Samsung T699 "Galaxy S Relay 4G" T-Mobile Android Phone - Black

I ordered this Samsung Galaxy S Relay from Top10Cell, and got exactly what was described. This is my first GSM phone, and my first unlocked phone (in other words, I had no idea what I was doing). I've been on contracts with CDMA carriers from the beginning (mid-90s) but decided to break away and try a no-contract service. However, I'm very particular with what I want in a phone, and the locally available phones didn't fit the bill.At the time I bought this, I was test-driving an AT&T GoPhone with SIM card (the Nokia Lumina 920). I decided the Windows OS wasn't for me (I tried to like it but there are certain apps I use a lot that Windows just doesn't have). Anyway, I got this phone (the Samsung) and tried to use my GoPhone card in it - it wouldn't work. This GoPhone card is a micro or nano SIM. This phone takes a standard SIM. I still tried to make it work and it wouldn't. I called Top10Cell: they were very helpful, assured me the phone was unlocked, suggested it might be my SIM card that was the problem, and said to call them back if another SIM didn't work. They were more than willing to help me fix the issue. By the way, I don't have T-Mobile in my area, which is why I didn't use the included card. If I used the T-Mobile card, I would still be using the AT&T network here, and T-Mobile would consider me roaming the entire time. T-Mobile will drop you if you roam for a straight year (that's what T-Mobile told me). I keep the T-Mobile card in my wallet, just in case.I went to RadioShack (where I bought the Nokia GoPhone) and they were most unhelpful in fixing the issue (it's an unlocked phone, they won't even look at it even though it was their GoPhone card), so I decided to just buy a standard AT&T SIM and be done with it - except RadioShack only had a 3G card. This phone is 4G, and that's what I wanted. So I went to the AT&T store and bought a 4G card. Understand: I did not have a preexisting contract with AT&T, and the only SIM card I had from them was a GoPhone card, so it seems my only option was to buy a new card rather than trade one in. AT&T was more helpful. The salesman explained that the reason the GoPhone card wouldn't work is because it's tied to a specific phone - that card won't work in any other phone. Their standard SIM cards can be used in any phone - the GoPhone cards that come with a phone can only be used in that phone. His suggestion was buy a standard SIM then contact the AT&T GoPhone people to have my minutes transferred over (apparently, the AT&T stores can't do GoPhone transfers to standard cards).Anyway, I bought the AT&T 4G card, went home, put it in the phone, and fired it up. I didn't have the AT&T store activate the card for me - I wanted to do that myself at home with the phone, in case I need to call Top10Cell again. I went to the AT&T activation site online - it took a long time to process. They said "a few minutes". It was more like 20 minutes or so. I just left the computer to do its thing and kept checking back. Eventually, it went through. I added minutes (decided it wasn't worth the hassle to transfer the GoPhone minutes), and was up and running. I did not need to contact Top10Cell again.Now, as for the phone itself: T-Mobile has crap loaded on it that I need to get rid of, so I'll probably need to root it at some point to get rid of the bloatware. Also, the phone wants to use "GSM/WCDMA" as its default Network mode. That is a major battery drainer for me - I changed the network mode to GSM only. It automatically boots up to GSM/WCDMA so I have to manually change it back to 'GSM only' every time I start/restart the device. Otherwise, the battery is drained in about 6 hours. With 'GSM only,' I can get about 2 days battery time (not a heavy user).- The keyboard is nice but the space bar takes a bit of effort - you have to hit it closer to center, not off to one side. The keys are spaced far enough apart that you can hit a single key with the pad of your finger rather than using the end of a fingernail. It also has the Swype on-screen keyboard, which is nice for a quick note.- The screen is nice and clear. I don't use the phone for movies so I can't comment on that, but photos/pictures look nice and clean.- I've dropped it once already from waist-height onto asphalt, and it got dinged on the outside top edge of the case. No glass cracked or popped off, no bits and pieces went flying, just a ding in the outer casing. I picked it up, hit the power button to check it, and it was fine.- One annoying thing I've noticed is this phone causes static sounds to emit from computer speakers, but that's not the phone's fault - it's the GSM. CDMA apparently doesn't do that because I can lay my CDMA phone in front of computer speakers all day long with no interference. Everyone at work that has GSM phones have the same issue, while the CDMA guys don't.