Month: January 2015

What makes the Samsung Corby Speed an attractive mobile phone is the fact that it was their first handset that contained a CDMA connection. Whenever you go look for a new mobile phone, most users want to see what kind of unique features that new device has. With the Corby Speed, the fact that it is able to broadcast live television is a tremendous advantage. Although the delay in the signal may be up to 2 minutes in length, there are numerous channels that come preloaded so that the right programs can be accessed.

Overall, most users are going to find that the Corby Speed helps to keep them connected and keep them entertained. Here are some of the additional features to consider when looking at how useful this Samsung mobile device happens to be.

What Is the Speed and Connectivity for the Corby Speed?

The name says it all for this Samsung mobile phone. With a download rate of 2.4 Mbps quoted on the spec sheets, the data flow through this phone is more than decent, especially considering its cost and size. Downloading speeds are of course dependent on the local network connection, so those in network areas that are unreliable aren’t going to be able to really see what this mobile phone can do.

Users will also have access to all of the modern connectivity features that is demanded of a phone. USB connections, Bluetooth, GPRS, and Edge are all available. The Samsung Corby Speed is also HSPA enabled for even greater convenience.

How About the Visual Aesthetics of the Phone?

The Corby Speed looks like a modern smartphone. It’s the curved corners that people have come to expect from a Samsung phone and the LCD touchscreen itself is 2.8 inches in size. The touchscreen is a TFT LCD capacitive screen that supports a QVGA resolution and 262k colors. For an entry-level price, the pictures are reasonably sharp and satisfying when you see them in the palm of your hand.

You can touch disconnect calls from the screen if you want or use physical keys to do so as well. The center navigation key allows for menu shortcuts and go back commands. It’s lightweight, very sleek, stylish, and the touch sensitivity is adequate. The looks of the phone match the value of the functionality quite nicely.

The one awkward part of the design with this phone is the placement of the physical buttons for accepting or rejecting phones. If you hold the Corby Speed up to your ear in order to speak with someone, it is very easy to accidentally disconnect the call because of the button placement right near the bottom of the design. This also makes it very easy to unintentionally dial numbers if you’ve stuck the phone in a pocket.

Are There Multimedia Functions on the Corby Speed?

This Samsung phone comes with a basic 2 MP camera. The overall image quality is fair for a camera of this quality, but it isn’t going to cause someone to look at your image and think a professional photographer took it. In perfect lighting with still objects, it will capture a decent image. In all other conditions, you might as well not even bother.

The audio on the Corby Speed is better than average. It has the standard FM radio on it and it also allows users to be able to record songs, which is a nice feature. It isn’t really a surround sound experience that the phone’s speakers provide, but overall the quality is fair enough. There isn’t a 3.5mm jack on the phone, however, so you’ll have to listen to music directly over the loudspeaker.

There are also 30 widgets that come with the Corby Speed out of the box. This lets you stay connected to local news and your social networks pretty easily. There are also 3 different back covers that come with this Samsung phone so that it can be personalized as the user sees fit. The ergonomics are pretty comfortable. The marketing descriptions call this phone “sensuous” and “pop-style,” which may be reaching just a bit.

How Much Life Does the Corby Speed Have?

If you plan on using any multimedia features with this Samsung phone, then you’re going to need to plan on charging it on a regular basis. This is especially true if you plan on using the live TV functions that the phone has. Most users will find about 5 hours of talk time on a single charge can happen, but the battery only survives about 2.5 hours of strong multimedia use, even though it is a 960 mAh lithium-ion unit.

The internal memory of the Corby Speed is also a little lacking. There is virtually no internal memory with the phone [just 80 MB total], but a 2 GB mSD card does get shipped with new phones upon purchase. It has the ability to recognize up to 8 GB of expandable memory. The only trouble is that users are then stuck with a 2 GB and an 8 GB card that they may end up swapping in and out based on their unique needs for the phone.

What’s the Verdict on the Samsung Corby Speed?

The #1 reason to get this phone is to watch live television over your data network. If you can get over the time lag on the phone, then you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite stations wherever you happen to be. Some markets have access to over 70 stations, so there is plenty of variety that can be found with this particular phone.

Outside of the live TV, the Corby Speed is essentially another basic entry-level smartphone from Samsung. The navigation through the menu screens is nice, the touchscreen is responsive, and the sound quality is above average. There is an alarm clock, calculator, and stopwatch included with the basic apps as well. For those who want a smartphone that can meet most basic needs, the Samsung Corby Speed gets the job done pretty effectively.

