Samsung Replenish

“The Samsung Replenish, Sprint's first eco-friendly Android cell phone, is a relatively rare beast: a BlackBerry-like, slab-style Android phone with a physical keyboard. The world needs more of those, and the Replenish's green cred helps add to its attraction. But it's too sluggish, with short battery life and an awful low-res screen, and we just can't recommend it to anyone for those reasons.”

“A device like the Replenish is a decent choice for first-time smartphone buyers because of the low cost and waived monthly data premium, though it's not something you'll want to switch to if you're already packing an Android phone. It performs admirably for normal tasks, but has a difficult time holding up to more rigorous use, we also cannot excuse the cheap display and flimsy chassis. As much as we love the concept of recyclable handsets, we're anxiously awaiting the day that the term eco-friendly doesn't have to mean low-end. The Replenish is a swift move forward for phones in this category and indicates a heavier interest in green smartphones, although this genre still has a long way to go before it can be considered the standard. This device is a good baby step toward that goal, however, so we should expect to see more of them around the corner, with the bar raised higher for each new generation. Can we eventually see recyclable devices at the same caliber as a Droid Charge or Galaxy S II? Maybe. Ultimately, we like the direction environmentally friendly phones are taking -- but we're much more interested in the destination.”

“Samsung has done a nice job of creating an eco-phone that balances cost and convenience. The Replenish took surprisingly clear and sharp photos for a 2-megapixel camera, and most other features behaved as expected. Although the built-in QWERTY keyboard could feel cramped for larger fingers, we were still able to type efficiently. The lack of effective Flash support in the browser was our biggest disappointment on a smartphone that otherwise lives up to modest expectations. While we did have some complaints about call quality in our area, we were always able to communicate with family and friends without major problems, during both quiet indoor and noisy outdoor calls. The true test of an eco-phone is if we'd recommend it to folks who don't place a premium on using recycled materials. For just $50 after a rebate, the Replenish is a good value for those who are as concerned about their wallets as they are about Mother Earth, if not more so.”

“Of all things, calling quality with the handset rises above almost everything else since voices are seemingly natural in tone and clear – with no evidence of any distortion whatsoever. Additionally, the earpiece outputs enough powerful tones to make even the softest of voices sound more than audible. Switching to the speakerphone though, we’re not too thrilled with the muffled sounding voices emitted by it – albeit, it’s still powerful enough in tone to make out words.Always getting a solid connection to the network in high coverage areas in the greater Philadelphia region, we didn’t experience any major fluctuations in signal strength. At the same time, it didn’t drop any phone calls as well during our testing.”