Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport Review

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Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Sprint. I received a sample device to facilitate this review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport does just about everything a phone could be expected to these days. Let’s get a few things out of the way. This is a big phone. 5.1-inch screen big, just check out the picture below with my iPhone sitting on top of it. It is water-resistant to 3 meters for 30 minutes as well as drop and vibration proof. The screen is full 1080p of high-resolution goodness. Oh yeah, it’s made from Gorilla Glass 3. In short, this is a beast of a phone that can take anything you will likely throw at it. All powered by the Sprint 4G Spark Network.

The fact that it is shock and waterproof can save you money on a case while rocking the super bright colors it comes in. Our test model was a fire engine red. Blue and silver are available as well. To ensure full water resistance there is a flap that covers the charging port and the battery cover includes a rubber gasket. When you pull the charger plug out or power up the phone you are greeted by animations that remind you to check the battery cover seal along with the charger port cover.

Samsung has developed a strong brand around Galaxy smartphones and this model shows the software refinement and evolution that keeps people coming back for more. All that and more is thrown into this Sport model. And it’s the more that we will talk about.

Sprint has combined the ruggedness of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport with a suite of apps designed for the active-minded. There is a branded set of apps sponsored by Under Armour that help you focus on achieving your health goals through nutrition and fitness. Its all neatly tied together with Spotify music tracks designed for the gym rat or running man/woman. Along with a host of apps like Map My Fitness and workout logs you can venture out with this smartphone while keeping track of it all. One caveat: I am into tech and switch phones more often than most and even I was overwhelmed by all the applications on this phone. Each requires some type of login credentials and many are linked to each other. So plan on spending at least a few hours getting this set up to your liking and take precautions around security and sharing of personal data. Who really knows where your daily running and eating log will end up.

As your everyday phone, this thing just plain rocks. We threw everything we could think of at the system and it never stumbled. From the most intense games in the Google Play Store to watching HD movies from Hulu, we put the S5 Sport through its paces. The 5.1 screen is simply gorgeous for viewing movies (well as good as you can expect on a phone at least) and playing games of any type. Audio on the phone is only adequate and no match for the display quality. Most folks will game or watch the video with headphones so it’s far from a deal-breaker.

Mundane tasks like email, texting, and Facebooking/Tweeting just happen. And again with that awesome display to make it easy on even my getting older eyes.

Battery life in the Sprint 4G Spark Network with a mix of music, videos and web browsing was typically an all-day affair. Only when we pushed the video streaming did we burn through battery too quickly.

The S5 Sport comes with a 16-megapixel main camera that takes very good pictures for a phone and will easily become your main shooter. Camera start-up time is nearly instant and the autofocus mode will cover nearly any situation. Samsung, like many manufacturers, adds all manner of camera modes to allow for endless tinkering and might just lead you to become a photog.

Every manner of connectivity is included: Bluetooth, NFC for Google Wallet, GPS, WiFi in every flavor, mobile hotspot, HDMI out and FM radio with headphones plugged in.

The Sprint 4G Spark Network powered Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is a big phone with big features to take you from the office to the gym and beyond without worrying about what your life will throw at it.

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