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Samsung B2100 Marine Mobile Phone
When it comes to a mobile for all seasons and environments there haven’t been too many around that actually managed to take things as far as the B2100 Marine has. This hardcore ruggedized handset seems to have set a new bench mark in the segment but here’s how it fared overall.
Form Factor
I say forget about its slightly bulky design (17mm in depth) and the slight bulge it tends it leave in your pocket. It’s a well designed handset and definitely has a feel good factor about it. The rubberized Urethane shell makes the handset very easy to grip so the chances of it actually falling are quite slim. I was concerned about the keypad being a bit of a problem i.e. the rubber keypad would make typing a real pain. But hey presto, it worked like a charm. It’s well laid out large and supple enough to use with ease. That goes for all the buttons.
What was a little bit of a disappointment was the 1.7-inch TFT display that has a low resolution of just 120 x 160 pixels and 256K colors and a 1.3MP camera loaded onto the rear. But at the end of the day that’s not such a bad thing especially if you’re one of the clumsy types or those who enjoy the outdoors a little more than others or both.
The port flap on the side for the handset’s proprietary all-in-one port is well designed to keep the elements out. The handsfree has a 3.5mm earphone socket adapter so you can use your own earphones. The rear panel has a large screw-system that you’ll find convenient to open only with a coin of something akin to it. It secures the battery panel and microSD card slot as well as the rest of the handset's innards very well. The gaskets and entire handsets on the whole is extremely well designed. Samsung has also included a small LED on the top that can be used as a flashlight. It may be just a single LED but believe me it’s very handy when you need it.
Features and Performance
Rugged-ity
This handset is truly hardcore. My initial test was to drop it in the deep end of the pool for a couple of minutes before fishing it out. It can sustain being under for about 30 minutes and at 1 meter. That worked out fine in a bucket, but in the pool I let it sit for about 15 minutes and it was perfectly fine.
We also ran a bike over it... a couple of times and not a scratch. The handset is rated to withstand blowing rain, dust, shock, salt fog, humidity, water, immersion, solar radiation, vibration, and extreme temperatures. I even dropped it a few times on marble and concrete floors and it didn’t seem to affect the Marine in any way. A few very minor scratches on the screen were negligible. You can't have everything right?
It’s perfect for the beach, outdoor sports like rafting, climbing and other such ‘manly’ stuff, not that the women don’t do it, so I’m going to say it’s universally appealing. However there will be times that you’ll find a little condensation on the inside of the display. It subsided in little while and didn’t seem to effect the handset’s working.
Interface
The UI is pretty standard and is funky in its own right with a few cool themes and the feature to create your own. Although the resolution of the screen is a little low it’s still very clear and easy to navigate. The B2100 is also equipped with a Noise cancellation set up for conversations so you’ll have no problems listening in while on the phone and the person on the other side will also find it relatively clear while hearing you as it keeps the ambient sounds at bay to quite an extent. A File system option allows you to access files stored on either your memory card or your phone's memory which is just about 7MB.
Media
The on-board music player is great. It comes with plenty of EQ presets to choose from but the overall audio quality is what counts and the B2100 really makes it count. The volume is also high enough to drown out most of the outside world and the fact that you can opt to use your own earphones only makes me like the player even more. Tracks can also be displayed with album art.
An FM radio (with RDS) that has a recording facility is also present. The reception I found was quite average, but not too bad. In most places it’s quite alright but while commuting you’re probably going to have to be near the window to get better reception. The handset also has a dedicated voice recorder as well and a basic Image Editor to make a few adjustments to photos taken via the on-board camera. I did have a problem with video playback though. My test files 3GP and MPEG4 didn’t seem to playback and I got an error message telling me that the file was invalid. Most other handsets, irrespective of the resolution the video is in would try and read the files in those formats so this was a bit of an issue for me.
