedback, but you can turn if off or adjust the intensity if you want to.
The menus are very nice, in my opinion. The large, bright screen makes navigation easy, and the menu layout is reasonably well-designed and similar to other Samsungs. There are also a range of customization options, starting with a shortcut bar across the top of the home screen. There you’ll find one-touch shortcuts to your message inbox, web browser, music player and bluetooth settings.
Along the left side of the home screen is the widget bar. These “widgets” are really just more shortcuts – in some cases they’ll open a specific web page such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc., and other widgets are menu shortcuts like music player, contacts, alarms, etc. I could not find anyway to create my own widget, which would be nice to create a shortcut to my favorite site(s).
The touch interface was very interesting. I have to admit I’m not coming into this review unbiased – I have an iPod Touch that I use every day, so it’s hard not to compare the Samsung r810 to the iPod Touch. The Finesse fell a little short of the iPod in terms of ease of touch, I thought. The iPod is a little more sensitive to the touch. The biggest thing I missed was the “multi-touch” capabilities of the iPod. I love using the “pinch to zoom” function. Aside from that, the Finesse compared reasonably well, and I am happy with the Finesse as far as phones go.
The Samsung’s touch screen worked fine for me for texting and dialing, especially once I got used to it. One thing that I really like on the Finesse is handwriting recognition – it’s a nice feature that not even the iPod offers (natively). I should also point out here that, while the phone does not include a stylus, most generic stylus devices will work with this phone and may help with menu navigation and especially hand-written input. I definitely don’t need one for the menus or dialing, but it is nice for the handwriting feature.
I’ve got a lot more to cover with this phone, so stick around and I’ll get to it soon. I’ll definitely have at least a couple more posts published by the end of the week, and hopefully wrap up the review in the first week of the new year.

Sorry for the long delay since my last post – real life got in the way of the online world. Anyway, I’m back with more info on the Samsung r810c Finesse from Straight Talk, which I’ve been reviewing in detail. Here’s the next installment:

General Phone Function

I’ve been slightly disappointed with the reception on the r810. I’ve been comparing it to the LG 290c and LG 100c, and it seems like the LG models are a little better at pulling in a signal. In fact, as I’m writing this very portion of the review, I’m a passenger in a car traveling through a very rural area of Wisconsin. I just now tried making a test call from both the LG 100c and the Samsung r810c. The LG was able to complete the call, despite showing no bars on the signal meter. The Finesse, however, could not complete the call. I received a message “CDMA service not available.”

Further, while traveling through that same area of spotty coverage, I experience dropped calls with the Finesse, but not with the LG models. Again, this was in an area with very poor coverage, but it’s still worth mentioning in terms of the comparison.

I found this poor reception to be very disappointing, especially on a device this expensive. Interestingly, however, I was able to access the web via EVDO within seconds of a failed test call, and indeed while the phone was still showing no signal for voice calls. So I guess if web browsing is more important to you than voice calls, the reception issue might be a little less important to you.

On the other hand, I thought voice calls sounded pretty good, when I was able to make them. This was dependent upon the signal strength, though, as spotty coverage unsurprisingly resulted in choppy audio. I felt that the normal audio quality on the Finesse sounded a little better than the Samsung r451c, but not as clear as the LG 290c and LG 220c, which are all available from Straight Talk as well.

I also noticed something rather interesting when comparing the call volume on these models – the Samsung Finesse produced better volume while in speaker phone mode, but the LG 290c was louder and clearer using the normal earpiece. The Finesse also produced very loud ringtones. However, it does have the annoying Samsung standard of ringtones starting out low, then gradually increasing in volume until the call is answered.

Another nice feature is that the phone can be set to announce the name or number of the person calling, followed by the ringtone. If the caller is in your contact list, the phone will announce their name, otherwise it will read off the number from which the call is coming. To activate this feature, go to Menu>Settings>Call Settings>Call Alert.

The r810c also allows for a specific ringtone to be assigned to a contact. Alternatively, you can place a contact within a group (i.e. Family, Friends, Colleagues, Business), and assign a separate tone to each group.

Battery life was an admirable 48 hours of heavy use. I used the phone for maybe 15 minutes of voice calls, did a lot of web browsing, some bluetooth use, some picture messaging, and a lot of general playing with the menus. Considering that usage, I thought 48 hours was a decent, but not great, battery life for this kind of device. This, as well as other Samsung phones, seem to charge very quickly. Mine charged in about an hour on the car charger and took about the same on the 110 volt wall charger to charge completely from nearly dead.

Internal display/keypad

I really like Finesse’s display, which measures 3.2 inches diagonally. I found it to be bright and vibrant, and very readable, even outdoors. The brightness and backlight time can be adjusted by the user. The touch-screen function gives a vibration feedback, but you can turn if off or adjust the intensity if you want to.

The menus are very nice, in my opinion. The large, bright screen makes navigation easy, and the menu layout is reasonably well-designed and similar to other Samsungs. There are also a range of customization options, starting with a shortcut bar across the top of the home screen. There you’ll find one-touch shortcuts to your message inbox, web browser, music player and bluetooth settings.

Along the left side of the home screen is the widget bar. These “widgets” are really just more shortcuts – in some cases they’ll open a specific web page such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc., and other widgets are menu shortcuts like music player, contacts, alarms, etc. I could not find anyway to create my own widget, which would be nice to create a shortcut to my favorite site(s).

The touch interface was very interesting. I have to admit I’m not coming into this review unbiased – I have an iPod Touch that I use every day, so it’s hard not to compare the Samsung r810 to the iPod Touch. The Finesse fell a little short of the iPod in terms of ease of touch, I thought. The iPod is a little more sensitive to the touch. The biggest thing I missed was the “multi-touch” capabilities of the iPod. I love using the “pinch to zoom” function. Aside from that, the Finesse compared reasonably well, and I am happy with the Finesse as far as phones go.

The Samsung’s touch screen worked fine for me for texting and dialing, especially once I got used to it. One thing that I really like on the Finesse is handwriting recognition – it’s a nice feature that not even the iPod offers (natively). I should also point out here that, while the phone does not include a stylus, most generic stylus devices will work with this phone and may help with menu navigation and especially hand-written input. I definitely don’t need one for the menus or dialing, but it is nice for the handwriting feature.

I’ve got a lot more to cover with this phone, so stick around and I’ll get to it soon. I’ll definitely have at least a couple more posts published by the end of the week, and hopefully wrap up the review in the first week of the new year.