Samsung Craft Pro Reviews

After testing the Craft extensively, I believe it could easily vie for the top spot in the messaging phone market. One thing to keep in mind though is to not have your expectations set too high. It may be a 4G phone and have WIFI and all of these great features, but it's still a messaging phone. Web browsing won't be amazing, there may be a bit of a lag when using it, and the overall performance will not in any way compare to that of a smartphone. If you have reasonable expectations, the Samsung Craft will make you very happy. It is currently available only in MetroPCS' two 4G markets, Las Vegas, Nevada and Dallas, Texas. The normal retail price is $349. I strongly recommend checking it out if you're in one of MetroPCS' 4G markets and a current MetroPCS customer.

The Samsung Craft is a phone for a museum. It should be displayed on a shelf with a placard that reads “First LTE Handset” and a sign that warns visitors not to touch. Besides its briefly unique status, there is little else to recommend this phone. The features that should best take advantage of the new, supposedly faster network technology completely fall flat. The multimedia features aren’t worth a second look, and the Web browser would be more appropriate on a 1x phone like the Samsung Caliber, not an advanced phone like this one.

With arms wide open and readily awaiting an embrace, we welcome the next generation of data connectivity for mobile with the onset of LTE. Sure it's only available in one market for right now, but it does signal the next era of mobile connectivity – and the Samsung Craft is here to give us a tasting. Accepting it solely as a messaging device, its $299.99 price is surely its biggest sore spot – even though it's branded as the first LTE enabled handset. In fact, its web browsing performance over Wi-Fi is still nothing worth bragging about, but its hefty price does exhibit some rich hardware under the hood to match it. However, there are a host of other alternatives out there that are more than ideal for messaging individuals. Additionally, there are smartphones out there that easily triumph over the Craft in a variety of key areas.

The Samsung Craft is one of MetroPCS' most advanced feature phones, and its 4G capabilities are an added draw for those in the carrier's LTE markets.

Right now, on MetroPCS, the Samsung Craft is the best media phone, the best camera phone, and best Web phone, but I'd recommend holding out for an upcoming LTE smartphone if you can. Your patience will be rewarded with a better Web browser and thousands of apps. If you can't wait and really just want to call and text, the $299 Samsung Craft is overkill. Get an LG Imprint ($49, 3.5 stars) for texting, or a BlackBerry Curve 8530 ($229, 4 stars) if you want e-mail, music and some Web browsing.