If being social is something that is important to you and your mobile device needs to be able to keep up with you, then you’re going to enjoy what the Samsung Corby is going to be able to provide. Built for the person who has a certain savvy in technology, this mobile phone is a fresh take on the feature phone experience. It’s an entry-level phone, but it still has a wide range of features that will make it extremely relevant to a certain niche of users.

If you want a touchscreen phone that will suit your connectivity needs and still be soothing on your budget, then this Samsung Corby review is for you. It may just be the perfect phone to meet your needs right now. Here are some specific points to consider with this phone.

9 Specific Points of Consideration For the Samsung Corby

1. It has bold colors that lend to a distinctive style.
The Samsung Corby is about as fresh as a manufacturer can make a cell phone. With colors that are in bold pinks, yellows, and oranges, the back covers are interchangeable so that you can wear your phone like you wear your mood. Three of these “Fashion Jackets” come out-of-the-box with the phone, so you won’t have to spend anything extra to show off your personal style.

2. There is complete social integration.
The Samsung Corby offers users complete integration of Twitter and Facebook into the phone. Photo and video sharing widgets are also included and users can directly upload videos to YouTube if they want. Flickr and Picasa are included with the dozens of widgets, as is Photobucket. This allows users to be able to update their statuses whenever they wish, receive updates from friends that you specify, and notifications pop-up on the phone thanks to a great feature included.

3. The touchscreen is impressive for an entry-level phone.
The Samsung Corby features a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen that is remarkably responsive. All users need to do is tap in their texts on the touchscreen keyboard and then send everything for an update with just a tap on the update command. Because of the size of the touchscreen, however, those with larger fingers may find that getting the right buttons for T9 texting to register isn’t always an easy task to complete. The QVGA resolution of the screen and the TouchWiz operating system, overlaid with the Cartoon user interface, make up for some of the issues that some users may find.

4. It only connects to Edge/2G networks.
The Samsung Corby does not offer the capability of connecting to a 3G network. Because of this, data movement on this phone when browsing can be frustratingly slow at times. The overall call quality is pretty good, though at times some conversations can sound like the other person is speaking through a cardboard tube. If you need to access information from Google or other search engines, the data for this phone won’t make that experience very pleasing. Status updates or checking social networks, however, is a pretty decent experience.

5. There isn’t any screen rotation.
This is where nimble-fingered users are going to enjoy using the phone and those with larger digits might want to look elsewhere. There isn’t an accelerometer equipped with the Corby, so users can’t flip the screen to a horizontal perspective to change the size of the texting keys. This means that a finger can easily press one of 5 different buttons on the touchscreen if a user isn’t careful. There are slide phone variations of the Corby for those that prefer a full qwerty keyboard, but those have different model numbers.

6. There is a 2 MP camera that has been equipped with the phone.
Although a 2 MP camera is on the low end of the spectrum for phones today, there are many entry level phones that don’t even have a camera, so the Corby has a leg up on the competition there. The camera isn’t the easiest to use since there isn’t any autofocusing or an LED flash that helps to support better overall images.

7. There is limited onboard storage with the Samsung Corby.
Out-of-the-box, the Corby only comes with 50 MB of internal storage. It does have a mSD card slot available that will give users the ability to expand the phones storage to 8 GB. Most users will find that a lot of the extra memory isn’t really that necessary considering the limited functions of the phone. There are Java-enabled games that can be downloaded and played, while photo and video files that are saved locally can be directly uploaded to a social network. Most users will find that a 4 GB mSD card should provide more than enough space.

8. It has some limited multimedia options available.
The primary form of multimedia that users of the Corby are going to enjoy is the FM radio that has RDS. There’s also a find music recognition service that will help users be able to find new music that they want to hear in a similar style or program specific favorite radio stations that are broadcast locally. You can record videos at 15 frames per second in QVGA resolution from the camera and then watch them back on the phone or download videos to watch if you prefer. The Corby can also play non-DRM MP3 files

9. Some models have specific business features included with the phone.
If the Samsung Corby you’re thinking about purchasing wasn’t introduced in the South Korean market, then you will have access to a few business features as well. The most important of them is the office document viewer, which will allow you to read professional documents sent to the phone via direct download or text message. The South Korean Corby also has an upgrade visual display at WQVGA, but only plays DRM MP3 files and has a downgraded Bluetooth version.