- Another annoying thing I've noticed is when I have the keyboard out for typing, then slide it back in, the volume will either go up or down, or vibrate will turn on. The first time it happened, I thought I'd hit a button. After that, I made sure my fingers weren't near the buttons, and it still happened. I don't know if that's a 'normal' Samsung hardware issue, an OS issue, or if I just have a wonky phone.- One last annoying thing: when the keyboard is out for texting and once I send my text message, the menu pops up on the screen. Again, I thought I was touching the menu button area, so I made sure to avoid that area, and it still happens. I have a screen protector on and there's a slight bubble in the menu button area, so that might be it. Again, not sure where to place the blame.I've only had the phone for one month but so far, it's good aside from the annoyances. I'll report back if issues come up later.UPDATE: I have now had the phone for almost 3 months and I'll be leaving it, returning to my trusty Motorola Droid 3. Basically, the battery drain is ridiculous. I change the network setting to GSM only and that helps, but then other processes will kick in and drain the battery. There are about 6-8 items that will run at any one given time, each of which drain the battery, and they all have something to do with "Phone." Even when I haven't used the phone, these processes will start and drain the battery. Any number of things can cause these processes to start up. I've tried to track each one and figure out how to prevent them from draining the battery, but it's so annoying. Every time I reboot the phone, I have to go through a checklist of things to fix just to help preserve the battery. A full charge will last me 12-15 hours if I'm lucky, and that's with no talking and minimal texting. My Droid3 will last 2-3 days on a full charge. This could be an Android Jelly Bean OS issue vs. a Samsung hardware issue.The menu popping up after sending a text message still happens, even after removing the screen protector. No idea what's going on with that.Basically, the battery drain is the biggest issue. I can't depend on this phone to be available when I need it; if I forget to charge it every night, it will be dead the next morning. My Droid3 may be old but it's dependable.

Initially i was a BB user, then switched to Xperia Pro to enjoy the flexibility and features of Android. I wasn't really happy, because the laggy behavior and bad battery life (I'd easily assume both are also android features).Yet, i didn't lose hope and always convinced myself that there should be a proper, snappy, solid qwerty android phone out there!after researching, finally found that guy (S Relay 4G) with very good/excellent reviews and thought my dreams finally came true.Bought it a couple of weeks ago, and i'm really happy with it, and let me share some points with you:- Lots of bloat ware (easily disabled and removed by Rooting), you'll significantly get better battery and overall performance once you remove them.- Camera is very good with excellent flash.- Amazing battery life when compared to other android phone, I usually put it to offline mode when I go to sleep. So, with the phone going off network 7 hours a day, i got around 60 hours on a single charge. I dont watch movies or play games, but heavy texting/emails and moderate/low phone calls.- Couple of things which bothered me, when i slide out the keyboard to text... i don't get spell check and on screen suggestions, after researching i found that can be easily solved by installing "Smart keyboard" from the market and it solved the issue (free) you can get the pro one if you get annoyed by upgrading reminder which pops up once or twice a day! not a big deal for me, still using the free version but actually planning to buy it.- the other annoying thing, is the home button always takes a sec or two to respond, don't get me wrong... it always always gets you home and never hanged or something but with a consistent delay (not a single time it took me to home screen immediately nor it took more than 1.5 sec) a consistent delay which seems like fore some reason samsung has put it on purpose!- Phone calls are absolutely great, so is the network signal.- forget about the benchmarks and such things, i never done them and i don't care...as long the phone responds quickly without lags i don't really care about the benchmarks...so can't help on that.- So far haven't had any problems with wifi or bluetooth.- VIBRATION ALERT IS AWESOME! what an important feature which almost all android phones have an extremely weak vibrations which can hardly feel unless its in your hands and sometime you just hear the tiny motor inside struggling to vibrate but can't feel vibration though! I can feel the S Relay 4G's vibration in my pocket while walking which reminded me of the old Motorola V i had back in times.well, thats for now, will keep you updated if anything new crossed my mind.Bottom Line, This phone is for a practical (not fancy) person...if you are behind looks and benchmarks then search elsewhere, if you need a good qwerty android, then that's for you!