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Samsung couldn’t have picked a worse time to launch a mobile handset that has Solar cells for battery rejuvenation... not much sun around is there? The B1200 is, however a sight for sore eyes. But we’re here to discuss the E1107 or what’s popularly and more appropriately being called – the Solar Guru and the Crest Solar in some regions. Here’s how it fared. Form Factor The Solar Guru is not a slim handset at 16mm in depth. Then again it’s the solar panel on the rear panel that adds a little to the thickness of the handset. On the plus side it weighs in at just about 77 grams which makes it very lightweight and easy to tote around. It has a 1.52-inch CSTN display with a 128 x 128 pixel resolution with 65k colors. The keypad is very large and well spaced out. Unlike a few other low end, strictly basic handsets, the E1107’s keypad is soft and that makes for speedy typing irrespective of how large your ‘digits’ are. The five way nav-pad also makes navigating around the sparse menus quite simple as well. On one side is a proprietary all in one port for the charger and handsfree kit and a small LED is placed on top for use as a torch. Simple and neat, the E1107 and is a great concept for the low end segment. Features and Performance Interface The interface is no different from any low end handset and is simple to maneuver through. The icons clearly depict the folder’s contents and the sub menus with large fonts make it easy to make selections etc. Wallpapers and a couple of themes are also present to add a little color to the all black handset. Since Hindi letters are also evident on the keypad and through the settings you can opt to change the language to the same for those who prefer that. I did have one major issue though that I feel is important to this review. The volume on the handset is a little too erratic. Incoming and outgoing calls made to contacts that happened to be in a noisy area made it almost impossible to hear the voice although the ambient sounds were a little extreme in decibel level. This was consistent with all calls and many times I was informed that my voice was too low even if I was speaking directly into the microphone. Hopefully this was an issue with this one test handset and an out of the box model will be just fine. Media The Solar Guru is equipped with an FM radio for media purposes and not much more. The FM radio has average reception at best but that’s not too bad. To make things interesting, Samsung has included a Favorites option that allows you to select channels that you can save as your personal favorite. Not much room for that considering there are just about nine channels. It also has a program reminder option to which you can set your favorite station. This way you can schedule your favorite show and the radio will remind you of the same. The earphones are relatively comfortable to use but not in my ears. Other media functionality includes a couple of games like Sudoku and Cricket. |
Tags: Rugged , Eco-Friendly
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