What Are Some of the Pros and Cons of the Samsung Corby?

There are some important points of consideration with the Samsung Corby, but there are also some advantages and disadvantages that will apply to most users of the phone. Here is a look at some of those pros and cons in greater detail.

The Pros of the Samsung Corby
1. The touchscreen is made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass, so even if you do manage to drop your phone and cause the body of it to break, you won’t wind up breaking the touchscreen on a casual drop. The resolution might only be 240×320, but that was top of the line when this phone was initially introduced.

2. The diagonal contour of the phone gives it a slimmer visual appearance and it allows for a better grasp of the phone when you’re holding it during a conversation.

3. The hardware keys on this phone are nice and easy to use so answering or disconnecting a call is a simple chore. Some users may find it a little easy to accidentally press one of the buttons while on a conversation, but otherwise the button placement is a definite advantage with this phone’s design.

4. The exterior controls on the right-hand side of the phone are placed in a comfortable position, allowing users to control the camera or lock the touchscreen with ease. The buttons are a little close together, so pushing the wrong button can happen at times, but otherwise it’s a solid design component.

The Cons of the Samsung Corby
1. The body of this phone is made from all plastic components. This makes the phone very light, coming in at just 92 and 12mm thick, but it does not have a good level of durability. A simple fumble of the phone onto the ground is enough to get it to break.

2. The entire surface of the phone has a glossy finish, which means that it is extremely susceptible to collecting fingerprints over the course of a day.

3. It is difficult to use this phone in direct sunlight because the images get lost within the rays of the sun. Narrow viewing angles have the largest of disadvantages, but indoors the screen is nice and clear.

4. There’s no ambient light sensor by the earpiece, as other phones today have, so the brightness of the phone is at a static level. Users can adjust the brightness level manually to save on battery life, but who is really going to constantly adjust the brightness of their screen in every situation they might find themselves?

Are You a Fan of TouchWiz?

The Samsung proprietary system, TouchWiz, is not always the best user experience for a modern phone, but the Corby is definitely one of the exceptions to this rule. Because this phone is so colorful and lively, the simple swiping mechanisms that the thumb can do with TouchWiz are perfect for this phone. It really does add another level of ease to the use of this particular phone.

As with other TouchWiz phones, the Corby has been given 3 different home screens that can be used for apps/widgets. A simple horizontal swipe of a finger will allow users to access the icons on one of the other pages. You can tell which page you’re on with the standard dot indicators at the bottom of the screen. Instead of three different wallpapers, the Corby provides a single panoramic image that allows users to fill up the screen with as many widgets that are needed.

Moving the widgets to the home screen is also a simple process. They’re initially placed in a tray that runs along the side of the screen like a sidebar. Users just drag the icon for the widget from the side menu onto the home screen. There is also the option to auto-align the widgets just by shaking the phone for a couple of seconds. To remove a widget from the home screen, the process is simply reversed. The widgets are displayed in a standard row set of 3 across and 4 down.

Multitasking Can Happen With the Samsung Corby

Unlike other entry-level phones on the market today, the Samsung Corby offers multitasking support. This means that any Java application that is running can be minimized to stay active in the background while other widget is brought up to be active. There’s no real way to switch between the different widgets that are active, however, so being able to do it is a bit of a moot point unless you have specific widgets that need to run in the background.

The Smart unlock feature is also a nice component of the Samsung Corby. It used to be called Gesture unlock. By drawing a letter on the touchscreen, a user can immediately unlock their phone and have it perform a function. This might be to open a menu item, start a widget, or even dial a specific number. All 26 letters of the English alphabet have been assigned a Smart unlock command and assignments are based on user preferences.

What’s the Verdict on the Samsung Corby

By looking at the specific features, the advantages, and the disadvantages that come with the Samsung Corby, the inescapable conclusion is that this phone is well worth the small investment that would be made into it. Although there are some areas that could ultimately be improved, there is the realization that having a stronger camera or more advanced features would also raise the price of the phone. It is flashy, stylish, and gives a little more than the basics to users who are looking for the ability to share data, but not necessarily consume great amounts of it.

For those who are used to a modern smartphone, the Samsung Corby comes up a bit short in expectations. There is no denying that. For users who are looking for an entry-level smartphone, however, this model has a number of distinctive advantages that will allow it to satisfy the needs of most users today.

