Anyone doing a Samsung Juke review will immediately think that the cell phone is cool. The Juke is thin, both width- and height-wise. The Verizon commercial has an ultra-hip fellow dancing to the music spewed from his Juke. Will you think the Samsung Juke is as much fun?
Intial Impressions
It's stylish, thin, and the front face can spun in an upward arc with a flick of the wrist. When you first hold the Samsung Juke, the phone feels substantial and pretty durable. That feeling goes away when you flip open the swivel portion of the phone and feel the upper part and the lower part separately. The only piece that is holding it together is the hinged part. Also, when you close the swivel, the top part really doesn't sit securely when the phone is back in it's candy-bar state. A tiny jolt will push the swiveled piece to the right or left without your knowledge. For some, this is awkward when answering calls because the call may already be answered by the time you remove it from your pocket. Some people even call this swivel a pseudo-slider.
While the screen is a nice TFT screen, the resolution is a measly 180x220. It's fine for searching for your music, but for texting or using Verizon's internet services, it doesn't really suffice.
Music First
The Samsung Juke has an internal memory of 2GB, which will hold about 500 songs if the average song is 3-4 MB. That's a good amount of storage for something that is also a phone. If you are familiar with the Samsung T-series MP3 players, then you will recognize the interface of the Juke's MP3 player portion. The silver circle navigates through the menus with good response. Like any other MP3 players, you can select a song through artist, song, or album, and even set up playlists. Getting songs to the Samsung Juke is a lot easier than most phones. You use the provided USB cable and software to transfer music, like most players.
One of the best features the Samsung Juke offers is the Bluetooth capabilities. You can sync the Juke to play through Bluetooth speakers or sync up the phone to a computer to transfer music or even play through the computer's speakers. Even though you have a range of 30 feet, other wireless objects may interfere with reception.
Phone Second
For users looking for a decent phone, that's all you'll get. Heavy phone users should stay away. Answering calls is awkward because of the design of the swivel. If you set up the phone to only answer when you push send, you'll be fine, but some people like to answer a phone with a flip. This is not the phone for that. If you like to text, the small, compacted keys will annoy you. You may never get used to the layout and feel of the keys.
Reception on the phone was okay due to Verizon's expansive network, but the earpiece was hard to position comfortably against my ear listen for long periods of time. Also, forget about using the speakerphone in some place that's slightly noisy. The maximum volume was less than adequate.
Pros, Cons, Recommendations
Pros:
- Nice music player
- Bluetooth
- 2 GB Internal memory.
- Narrow and thin
Cons:
- Keyboard awkward.
- Poor earpiece speaker
- Low volume speakerphone
- Small screen
The Samsung Juke is recommended for:
- Music lovers constantly on the go
- Music lovers and moderate cell phone users
- Light texters
- Those who want a little cool mixed with a little stylish
The Samsung Juke is NOT recommended for:
- Heavy texters
- People who want a phone for productivity
- People who use their phone a lot
- Internet or e-mail use
Final Samsung Juke Review
Overall, the Samsung Juke is a fine phone for music lovers and moderate phone users constantly on the go. Transferring music is a breeze so you can be on the go even more. The phone is cool and if you are looking for something stylish, then go to your nearest Verizon store and check out the Juke.