Connectivity
The Marine is a great handset for connectivity as well. It’s equipped to handle GPRS (Class 10). The Openwave browser is nothing fancy but it gets the job done when and if you need to use it. Other connectivity options also include Bluetooth with an A2DP profile so you’re free to use a Stereo BT headset which works out great for audio. The handset also allows you to download your email with a POP3 or IMAP email client that has an auto-configure system. You may have to adjust a couple of settings but the system will find most.
Misc. Features
The B2100 is actually a part of Samsung’s Guru series so it comes loaded with Samsung’s Mobile prayer application for people of all faiths. Samsung’s Mobile Tracker 2.0 is also present and of course all the more mundane features like a Calendar, Alarm Clock, Timer, Stopwatch, Converter, Calculator and even a World Clock are also available. Four Games that include Sudoku and Cricket should help pass the time when you’re bored.
I figured a handset like this could have GPS but not for this price obviously. I tried installing Google Maps though but it didn't seem to work and I kept getting an error every time i tried downloading it as that seemed to be the only way to run the file.
Camera
I know I mentioned that a 1.3MP camera was maybe a little low res for the handset, but truth be told it kind of makes perfect sense especially when you consider the price. It has quite a few relevant features included like White Balance, a timer, Brightness and even a Night mode setting.
I didn’t particularly find the image quality too great. In low light conditions they seemed too dark and quite dull overall.
Battery
The company claims that the B2100 can offer users up to 9 hours of talk time. Sadly, that didn’t seem to be the case. But I have to admit the average battery life that the handset ran me was in the 5 hours range which is excellent.
The Bottom Line
The price tag on this baby is Rs. 7,030 which is great for a handset that is capable of so much and delivers so well on all fronts. It’s perfect for all weather and sturdy enough to handle quite a few hard knocks. It’s feature rich and rugged and the combinations are brilliantly handled so it makes it well worth the price. If you’re an avid outdoors person who needs to stay connected no matter where they are no matter the conditions, it doesn’t get better than having the B2100 along for the ride. For regular users the monsoons will prove to be quite ineffective for the handset so you’ll never again have to worry about protective cases or plastic bags to carry your mobile in.
Form Factor
I say forget about its slightly bulky design (17mm in depth) and the slight bulge it tends it leave in your pocket. It’s a well designed handset and definitely has a feel good factor about it. The rubberized Urethane shell makes the handset very easy to grip so the chances of it actually falling are quite slim. I was concerned about the keypad being a bit of a problem i.e. the rubber keypad would make typing a real pain. But hey presto, it worked like a charm. It’s well laid out large and supple enough to use with ease. That goes for all the buttons.
What was a little bit of a disappointment was the 1.7-inch TFT display that has a low resolution of just 120 x 160 pixels and 256K colors and a 1.3MP camera loaded onto the rear. But at the end of the day that’s not such a bad thing especially if you’re one of the clumsy types or those who enjoy the outdoors a little more than others or both.
The port flap on the side for the handset’s proprietary all-in-one port is well designed to keep the elements out. The handsfree has a 3.5mm earphone socket adapter so you can use your own earphones. The rear panel has a large screw-system that you’ll find convenient to open only with a coin of something akin to it. It secures the battery panel and microSD card slot as well as the rest of the handset's innards very well. The gaskets and entire handsets on the whole is extremely well designed. Samsung has also included a small LED on the top that can be used as a flashlight. It may be just a single LED but believe me it’s very handy when you need it.
Features and Performance
Rugged-ity
This handset is truly hardcore. My initial test was to drop it in the deep end of the pool for a couple of minutes before fishing it out. It can sustain being under for about 30 minutes and at 1 meter. That worked out fine in a bucket, but in the pool I let it sit for about 15 minutes and it was perfectly fine.
We also ran a bike over it... a couple of times and not a scratch. The handset is rated to withstand blowing rain, dust, shock, salt fog, humidity, water, immersion, solar radiation, vibration, and extreme temperatures. I even dropped it a few times on marble and concrete floors and it didn’t seem to affect the Marine in any way. A few very minor scratches on the screen were negligible. You can't have everything right?
