My loss of my previous dual sim mobile in an APSRTC in Hyderabad recently compelled me to look out for another mobile according to my need. The features I was looking out for were dual sim, clear display, good audio clarity in calls and music and basic internet accessibility in an affordable price range of below Rs 5k. After reviewing different options I zeroed in on Samsung Metro C-3322 model which is a new launch. I paid Rs 3900/- and another Rs 100 for a data cable seperately and Rs 600 for an 8gb micro SD card.
After two weeks of usage the below are my points of observation:
The phone has a slim and sleek design with a steel front finish and a black matty plastic rear panel.
The display of the phone is Chrystal clear with a 2.2 inch TFT display.
3.The keys of the phone are ultra soft in touch which gives a feel of class.
The 2 MP camera is pretty decent and clarity is good without any dots or haze in the snaps.
The call clarity of the phone is very good.
The dual sim feature of the phone works well. There is a side key option for switching between sims and you can choose different colour themes to identify which sim you are actively using at a given point of time.
The battery of the phone is of 1000 mah capacity and lasts for about 3-4 days depending upon usage.
The highlight of the phone which bowled me over was the quality of audio in the Music Player. The sound is excellent with the technical definition of "integrated 3D surround with DRM" as described by the company. It is just amazing.
The music player of the phone is real class. It reads the memory card music files automatically, segregates in library, artists, albums, genres etc. It has graphic equalizers classified into Normal, auto, pop, rock, jazz, dance, classic, live, wide, concert hall, music clarity, bass enhancement and externalization. The graphics are effects are distinctive in each selection. You can create your own playlists too. I created my own playlists of English Classic, Hindi, Devotional, Ghazals, Instrumental etc.The audio in headphones is to be heard to be believed. It is just amazing. The audio in the external speaker is also crisp and clear and fairly loud.
The phone has built in memory of 46 MB and expandable upto 16 GB. I bought a micro SD card of 8 GB. The phone gives you option to choose default memory for messages, internet, photos etc. I have chosen default for everything as my card obviously.
The phone gives you option of locking the phone by passwords at different levels like when you switch it on, you can also lock your contacts and message folders for privacy.
11.The phone has a back up manager to create back up for contacts, photos, messages from phone to micro SD card and vice versa. I could copy all the details of contacts from my back up in a micro SD directly into the phone at a go.
I could connect to internet in the phone but I have not tried the options of using different social networking options in the phone as of now and will keep posting of my experiences along the way.
For its price I am of the opinion that it is a real value product. It has looks, class, decent camera, dual sim and a an excellent audio quality both in calls and music.
If a person is looking for a dual sim mobile without qwerty and touch and a good music player, decent camera and has a budget of 4 to 5k I would unhesitatingly recommend this phone.
Update 31st of Aug 2011: There are some things I missed out in the above review, thought it would be useful to add. This phone has a 3.5 mm audio connector which enables you to use any other headphones in the market. The SAR levels of the phone is 0.91 w/kg which is much below many of the nokia phones too. The SAR levels indicate the Specific Absorption rate of the radiation levels by the body. The max SAR levels as per Euro Guidelines is a max of 2.00 w/kg. Samsung and nokia declare the SAR levels in their models in the user manuals of the phones. The lower the SAR level the safer it is for one’s health.
One minus point I noticed while using this phone is that when I using the 8 GB card and selecting the options of Artists, albums or genres in the music player the phone is getting very slow although all options are functioning normally. I never experienced any problem of auto swtiching off.
The Camera quality of the phone is pretty good with a lot of edit options to add frames, crop images etc.
I am able to access internet, email and Social Net working sites without any difficulty. The bluetooth is very fast. Other options include FM, direct links to twitter, FB, twitter, IM, instant messenger links etc.
This phone sure gives you every worth of the rupee you spent on it.