OFFICIAL: TracFone Samsung R455C reviews/thoughts

[IsLand_BoY]

Alright.. So I'm sure a lot of us are curious about TracFone's newest phone, the Samsung R455C. I bought two and they came yesterday. $59.99 + tax each is a bargain (plus 15% cashback thru FatWallet) since it has TMFL which will pay for the phone in no time. I've been waiting for something "nice" to come out on the CDMA side of things and this is it!

Activation:
My activation went smoothly, programmed it OTA via *22890 and I was up and running. Only junk part is that I had 1230 minutes and only 1100 transferred. I decided it was worth losing 100 minutes to not have to deal with customer care. My gf's R455C for some reason took her through a manual transfer by entering codes, and then the phone wouldn't do OTA programming for a good 5 hours. Not sure what the deal was, because we have the same area code, same old phone (LG 220C), transfering to the same new phone (R455C).

First impressions:
Verrrry nice. Well worth $60, I'd probably pay up to $100 for it considering it has TMFL. The screen is nice and big, the keyboard is super convenient for text messaging, and I'm so glad there's an updated phone on the CDMA side of things. It feels solid enough; it doesn't feel like a $300 phone (because it's not) but it does not feel overly cheap either. I'm happy with its build quality. No squeaks or loose feeling parts, and the keyboard slides up and down smoothly.

Call quality and reception:
So far, very good. Verizon has excellent coverage where I live so reception isn't really ever a problem - but I can say that sound quality is good. I'm picky about that and I'm happy. Speakerphone is good too, and the earpiece and speaker get pretty loud. No problems here.

Text messaging:
VERY convenient with the keyboard. For some odd reason you can use T9 with the QWERTY keyboard (default setting) but it makes it lag a little bit since it tries to predict the word. I turned T9 and it's much more pleasant to type on the QWERTY keyboard. The front keypad works good with T9 but obviously the full keyboard is better.

Web/internet:
Meh. The WAP browser is decent but this is definitely not meant to be a data-centric smartphone wannabe. You can download a Facebook java app but it's slow and cumbersome. Internet speed is not bad but again, this isn't something you really want to buy to use for the internet. It does cost 0.5 units/min like the other TracFones, and the right softkey is also a shortcut to the browser like most other TracFones - if you accidentally start the browser, there's time to back out without getting charged. I forget which TracFone I had (Moto C261?) that charged me 0.5 units as soon as I pressed the browser button.

Battery life/power:
Comes with a 1100 mAh battery, which has held up well with my initial setup. It uses a microUSB charger (port is on the top of the phone, not my favorite spot but oh well) which is convenient since that's what the rest of my phones use. I'll report back later as I use it more. My LG 220C would last at LEAST 1.5 weeks since I rarely used it.

411:
Dialing 411 takes you to the junk automated TracFone directory assistance number. I used to be able to dial ##411 and get around it, but not on this phone. Any combination I try takes me to the automated TracFone 411. Not a big deal because numbers can be looked up on the internet, but I really liked being connected to Verizon 411 on my old LG.

Camera & bluetooth:
The camera seems decent - I'll have to take more daytime shots and upload them - though it is only 1.3 MP and there's no flash or auto focus. Basically what I'm saying is, it's decent as far as cell cameras go but don't expect too much. Bluetooth appears to NOT be crippled which is nice, and I attached a picture of the supported profiles.

Customization:
It has a microSD slot!! I really like when phones have one because I have a folder of custom ringtones that I usually put on my new phones. Sound quality of the ringtones is EXCELLENT, but I think that's due to the great speaker that's built-in. I bet it would be nice to load up some MP3s and play it on the speaker. My custom MP3 ringtones work like a charm and sound awesome. You can of course have custom wallpapers and I save the camera pictures to the SD card so I can quickly upload them to my computer.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the phone. I think $60 is a bargain since it includes TMFL. This is definitely for the people who talk and text. This would NOT be good for constant web browsing, but the web browser is nice enough if you're just checking something quick once in a while. I can't stress how nice it is to have a more current phone on the CDMA side. I tried the LG 501C but didn't like it - it's collecting dust somewhere around here.

