Mar 27, 2011 07:53 PM
2400 Views
(Updated Mar 27, 2011 08:07 PM)
I happen to own the Samsung GT-b5310 popularly known as the "Corby Pro" and have been using it for about six months now.
Main Pros :
- Connectivity is great :
a. Effortless Email setup and downloads at user choosable intervals.
b. Wifi to router connected by simply entering "Key".
c. 3G started without me knowing about it.
d.Telephony is as you can expect.
- User Interface :
a. Touchscreen is smooth with kinetic rolling et all.
b. Keyboard is comfortable for text entry. You can type at fairly fast speeds.
c. Menu and Files storage etc. are well organised and simple.
d. Things like etiquette pause for silencing ringer by turning the phone. Smart Unlock feature allowing alphabets to be assigned to applications so they can be opened directly from lock screen.
- Lots of Java Applications :
a. Good preloaded Java applications for Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc.
b. Most downloaded .jar files work ( from Getjar.com)
c. Addl. browsers such as Opera mini5.0, Bolt etc. work Fine.
- Fairly ok browser with flash so you can see You Tube movies etc. "smoothly".
5.Fairly good Camera performance. The colour and sharpness is good provided the light is adequate and your hand is steady. Photos during daytime in outdoor are fairly good. Don't expect to satisfy your ace photography hobby persuits, but will be handy for that quick photo with pals.
- Fairly accurate GPS. I got the GPS location swiftly on goolgle Maps. Tried this in Mumbai only, but it did impress me and my pals.
But but & but there are those unforgivable "Cons"
- Lousy PC Suite. The PC Suite "KIES" is a smart looking good for nothing piece of software which comes nowhere close to NOKIA's or LG's PC Suite.
The "KIES" connects with the phone ONLY via the USB for which you have to select the "KIES" setting on the phone. The only two other selections on the phone for PC connectivity are Mass Storage and Multimedia. This means that you cannot use the phone modem for connecting to internet on GPRS or 3G from Windows. You have to use the terrible KIES teethering which works on the GPRS at its whims and fancy.
The "KIES" doesnot connect via bluetooth.
The Mass Storage connectivity is satisfactory.
But perhaps the most used feature of any PC Suite is the SMS module which is horribly implemented in KIES as tough it was made for the stone age user. All you can do is to store the Phone SMS on you PC. But once stored on the PC you cannot send it back to the handset. Nor can you delete SMS on the phone from the PC. Therefore if you have say, 700 SMS on the phone of which you want to select and keep 250, then you have a task to last a lifetime. Neither is there any way to copy an SMS joke from internet to your phone for sending it, Samsung expects you to type it.
Ditto for Notes, emails etc. there is a zero text editor. No cut paste, no copy paste no, no, no all you have to do is type, type, type. It appears Samsung wants to deliberately prevent CORBY USERS from getting a comfortable SMS interface. Its really frustrating.
The "KIES" it appears to me has only been provided by Samsung so that it can peddle it's java softwares at it's site Samsung Apps where they insist you download apps thru latest KIES (the latest version KIES-2 is worse than KIES-1 and they have altogether dropped SMS/EMAIL module).
From you phone over the GPRS while taking moral hi- ground of offering "free" apps they (Operator) charge Rs.50/- for download.(Ha Ha)
Handset speaker is soso.
Recently I have observed that the phone when not used a a longish period suddenly looses signal and you have to switch between offline (flight mode) and normal to regain signal. I am investigating whether this is due to operator or the handset.
Battery performance is soso in 2G and poor in 3G.
Conclusion :
I bought this phone for about 10K and expected it to be lot smarter than it is. For that price you get better phones. Therefore I will not recomend this phone Now. There are no upgrades available.