If being social is something that is important to you and your mobile device needs to be able to keep up with you, then you’re going to enjoy what the Samsung Corby is going to be able to provide. Built for the person who has a certain savvy in technology, this mobile phone is a fresh take on the feature phone experience. It’s an entry-level phone, but it still has a wide range of features that will make it extremely relevant to a certain niche of users.

If you want a touchscreen phone that will suit your connectivity needs and still be soothing on your budget, then this Samsung Corby review is for you. It may just be the perfect phone to meet your needs right now. Here are some specific points to consider with this phone.

9 Specific Points of Consideration For the Samsung Corby

1. It has bold colors that lend to a distinctive style. The Samsung Corby is about as fresh as a manufacturer can make a cell phone. With colors that are in bold pinks, yellows, and oranges, the back covers are interchangeable so that you can wear your phone like you wear your mood. Three of these “Fashion Jackets” come out-of-the-box with the phone, so you won’t have to spend anything extra to show off your personal style.

2. There is complete social integration. The Samsung Corby offers users complete integration of Twitter and Facebook into the phone. Photo and video sharing widgets are also included and users can directly upload videos to YouTube if they want. Flickr and Picasa are included with the dozens of widgets, as is Photobucket. This allows users to be able to update their statuses whenever they wish, receive updates from friends that you specify, and notifications pop-up on the phone thanks to a great feature included.

3. The touchscreen is impressive for an entry-level phone. The Samsung Corby features a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen that is remarkably responsive. All users need to do is tap in their texts on the touchscreen keyboard and then send everything for an update with just a tap on the update command. Because of the size of the touchscreen, however, those with larger fingers may find that getting the right buttons for T9 texting to register isn’t always an easy task to complete. The QVGA resolution of the screen and the TouchWiz operating system, overlaid with the Cartoon user interface, make up for some of the issues that some users may find.

4. It only connects to Edge/2G networks. The Samsung Corby does not offer the capability of connecting to a 3G network. Because of this, data movement on this phone when browsing can be frustratingly slow at times. The overall call quality is pretty good, though at times some conversations can sound like the other person is speaking through a cardboard tube. If you need to access information from Google or other search engines, the data for this phone won’t make that experience very pleasing. Status updates or checking social networks, however, is a pretty decent experience.

5. There isn’t any screen rotation. This is where nimble-fingered users are going to enjoy using the phone and those with larger digits might want to look elsewhere. There isn’t an accelerometer equipped with the Corby, so users can’t flip the screen to a horizontal perspective to change the size of the texting keys. This means that a finger can easily press one of 5 different buttons on the touchscreen if a user isn’t careful. There are slide phone variations of the Corby for those that prefer a full qwerty keyboard, but those have different model numbers.

6. There is a 2 MP camera that has been equipped with the phone. Although a 2 MP camera is on the low end of the spectrum for phones today, there are many entry level phones that don’t even have a camera, so the Corby has a leg up on the competition there. The camera isn’t the easiest to use since there isn’t any autofocusing or an LED flash that helps to support better overall images.

7. There is limited onboard storage with the Samsung Corby. Out-of-the-box, the Corby only comes with 50 MB of internal storage. It does have a mSD card slot available that will give users the ability to expand the phones storage to 8 GB. Most users will find that a lot of the extra memory isn’t really that necessary considering the limited functions of the phone. There are Java-enabled games that can be downloaded and played, while photo and video files that are saved locally can be directly uploaded to a social network. Most users will find that a 4 GB mSD card should provide more than enough space.

8. It has some limited multimedia options available. The primary form of multimedia that users of the Corby are going to enjoy is the FM radio that has RDS. There’s also a find music recognition service that will help users be able to find new music that they want to hear in a similar style or program specific favorite radio stations that are broadcast locally. You can record videos at 15 frames per second in QVGA resolution from the camera and then watch them back on the phone or download videos to watch if you prefer. The Corby can also play non-DRM MP3 files

9. Some models have specific business features included with the phone. If the Samsung Corby you’re thinking about purchasing wasn’t introduced in the South Korean market, then you will have access to a few business features as well. The most important of them is the office document viewer, which will allow you to read professional documents sent to the phone via direct download or text message. The South Korean Corby also has an upgrade visual display at WQVGA, but only plays DRM MP3 files and has a downgraded Bluetooth version.

