May 31, 2009 06:13 PM
51943 Views
(Updated May 31, 2009 06:28 PM)
What surprised me initially was that the price of the touch mobile Samsung S5233 was well below the other rivals in the market. However a demo at a mobile store proved helpful in making the final purchase. As far as features go, there is not much difference between the 5233 and its rivals. Following are my comments.
Looks: The sleek, neat, black and steel body lends it a classy look. The touch screen display is 3 inches wide with 3 small buttons at the bottom. Some buttons are located on the side for easy access.
*Features:
3inch Touch screen:** The screen is large and displays crisp, bright images. Though a stylus is provided, the interface responds well to touch.
Widgets: A couple of widgets are present on the main screen conveniently hidden in a slidable panel. Some widgets like Google maps & Youtube require an active GPRS connection. Additional widgets are downloadable over WAP.
Customizable 3 screen wallpaper: The main screen has 3 different wallpapers which can be changed by a flick of a finger. Each screen can hold separate widgets that can be dragged from the widget panel.
3.2 MP camera: The camera here is worth a mention. It is more a mini digital camera with features like smile recognition, panorama shot, white balance control and so on. The colors are natural and the images are crisp. An additional video camera is present, but the results are not dramatic.
GPRS HTML Browser: A standard browser is present for browsing the web. Since the model is a new entrant GPRS settings will take a wait!
8GB Memory slot: The mobile comes with a 8 GB memory slot for all the media files. The phone can also be set to act as a memory storage device.(an 8 GB pendrive?)
Bluetooth: It comes with Bluetooth for transferring files as well as for bluetooth headsets and printers.
MP3 Player: An mp3 player is present which is useful for sorting a large collection of music files. However the player has just a few built-in equalizer settings.(No custom equalizer) The headset is good and provides clear sound.
Accelerometer sensor: Viewing images and videos is a delight on the large 3 inch screen. The images and video can be seen in the portrait or landscape mode by just tilting the phone! The slideshow mode is excellent, making use of the entire screen.
Qwerty virtual keyboard: Tilt the phone to landscape mode when messaging and you get a virtual qwerty keyboard for typing in your text! No repeated keystrokes needed.
Photo contacts: The photo contacts section allows you to dial numbers by touching a photo of a contact from a series.
FM Radio: A stereo FM radio with auto tuning is present.
Sound & Reception: The sound quality and reception is good. External speakers are not very loud though they produce good sound.
Ease of use: Very user friendly and intuitive. The menu is large enough for touch screen operation and the letters are clear. The multi color icons look a bit unaesthetic though.
Battery: Another strong point of the phone, the battery lasts for two full days with heavy usage.
Value for Money: For the features available in high end touch phones, the mobile is definitely a bargain.
To sum up I would say this is an excellent entry level touch phone from Samsung. Loads of features - at a reasonable price.
