Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Review: Blazing Fast

Build & Design

Given its name, you would expect that the Galaxy S Blaze 4G is a rewarmed version of the two-year-old Galaxy S in a new package. Well, not exactly. While it has undeniable similarities, it's clear that the Blaze has been through quite a retrofit, delivering a much more modern experience.

The first impression you get from holding the Blaze is that it's remarkably light, even for a keyboard-less device. There's several reasons for that, including the screen (which we'll talk about in a minute) and the relative simplicity of the design.

This smartphone's design is very minimalist: no clutter, no extra parts, it's pretty much just literally the screen and the battery. Nicely enough, the microSD card is accessible from a side door without removing the main battery cover.

The Blaze probably isn't the most bulletproof device in existence, given how light it is, but there's nothing really to complain about with the build quality. It's simple, it's solid, and northing's going to pop off or go bad too quickly. It's simplicity in action.

Screen

Part of the reason for the Blaze's lightness is its Super AMOLED screen. Displays of this type use a single layer of glowing elements to form the picture, instead of regular LCDs which have one layer to create a picture and another to light it up. This makes Super AMOLED thinner and lighter than other screens, as well as providing better contrast, with black actually appearing as black rather than dark grey. The Blaze uses the same basic Super AMOLED screen seen in a lot of Samsung's older or mid-range models, not as clear and vivid as the ones in the Galaxy S II and Samsung Infuse, but still nice. Even contrasted against your average, more modern LCD, it's going to hold up very well.