What Are Some of the Pros and Cons of the Samsung Corby?

There are some important points of consideration with the Samsung Corby, but there are also some advantages and disadvantages that will apply to most users of the phone. Here is a look at some of those pros and cons in greater detail.

The Pros of the Samsung Corby

• The touchscreen is made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass, so even if you do manage to drop your phone and cause the body of it to break, you won’t wind up breaking the touchscreen on a casual drop. The resolution might only be 240×320, but that was top of the line when this phone was initially introduced.
• The diagonal contour of the phone gives it a slimmer visual appearance and it allows for a better grasp of the phone when you’re holding it during a conversation.
• The hardware keys on this phone are nice and easy to use so answering or disconnecting a call is a simple chore. Some users may find it a little easy to accidentally press one of the buttons while on a conversation, but otherwise the button placement is a definite advantage with this phone’s design.
• The exterior controls on the right-hand side of the phone are placed in a comfortable position, allowing users to control the camera or lock the touchscreen with ease. The buttons are a little close together, so pushing the wrong button can happen at times, but otherwise it’s a solid design component.

The Cons of the Samsung Corby

• The body of this phone is made from all plastic components. This makes the phone very light, coming in at just 92 and 12mm thick, but it does not have a good level of durability. A simple fumble of the phone onto the ground is enough to get it to break.
• The entire surface of the phone has a glossy finish, which means that it is extremely susceptible to collecting fingerprints over the course of a day.
• It is difficult to use this phone in direct sunlight because the images get lost within the rays of the sun. Narrow viewing angles have the largest of disadvantages, but indoors the screen is nice and clear.
• There’s no ambient light sensor by the earpiece, as other phones today have, so the brightness of the phone is at a static level. Users can adjust the brightness level manually to save on battery life, but who is really going to constantly adjust the brightness of their screen in every situation they might find themselves?

Are You a Fan of TouchWiz?

The Samsung proprietary system, TouchWiz, is not always the best user experience for a modern phone, but the Corby is definitely one of the exceptions to this rule. Because this phone is so colorful and lively, the simple swiping mechanisms that the thumb can do with TouchWiz are perfect for this phone. It really does add another level of ease to the use of this particular phone.

As with other TouchWiz phones, the Corby has been given 3 different home screens that can be used for apps/widgets. A simple horizontal swipe of a finger will allow users to access the icons on one of the other pages. You can tell which page you’re on with the standard dot indicators at the bottom of the screen. Instead of three different wallpapers, the Corby provides a single panoramic image that allows users to fill up the screen with as many widgets that are needed.

Moving the widgets to the home screen is also a simple process. They’re initially placed in a tray that runs along the side of the screen like a sidebar. Users just drag the icon for the widget from the side menu onto the home screen. There is also the option to auto-align the widgets just by shaking the phone for a couple of seconds. To remove a widget from the home screen, the process is simply reversed. The widgets are displayed in a standard row set of 3 across and 4 down.

Multitasking Can Happen With the Samsung Corby

Unlike other entry-level phones on the market today, the Samsung Corby offers multitasking support. This means that any Java application that is running can be minimized to stay active in the background while other widget is brought up to be active. There’s no real way to switch between the different widgets that are active, however, so being able to do it is a bit of a moot point unless you have specific widgets that need to run in the background.

The Smart unlock feature is also a nice component of the Samsung Corby. It used to be called Gesture unlock. By drawing a letter on the touchscreen, a user can immediately unlock their phone and have it perform a function. This might be to open a menu item, start a widget, or even dial a specific number. All 26 letters of the English alphabet have been assigned a Smart unlock command and assignments are based on user preferences.

What’s the Verdict on the Samsung Corby

By looking at the specific features, the advantages, and the disadvantages that come with the Samsung Corby, the inescapable conclusion is that this phone is well worth the small investment that would be made into it. Although there are some areas that could ultimately be improved, there is the realization that having a stronger camera or more advanced features would also raise the price of the phone. It is flashy, stylish, and gives a little more than the basics to users who are looking for the ability to share data, but not necessarily consume great amounts of it.

For those who are used to a modern smartphone, the Samsung Corby comes up a bit short in expectations. There is no denying that. For users who are looking for an entry-level smartphone, however, this model has a number of distinctive advantages that will allow it to satisfy the needs of most users today.

