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The third instalment in Samsung’s immensely popular line of budget touchscreen handsets is the CorbyPlus or B3410. It may not be as flashy as the previous models but ultimately it's the functionality that counts. Read on for a better look. Form Factor The Plus is similar yet unlike the previous models viz. the Corby S3650 and CorbyPRO. Like the PRO however, it’s equipped with a slide out QWERTY keypad. Although the sliding function is as slick as the PRO’s, the keypad is not very well designed. They’re too flat and will require you to exert a certain force. If you have large fingers this is not the phone for you. It’s equipped with a 2.6-inch touchscreen display and incorporates a similar button system as the previous models with a large central key and call buttons. On one side is universal proprietary port for the charger and USB. A 3.5mm handsfree socket is at the top with volume/zoom buttons. A screen lock key and a shortcut to the voice recorder are located on the other side. What’s very odd is the lack of a standardized USB port either Micro or Mini as there’s enough space on this plump handset for the same, and why have a shortcut to the voice recorder instead of the media player like most multimedia handsets? Another issue with the design is that it has no hot swap slot for the microSD card. You’ll have to remove the battery if you have to access the card. It’s a very sober looking handset on the whole and I can’t say that it’s well designed. Features and Performance Interface Samsung’s gone with a traditional TouchWiz UI on this one. It’s simple to navigate with no multiple desktops but plenty of widgets and a single menu page as well. It’s fast and fluid enough to be very finger friendly. The only area that will take some getting used to is the virtual keypad that should definitely have been better designed by now to suit smaller touchscreens. Media The media capabilities of the Plus are consistent with the previous models. Audio quality is really good and thanks to Samsung’s DNSe engine and the fact that you’re free to use your own set of earphones, makes for a much better experience. It’s loud enough to drown out ambient sounds without having to ever hit peak level. The Stereo FM radio also worked out very well with good reception in most places. It also has a built in recording feature. It supports standard mobile MPEG4 and 3GP video files that play without a hitch if converted properly. Three games have been preloaded out of which just one is free, the others are trial versions. Connectivity The Plus is not a 3G enabled handset and will support just EDGE and GPRS for internet connectivity. That’s good enough for the average Indian user since 3G technology for all consumers is just a spec on the horizon. The browser is simple and easy to use for web access but don’t expect flash support as it’s not supported. Other modes of connectivity include Bluetooth v2.1 with an A2DP profile and of course USB 2.0 via Samsung’s proprietary system. Another oddity is Samsung has failed to load a Twitter widget on this handset although MySpace and Facebook are present. You’ll have to download that yourself. On the plus side, a Palringo chat client is provided for those with Gtalk, MSN and AOL accounts. The Samsung Communities app allows you to upload pictures to popular sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, Orkut etc. Google has included a couple of their features as well which include their Search and Mail shortcuts without Google Maps. That just means more downloading for you. POP and IMAP emails can also be downloaded. |
Tags: Corby , QWERTY , 2 Megapixel , Touchscreen
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