I had used up my Nokia 3230 * to an extent beyond recognition in past 5 years. Although it was completely functional it got choked after receiving missed calls or rejecting the calls. I decided it was time to buy a new phone. I began with my research on mobile phones by browsing through the features and reading reviews on the INTERNET. Having read a lot about a lot of phones I felt a bit confused but in the end I drew a conclusion that the phone that I wanted to buy then, should have Wi-Fi & 3G both. However, the phone models of various brands which I studied had either Wi-Fi or 3G; not both. I liked a few features from one phone and a few from the others. I didn’t come across a single phone which simply had all the good features(Wi-Fi, 3G, FM Radio, Music Player, Camera, Bluetooth, etc) and also, would fit within my budget.
You must have noticed this with many of the Nokia phones, if they have included all the required features in a particular model, then the price of that model would be way beyond a common man’s reach. Or, if it’s a budget phone, then the phone model would definitely be missing few of the good features.
I decided to wait and search more. One fine day I came across a web banner while surfing. It displayed a very cool looking phone which was a side-slider with QWERTY keypad and a very cool looking design. I clicked the banner and reached the Samsung B5310 Corby PRO website. At the first look itself, I really loved the phone. I began to read the specifications as I knew what I wanted in a phone and wanted to be sure that my new phone had all the good features.
Here are the features of Samsung B5310 Corby Pro in short:
General: 2G Network - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900; 3G Network - HSDPA 900 / 2100
Form factor: Touchscreen Full QWERTY side-slider
Dimensions: 105 x 56.8 x 15.7 mm, weight 135 grams
Display: 2.8" 16M color TFT resistive touchscreen, 240 x 320 pixels
User interface: Samsung TouchWiz with Comic UI
Memory: 100MB storage, microSD card slot(up to 16GB); 2 GB card bundled with the phone.
Camera: 3.15-megapixels fixed-focus camera, video recording
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS
Misc: Fashion Jackets(changeable battery covers), DivX video player, 3.5mm audio output jack, FM Radio with RDS
Battery: 960 mAh Li-Ion battery
Looking at all the above mentioned features, I was so happy that I found the phone I really wanted. But, then came the real constraint to be considered. PRICE FACTOR! I thought, this phone would definitely be highly priced like some of those smart phones. To my surprise, the price was even lesser than Rs 15k. After a few enquiries at a few mobile phone shops, I figured out that the phone was available at 13.9k and even lesser with some of the dealers. Finally, I got it for 11.8k at Planet M in Vashi, Center One in Navi Mumbai. They had some scratch-card discount offer under which I got a 2% discount; 1 year warranty and 1 year free Insurance.
This was a great deal I think. Let us run through some of the features of this phone -
QWERTY Keypad: I had never used a QWERTY keypad oh phones and hence, I took time to get used to it. The key pad looks really cool and the keys are big enough and should be easy to use even for the people with hands larger than the average size. Typing messages is just so easy with the Samsung Corby Pro. It’s not a smart phones but it is definitely the best when it comes to the young professionals who need to text a lot on a daily basis but do not require a smart phone.
3.15 MP Camera:The camera, I feel could have been a little better considering it’s a 3.2 MP camera. Lack of flash, doesn’t allow you to use the camera in low lights. You also need to ensure that the hands remain absolutely steady when taking a snap as the photos appear blurred if clicked with shaky hands. But, with features like Single Shot Mode, Smile Shot Mode, Continuous Shots and Panorama, the camera looks quite handy. It also has a limited exposure control. Scene modes allow you the options like Portrait, Landscape, Night Photo, Sports, and Sunset and Text. So, quite a lot of features for the camera! You can also record videos with resolution 320 X 240. Even the video recording as White balance & exposure control with sepia, negative, black & white effects.
Media Player: The music player I’d say has an interface which is as good as an iPod touch. The music library will show you options like Now playing, All tracks, Playlists, Albums, Artists, Genres, Most played, Recently played and Podcasts. It’s absolutely amazing, the way you can manage your music. Would have loved to have a equalizer to customize the sound settings. However, there are preset sound effects of large variety to select from.
Compatible Formats: DivX/MP3/AAC/WMA player
FM Radio: You can even stay entertained when you’re traveling by listening to the FM radio. Samsung Corby Pro has one of the best FM radios I have ever seen in a mobile phone. The reception is very good. There is a self tuning feature which automatically scans for FM stations and save them in the list. You can also do a manual tuning using the touch interface.
The best part of the phone was the widget management with drag and drop functionality. Some of the other features are applications like Facebook, My Space, Twitter, Google Search, Calender, Communities, Instant messenger, Image Editor, Voice Recorder, Memo, Task Manager, Calculator, Convertor, World clock, Timer, Alarm, Stopwatch etc. I would say it’s bundled with everything that you need in a phone.
As far as the Drawbacks are concerned. I only didn’t like the design for the protective leather cover they have bundled with the phone. Touch screen phones aren’t supposed to be kept completely hidden forever.
So, thats it about the Samsung B5310 Corby Pro from my side. I could easily ignore the few drawbacks because of all the good features bundled in this phone. Above all I got 3G and Wi-Fi both in a single phone, which was the first criteria that needed to be fulfilled. Next is what? Next on, I’m switching brands. Samsung has become my favorite.