The Samsung Chat is a stylized entry-level smartphone that is designed for people that are primarily texters, but want to have a little extra online connectivity. At first glance, the style of the Chat 335 is a bit reminiscent of some of the entry level Blackberry phones on the market today, even down to the slanted keys that are on the full Qwerty keyboard underneath the screen. Overall, however, if someone wants to be online and have a full keyboard at a fair price, the Samsung Chat 335 is a very viable option to consider.

What are the standout features of the Samsung Chat 335?

The three primary reasons to consider this smartphone is its price, its full keyboard, and the fact that it has Wi-Fi connectivity. This is complimented by a 2.4 inch screen that offers 240p resolution and a color output of 256k. At this price point, it is difficult to find a better looking phone from an aesthetic standpoint.

What are the other features of the Chat 335?

This smartphone also offers a 3.5mm jack that can be used for most standard headphones. Users can also connect this phone to their computer thanks to the mUSB port that’s been included. The Chat 335 offers recognition of memory cards up to 8 GB in size and it comes with a free 2 GB card to get users started. A 2 MP camera with fixed focus is also included that can record videos in a CIF resolution.

Is there social networking included?

This smartphone offers users pre-installed apps that will allow access to Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo!, and MSN. What it does not offer is access to a 3G network and there is no GPS included either. Make sure that you are using this smartphone indoors or on a cloudy day because direct sunlight makes the screen on this phone virtually impossible to see. Updating a status or sending a text can sometimes be problematic, however, as the design of the keys make it rather easy to delete an entire update or text instead of a specific portion that needs to be adjusted in it.

How heavy is the Samsung Chat 335?

This phone is surprisingly light, weighing just 93g overall. The optical trackpad is one of the nice additions to the design and the user interface is easy on the eyes and allows for some customization to allow users to make their phone more of their own.

What about the Qwerty keyboard?

There are some good and some bad components in the keyboard of the Chat 335. The full size of the keyboard is nice and it allows for faster typing of emails and texts when users get used to the tactile functions of it. The keys are a little soft to the touch, however, and they are only raised by a millimeter at most, making them difficult to type on accurately. If a user presses a key down, it is inevitable that a few more keys are going to move and even register a button hit at times.

How is data access with the Samsung Chat 335?

In practical terms, data is virtually impossible to access with this phone. You can access website that have been optimized for mobile functions, but any standard website is out of the question. Users are going to get an error message from the experience. The trackpad, though a nice feature in principle, isn’t so useful when it comes to the actual data acquisition experience either.

Are the multimedia options on this phone any good?

What stands out with the Samsung 335 is how it plays music. The volume can be reasonably loud and the sounds aren’t particularly tinny – like most other phones that play through their speakers. As an added bonus, there are EQ settings to access so users can tailor the sounds to meet their needs. This is particularly useful if you’ve got a good set of headphones to plug into the phone. The camera is just 2 MP, but the images are pretty clear and vibrant. There’s no autofocus, so indoor images are difficult, but anything in the outdoors is going to look reasonably good.

How functional is the Samsung Chat 335?

Most users are going to find that the weight and grip on the phone are night. It looks like it would be an expensive phone, but here looks can be deceiving in a positive way. There is only 60 MB of internal storage, however, so users will want to take advantage of the mSD slot that’s in the phone. It’s also just 12 mm thick, which is surprisingly thin considering how much is actually included with the phone.

What are actual users saying about this phone?

Most customers rate the Samsung Chat 335 rather highly. On a 10 point scale, independent reviewers give it a score that is 8/10. Most customers see the Chat has providing a high amount of value, rated on average with a 9/10 score. It looks like it is an expensive phone, but it really isn’t, and that’s where many users see having plenty of value. Many mention that it can be difficult to get used to this type of phone if it hasn’t been used before.

What’s the overall verdict of the Samsung Chat 335? For someone who is looking for an all-in-one phone that can help them compose emails, update social statuses, or text with ease, the Samsung Chat 335 has a lot of features that will eventually increase the speed of communication. Although time will need to be taken to get used to the keyboard for most users, there is enough speed and capability with this phone to make it extremely useful. It isn’t going to be for those that surf the web while on the go or want to have massive amounts of apps at their disposal. It’s an entry-level phone, designed to look nice, and priced just right. If that’s what you want, then this is the phone you need.