Feel free to ask any questions. My primary phone is a Samsung Galaxy S II but I've had a TracFone since 1999/2000 which has always been my trusty spare phone. I like having a backup phone on the Verizon network. My use for this phone is basically a little bit of talk and text - my TracFone doesn't see heavy use. BUT -- I am pretty picky, and I'm happy with this phone.

PICTURES! I took them with my Radar 4G so they're not perfect, but they came out better than I anticipated.

[IsLand_BoY]

See http://prettymissile.com/2012/04/02/...samsung-r455c/ for a review done by my gf. She has her own pictures and we wrote our own reviews separately based on our own thoughts on the phone. I thought I'd link to her review so you guys have two different views on the phone right from the getgo. In fact, I think her review is a lot more thorough than mine!

[annepani]

Very nice reviews, both of you. Well done. Thank you. You should both present them on youtube and wontek.

[timdennis]

Both reviews are great and to do them so quickly helps everyone out a lot. It's great that Bluetooth is not "locked down" . My kids have used a number of VZ non-smartphones on VZ prepaid. VZ generally locks down the Bluetooth. Even on PP you can't get around this easily on VZ phones.

[indyrunr89]

Many thanks for the review and pics. My wallet hates you though--I'm wanting this phone now!

[prettymissile]

glad our reviews could be of help! I really am enjoying it. It's much better than my previous LG flip phone. And a bit fancier too!

[IsLand_BoY]

Two pics taken today; one in BRIGHT sun (the sky picture) and one taken in bright outdoor light in a garage (my car):

[annepani]

What are the settings?

[cellphonefreak]

Two pics taken today; one in BRIGHT sun (the sky picture) and one taken in bright outdoor light in a garage (my car):

Will it let you download wallpaper from zedge.net or somewhere directly from the phone's browser?

[cellphonefreak]

Alright.. So I'm sure a lot of us are curious about TracFone's newest phone, the Samsung R455C. I bought two and they came yesterday. $59.99 + tax each is a bargain (plus 15% cashback thru FatWallet) since it has TMFL which will pay for the phone in no time. I've been waiting for something "nice" to come out on the CDMA side of things and this is it!

Activation:
My activation went smoothly, programmed it OTA via *22890 and I was up and running. Only junk part is that I had 1230 minutes and only 1100 transferred. I decided it was worth losing 100 minutes to not have to deal with customer care. My gf's R455C for some reason took her through a manual transfer by entering codes, and then the phone wouldn't do OTA programming for a good 5 hours. Not sure what the deal was, because we have the same area code, same old phone (LG 220C), transfering to the same new phone (R455C).

First impressions:
Verrrry nice. Well worth $60, I'd probably pay up to $100 for it considering it has TMFL. The screen is nice and big, the keyboard is super convenient for text messaging, and I'm so glad there's an updated phone on the CDMA side of things. It feels solid enough; it doesn't feel like a $300 phone (because it's not) but it does not feel overly cheap either. I'm happy with its build quality. No squeaks or loose feeling parts, and the keyboard slides up and down smoothly.

Call quality and reception:
So far, very good. Verizon has excellent coverage where I live so reception isn't really ever a problem - but I can say that sound quality is good. I'm picky about that and I'm happy. Speakerphone is good too, and the earpiece and speaker get pretty loud. No problems here.

Text messaging:
VERY convenient with the keyboard. For some odd reason you can use T9 with the QWERTY keyboard (default setting) but it makes it lag a little bit since it tries to predict the word. I turned T9 and it's much more pleasant to type on the QWERTY keyboard. The front keypad works good with T9 but obviously the full keyboard is better.

Web/internet:
Meh. The WAP browser is decent but this is definitely not meant to be a data-centric smartphone wannabe. You can download a Facebook java app but it's slow and cumbersome. Internet speed is not bad but again, this isn't something you really want to buy to use for the internet. It does cost 0.5 units/min like the other TracFones, and the right softkey is also a shortcut to the browser like most other TracFones - if you accidentally start the browser, there's time to back out without getting charged. I forget which TracFone I had (Moto C261?) that charged me 0.5 units as soon as I pressed the browser button.

