VALUE FOR MONEY....conditions apply. Review on Samsung SGH C100

SAMSUNG SGH C100 MOBILE PHONE

I was looking for a mobile phone with a budget of 6000 Rs a few months back and ended up buying Samsung SGH C 100 as this was the only color mobile available within this miniscule budget in july / august 2004. I have used it for a little over three months till date.

Looks :

Very slim and sleekmobile phone that has one of the best looks I have seen. It comes with a small strap that is very handy.

Size and Weight :

The phone is 111 mm x 45 mm, making it slightly lengthier than Nokia 8250

Weighing only 76 gramswith standard battery, it is like a feather to handle and fits neatly into shirt or trouser pocket

Positive aspects :

• The first major factor is the price. At less than 6000 Rs, this is a value for money option.

  
  




• This was the only phone I could find less than 6K Rs with Dual Band, WAP, GPRS and 65000 UFB (Ultra Fine and Bright) LCD color display options.

  
  

These options + the price make this an irresistible combination.

• A large memory of 500 phonebook entries and 50 SMSes, which is a good deal.

  
  




• Four assignable short cut keys, which can be used to suit your need.

  
  




• Good collection of wallpapers with graphics options and calendar / time options are available.

  
  




• Nice to hear Polyphonic (40) ring tones with possibility of downloading further from the web

  
  




• Sub menus providing info are available (eg. When the cursor is on ring tone, a message is displayed with current ring tone instead of entering into Ring tones and finding out)

  
  




• One touch Silentmode feature

  
  




• Many game options are available with possibility to download further from the web.

  
  




• Organizer with recurring alarm and one time alarm feature

  
  

Negative aspects

• Battery life is terrible. For my personal usage, one charge was lasting 24 hours only. I then changed settings so as to avoid backlight, background after a minute, signal light… and still could not get to 2 full days of usage. (compare it to the 3 days I was getting with my Sony T200 when new). This is a major disappointment.

Mainly driven by this reason, has to pass on this phone to my wife whose usage is not as frequent as mine.

• The phone book cannotbe reached with a one touch feature. It is a two step process, which is not a good idea. (Tried to have phone book as a short cut key without success)

  
  




• My old phone (Sony Ericsson T200) used to display the name of the place that you are currently in (if you are in Worli range in Mumbai, the phone used to say WORLI). I have not been able to setup the C100 to do this. It just displays AIRTEL

  
  




• T9 text editor needs you to get trained to suit it. It also does not let you add words to the dictionary making this feature not so user friendly.

  
  




• Finding a way to store incoming calls in the phonebook was really difficult for me.

  
  




• It also comes with an Infra Red port which helps you to connect with computers, but I have not been able to use this feature.

  
  




• MMS is not possible

  
  




• Everytime you press the Silent on or off function key, it takes a few seconds to activate / deactivate.

  
  

Conclusion :

My experience with this phone has been one of mixed feelings.

At the same time I cannot say it is a bad choice.

It does have few negative aspects (like the battery) but is a Real Value for Money option especially considering the options you get for the price you pay.

Please share your thoughts.