There is a certain truth in the statement that less can be more. The Samsung Champ definitely fits into that perspective. It allows users to slowly become accustomed to what life with a smartphone can be like without feeling like it is trying to be overwhelming. Samsung believes that with more exposure to technology like the Champ, customers will eventually want to upgrade their phone. With social networking widgets, a cordless FM radio, camera, and internet speakers, this entry level phone is definitely designed to get someone addicted to mobile devices.

Why is the Samsung Champ the Ideal Phone?

Although the Samsung Champ is 100% equipped, it isn’t a 100% top of the line smartphone. Many of the features are actually on the low end of the smartphone spectrum. There’s no 3G networking access, for example, so any internet data coming into the phone is going to creep along at a snail’s pace. That might have been exciting in 2008, but the modern smartphone can have lightning fast speeds.

The camera on the Samsung Champ is just 1.3 MP as well, so it is essentially worthless. There are some interesting omissions that Samsung has chosen with the Champ as well that make it a little difficult to sell at times.

• There is no automatic screen rotation because there isn’t an accelerometer equipped to the phone to make it happen.
• It supports up to 8 GB of mSD storage, but the card slot is underneath the battery. Every time a new card is inserted, the phone has to be reset.
• There are no smart dialing features included with the phone and texting comes from an on-screen T9 process.

What makes it the idea phone, however, isn’t its faults. It is the fact that there are good quality stereo speakers that will let users be able to play their favorite FM radio stations without the need for headphones. If users have an extensive music collection that can be stored on a mSD card, then the files can be transferred over to the Samsung Champ and then enjoyed with or without a cellular connection in place.

The Samsung Champ Is Just Big Enough

The first impression of the Samsung Champ is that it could be a cheap plastic mobile phone, but this is one of those times that the first impression would be wrong. The rounded corners and streamlined shape of the phone give it a little additional strength and it’s entirely affordable. Most users can pick up this phone for the same price as a high capacity mobile data plan right now.

The viewscreen on the Samsung Champ is 2.4 inches, so it isn’t huge, but it is big enough to be suitable for general purposes. The resolution isn’t outstanding at QVGA, but it works for a screen of this size. The one issue that consistently comes up with the screen, however, is that it has a very narrow angle of viewing. This makes it really tough to use the phone in direct sunlight – many users won’t even be able to see who is calling them in direct sunlight.

The touchscreen is resistive, so it isn’t the most responsive phone that users are going to find today. Most touchscreens are capacitive to better register impacts, but the screen is small enough on the Champ that it works reasonably well in this instance.

The Samsung Champ Has a Decent Battery Life

With a lithium-ion battery rated at 1000 mAh, there is about 12 hours of talk time that come from the Samsung Champ. Standby times may exceed 4 weeks depending on how many background widgets are running at any given moment. The SIM compartment is underneath the battery as well, so plan on swapping SIMs and mSDs at the same time to save yourself a bit of a headache.

There is a 3.5mm audio jack to use with this phone and it is located at the top of the Champ. Users will also find that a microUSB port has also been included for file transfers or charging and it is protected by the generic plastic flap. A useful volume rocker control mechanism sits on the left side of the phone and then there’s the hold key that’s on the right side.

Who Is Going to Love the Samsung Champ?

To be frank, the Samsung Champ is probably a little too small to be useful to the average person. If you hands are the size of an average adult’s hands, then you are not going to have an easy time using this phone. For that reason, kids and teens are probably the key demographic being targeted by Samsung for using this phone. Combine that with the fact the side controls sit very low on the phone’s frame and people with large fingers and big hands aren’t always going to enjoy the user experience they receive with this phone.

The phone is pretty solid, but the back cover isn’t going to hold up to much on and off action that might be happening with card swaps going on. There’s a glossy finish on the phone as well and this helps it to pick up fingerprints that are remarkably difficult to take off. It does support Java, however, so users will be able to add games and even some small apps to the phone, but there isn’t any multitasking included, so everything has to be either open or closed.

One of the strange functions included with the Champ is that the user interface sometimes requires a double tap to activate a program or widget. Some taps provide user feedback and others do not as well. It can store videos, photos, and up to 1,000 contacts, but there are some rough edges to this phone that keep it from being truly great. Searching can be difficult to accomplish, the double tapping on a resistive touchpad gets annoying, and the entire usability of the phone can be directly affected by this.

What’s the verdict? The Samsung Champ is a decent phone that can meet basic needs. Kids and teens will love this phone. For adults, the results are more mixed.