It’s perfect for the beach, outdoor sports like rafting, climbing and other such ‘manly’ stuff, not that the women don’t do it, so I’m going to say it’s universally appealing. However there will be times that you’ll find a little condensation on the inside of the display. It subsided in little while and didn’t seem to effect the handset’s working.
Interface
The UI is pretty standard and is funky in its own right with a few cool themes and the feature to create your own. Although the resolution of the screen is a little low it’s still very clear and easy to navigate. The B2100 is also equipped with a Noise cancellation set up for conversations so you’ll have no problems listening in while on the phone and the person on the other side will also find it relatively clear while hearing you as it keeps the ambient sounds at bay to quite an extent. A File system option allows you to access files stored on either your memory card or your phone's memory which is just about 7MB.
Media
The on-board music player is great. It comes with plenty of EQ presets to choose from but the overall audio quality is what counts and the B2100 really makes it count. The volume is also high enough to drown out most of the outside world and the fact that you can opt to use your own earphones only makes me like the player even more. Tracks can also be displayed with album art.
An FM radio (with RDS) that has a recording facility is also present. The reception I found was quite average, but not too bad. In most places it’s quite alright but while commuting you’re probably going to have to be near the window to get better reception. The handset also has a dedicated voice recorder as well and a basic Image Editor to make a few adjustments to photos taken via the on-board camera. I did have a problem with video playback though. My test files 3GP and MPEG4 didn’t seem to playback and I got an error message telling me that the file was invalid. Most other handsets, irrespective of the resolution the video is in would try and read the files in those formats so this was a bit of an issue for me.
Connectivity
The Marine is a great handset for connectivity as well. It’s equipped to handle GPRS (Class 10). The Openwave browser is nothing fancy but it gets the job done when and if you need to use it. Other connectivity options also include Bluetooth with an A2DP profile so you’re free to use a Stereo BT headset which works out great for audio. The handset also allows you to download your email with a POP3 or IMAP email client that has an auto-configure system. You may have to adjust a couple of settings but the system will find most.
Misc. Features
The B2100 is actually a part of Samsung’s Guru series so it comes loaded with Samsung’s Mobile prayer application for people of all faiths. Samsung’s Mobile Tracker 2.0 is also present and of course all the more mundane features like a Calendar, Alarm Clock, Timer, Stopwatch, Converter, Calculator and even a World Clock are also available. Four Games that include Sudoku and Cricket should help pass the time when you’re bored.
I figured a handset like this could have GPS but not for this price obviously. I tried installing Google Maps though but it didn't seem to work and I kept getting an error every time i tried downloading it as that seemed to be the only way to run the file.
I know I mentioned that a 1.3MP camera was maybe a little low res for the handset, but truth be told it kind of makes perfect sense especially when you consider the price. It has quite a few relevant features included like White Balance, a timer, Brightness and even a Night mode setting.
I didn’t particularly find the image quality too great. In low light conditions they seemed too dark and quite dull overall.
Battery
The company claims that the B2100 can offer users up to 9 hours of talk time. Sadly, that didn’t seem to be the case. But I have to admit the average battery life that the handset ran me was in the 5 hours range which is excellent.
The Bottom Line
The price tag on this baby is Rs. 7,030 which is great for a handset that is capable of so much and delivers so well on all fronts. It’s perfect for all weather and sturdy enough to handle quite a few hard knocks. It’s feature rich and rugged and the combinations are brilliantly handled so it makes it well worth the price. If you’re an avid outdoors person who needs to stay connected no matter where they are no matter the conditions, it doesn’t get better than having the B2100 along for the ride. For regular users the monsoons will prove to be quite ineffective for the handset so you’ll never again have to worry about protective cases or plastic bags to carry your mobile in.