Tracfone Samsung S150g
The Samsung S150g is a basic Tracfone with a web
browser and speech recognition facilities. It is also a 3G phone and can send
and receive picture messages as well as text messages. So what’s the big deal.
While nothing earth-shattering, this does mean that there were no
purely talk and text phone offered under this plan until the introduction of a basic Huawei H110C.
Other changes include a bigger and nicer screen, and a slightly funky keyboard. First let’s start with the web browser.
Web Browser
The same web browser you found on other Tracfone handsets is now available on the S150g as well. This means that the home page has a list of links to their ringtone and graphics download pages followed by a link to Facebook, news, sports, weather and email.
As this is a 3G phone, how much airtime you use depends on how much data is required to download a particular web page.
Larger Sharper Screen
The screen is also improved from the S125g, being larger and sharper. This allows for a slightly more colorful and detailed set of menu icons.
Games and Apps
Because the phone now has web access, you can download additional games and java apps. Not too many though, because storage is still limited, and there’s no slot for a memory card. Two demo games are included with the phone: UNO and Platinum Solitaire. The demo version of solitaire even imposes a two minute time limit! You have to pay if you want the full versions. Aargh!
Ringtones & Graphics
The Samsung S150g comes with 15 mp3 ringtones and 7 Wallpaper graphics. You have the option to buy additional ones from Tracfone for the cost of a few airtime minutes.
Speech Recognition
You can train the voice recognition to Call, Send a Message, Look up a Name, Go to an App or Check an item. Once you train it, it should work pretty well.
When voice recognition first came out, I did see a few people use it , but I haven’t lately. The main issue is that if there’s anyone around, they’ll know what you’re doing on your phone so you lose that privacy. Of course, it’s great if you want to have some fun with stuff like: “Call Superman” – if you’ve assigned a contact number with that name.
What's Missing
No camera. No Bluetooth. No slot for memory card.
Get One?
The Tracfone Samsung S150g is still a basic phone but one that has a web browser and
downloadable ringtones and graphics. If that’s what you need, this is a nice
little package. It's available at stores like Walmart (where I picked up mine) and Kmart.
Update June 2013
Still available for $9.99 directly from Tracfone. You'll need to get at least one other item to qualify for free shipping.