Some phones are clearly designed for texters. Others are clearly designed for the full smartphone experience, providing fast access to apps and online data. Very few smartphones are able to put together the full package to please everyone, but that’s the attempt behind the Samsung Captivate Glide. With specs that can only be described as high end and a full suite of features that many users love, this phone still has some tremendous values today.

What Stands Out About the Samsung Captivate Glide?

The primary feature that is noticed at first with this smartphone is its sliding feature. The phone slides upward to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard that doesn’t have to be accessed on the screen. This allows those dedicated texters to be able to tap out a fast message or email in no time at all. The keyboard itself is a little flat and feels a little flimsy in the hands, but once a user gets used to the feeling, the texts are going to fly out at a rapid pace.

Although this smartphone was released in 2011, it still has the tech specs to stand up to many of the smartphones that are being sold today. The 4 inch display is bright and the colors are clear and sharp. Users can access their Gmail account with just the push of a button and put their favorite apps right on the home screen. It’s all supported by a 1 GHz dual core processor that allows for some multitasking capabilities and a 480p resolution that looks sharp with the support for 16 million colors.

Then there’s the primary camera to consider. The Samsung Captivate Glide is equipped with an 8 MP camera that allows users to record video in 720p HD. It has all of the features one would expect with a high end camera phone, but the Gingerbread operating system from Android does hold it back a little bit. The TouchWiz UI that Samsung typically puts on their phones allows for fast app access, but navigation is a little problematic because of the sliding design. You can sometimes access different menus accidentally as you move your hands into position to make the phone slide.

Users Can Connect To a 4G Network With the Samsung Captivate Glide

Initially released by AT&T, the 4G capabilities of this phone aren’t quite to the LTE standards of today, but it does run on the HSPA+ 21 network, so it is better than 3G. The design of the phone, however, doesn’t necessarily stand up to its overall functionality. That’s because the rounded corners and straight sides is a pretty standard, unexciting design. There’s a plastic band and metal accents around the camera, just like virtually every phone produced since 2010.

The one difference is the plastic, molded grip that has been included on the back of the phone. The intent is to give users some extra grip as they are working to slide the phone open, but the end result is that it makes the Samsung Captivate Glide a bit slippery. If your hands are just a bit clammy or sweaty, the palm tends to slip off of the back as users slide the screen upward to access the keyboard. This isn’t a deal breaker by any means, but certainly something of which everyone needs to be aware.

Although the keyboard might feel a little thin and fragile when punching away at the keys, the spacing that has been incorporated into the design is perfect. There is a light backlighting to the keys as well and the overall square shape allows for fast fingertip typing without much difficulty. Because of the thinness of the keyboard, however, the buttons are almost flat against the surface and this can make it really easy to slide fingers over to the wrong keys.

How Great Are the Features of the Samsung Captivate Glide?

With a 1650 mAh lithium-ion battery, the Captivate Glide is going to give most users about 8 hours of talk time during the day. Data consumption, especially GPS updates, can dramatically reduce the overall life of the battery on a single charge, however, so heavy data users will want a portable charger or battery pack to take along with them. There’s 16 days of standby time on a single charge as well.

SMS and MMS are threaded and a standard experience with this Samsung Phone. It connects to Wi-Fi, has Wi-Fi direct, and has settings for a VPN or tethering. It can also provide hotspot support for 5 devices. It connects easily to all of the popular social networking apps, like Twitter and Facebook, and multiple email accounts are supported so they can either be combined or stay separated. Turn by turn voice directions through Google Maps are available and so are all of the other standard Google services that you’ll find on a smartphone today.

As for the call quality on this smartphone, it is about average. The incoming lines are reasonably clear, but people who receive a call from the Captivate Glide sometimes feel like the sounds are a bit muddy, garbled, and unclear. You can access any app with fast speeds and the navigation system is very responsive. All in all, it’s a pretty good experience, especially since download speeds on this older phone still reach 1.5 Mbps.

There aren’t many phones on the market today that offer faster than 3G speeds and offer a full QWERTY keyboard unless you’re willing to invest into a Blackberry mobile device. If you’re looking for the features of a camera phone, the speeds of a smartphone, and the functionality of a Blackberry so that you can check your emails, modify documents, and take care of other business needs, then the Samsung Captivate Glide gets the job done quickly and efficiently. The ratio of cost to features here is good and although there are more modern phones available, this offering from Samsung still stands up to the tests of time.