Battery life/power:
Comes with a 1100 mAh battery, which has held up well with my initial setup. It uses a microUSB charger (port is on the top of the phone, not my favorite spot but oh well) which is convenient since that's what the rest of my phones use. I'll report back later as I use it more. My LG 220C would last at LEAST 1.5 weeks since I rarely used it.

411:
Dialing 411 takes you to the junk automated TracFone directory assistance number. I used to be able to dial ##411 and get around it, but not on this phone. Any combination I try takes me to the automated TracFone 411. Not a big deal because numbers can be looked up on the internet, but I really liked being connected to Verizon 411 on my old LG.

Camera & bluetooth:
The camera seems decent - I'll have to take more daytime shots and upload them - though it is only 1.3 MP and there's no flash or auto focus. Basically what I'm saying is, it's decent as far as cell cameras go but don't expect too much. Bluetooth appears to NOT be crippled which is nice, and I attached a picture of the supported profiles.

Customization:
It has a microSD slot!! I really like when phones have one because I have a folder of custom ringtones that I usually put on my new phones. Sound quality of the ringtones is EXCELLENT, but I think that's due to the great speaker that's built-in. I bet it would be nice to load up some MP3s and play it on the speaker. My custom MP3 ringtones work like a charm and sound awesome. You can of course have custom wallpapers and I save the camera pictures to the SD card so I can quickly upload them to my computer.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the phone. I think $60 is a bargain since it includes TMFL. This is definitely for the people who talk and text. This would NOT be good for constant web browsing, but the web browser is nice enough if you're just checking something quick once in a while. I can't stress how nice it is to have a more current phone on the CDMA side. I tried the LG 501C but didn't like it - it's collecting dust somewhere around here.

Feel free to ask any questions. My primary phone is a Samsung Galaxy S II but I've had a TracFone since 1999/2000 which has always been my trusty spare phone. I like having a backup phone on the Verizon network. My use for this phone is basically a little bit of talk and text - my TracFone doesn't see heavy use. BUT -- I am pretty picky, and I'm happy with this phone.

PICTURES! I took them with my Radar 4G so they're not perfect, but they came out better than I anticipated.

Beautiful pics--I ordered one from ST since I already have some airtime with them.

[IsLand_BoY]

Camera settings -- I left it on the default auto everything, turned out pretty nice, no?

Zedge.net -- says "insufficient memory for this operation" -- not a big deal IMO because it has a microSD slot so you can load as much as you want onto the phone without wasting units to download it online.

I'm still really liking the phone. I only do the minimum $20 every 90 days but the minutes sure pile up, and with TMFL I'm going to have even more minutes!

[cellphonefreak]

Camera settings -- I left it on the default auto everything, turned out pretty nice, no?

Zedge.net -- says "insufficient memory for this operation" -- not a big deal IMO because it has a microSD slot so you can load as much as you want onto the phone without wasting units to download it online.

I'm still really liking the phone. I only do the minimum $20 every 90 days but the minutes sure pile up, and with TMFL I'm going to have even more minutes!

How do you put wallpaper in just using the sd card? I am tech challenged. LOL.

[IsLand_BoY]

How do you put wallpaper in just using the sd card? I am tech challenged. LOL.

Ha ha no worries! Does your computer have an SD card reader built-in? My computers do, and generally when you buy a microSD card it will come with a full sized SD card adapter that you can use in the SD card readers. What I did was install a microSD card in the phone, format it (this will create folders on the card for your images and ringtones), then put it back in the computer and put my stuff in the appropriate folders.

If you don't have an SD card reader, you should be able to just put the microSD card in the phone and hook it up via a microUSB cable and treat it as a mass storage device (like a thumb drive) and just drag and drop your files.

[Hooterville]

Can you purchase this at any retail stores yet?

[cellphonefreak]

Can you purchase this at any retail stores yet?

I have not seen them anywhere yet. There is no rhyme or reason about it. Mine is coming wed. I'm excited. This is way prettier than the VM version.