Samsung Steel

The casing’s steel parts include the battery cover, which forms three quarters of the backplate (more than the half-backplate of the Soul), and the phone feels pretty tough. Overall, though, there isn’t quite as much steel here as in the Soul, and this probably accounts for the slight weight difference – 109g as opposed to the Soul’s 113g.

The sliding mechanism is just as impressive with the Steel as it was with the Soul. A gentle push is all that you need to get it going, and thereafter it follows its own spring-loaded design to become fully extended or fully closed.

If you’ve large hands the slide should be a joy to use, but in my smaller mitts I found that closing the phone meant applying pressure to the keypad or D-pad beneath the screen thereby hitting something I didn’t want to. The alternative is to use both hands to shut the thing, which isn’t that convenient when you are standing on a swinging, bumping swerving bus and holding on for dear life.

That comment should lead you to the fact that the Steel is a bit large. At 104.2mm tall when closed, 48.9mm wide and 14.2m thick it troubled the smaller pockets in my clothing. Opened, it stretches to about 145mm tall.

The good news about the overall size of this phone is that there is plenty of room for both screen and keyboard. The screen measures 2.2 inches diagonally and indoors it is clear and readable. Outdoors in bright light, I found the screen really difficult to read, though.
The front buttons are well sized. Beneath the screen, the softmenu keys and Call and End keys are all big enough to find with a thumb without any hassle at all. The D-pad, too, is sizeable at 21mm wide and 19mm tall.

Open the slide and the number pad is well thought out. Its keys are flat and lie on perfectly straight horizontal lines, despite the curved separator bars between them giving the impression that they don’t. Above the 1, 2, 3 row is a shortcut to your music, the delete key and an application switcher. Press the latter and up pops the QuickSwitch menu. Rather than letting you flick between opened apps this seems to concentrate on Vodafone Live!, messaging and the call screen, so it isn’t as powerful as you might at first think.

When you are on the main screen, the right softkey is hardwired to a toolbar that offers shortcuts and this gives you quick access to Internet services, missed calls info, messaging, profile switching, calendar events and a range of shortcuts that you can personalise. If you want to delve deeper, the main menu is on the left softkey.

In terms of comms capability, this is a tri-band GSM handset with HSDPA for fast Web surfing and a front-facing camera for two-way video calling. The main camera’s lens is protected behind the slide when not in use, which should mean it remains scratch free for as long as possible. The location is mirrored in the Samsung Soul, but while the Soul’s camera shoots at 5-megapixels and has a self-portrait mirror and flash, the Steel comes in at 3-megapixels and drops the flash. Not surprisingly, then, the camera is closer to average than it is to outstanding, though its autofocus does help it out.

The coloured dish lacks vibrancy and seems dark. The camera was left on its auto settings throughout my tests, and indoors it didn’t manage to let enough light in all the time. Outdoors it struggled with wide variations in light too. The white chair was in partial shade when photographed and illustrates the problem well.

On the other hand, colour capture and close range work were impressive. The flower really is that colour and I took this photo quite close in. There is no macro mode, but unless you want to go mere centimetres from the subject, I think it’ll cope OK. As a music playing handset, it is always disappointing to see a proprietary headset connector, but that is what you get with the Steel. It is one-piece so using your own 3.5mm headphones will not be an out of box experience.

But then this handset doesn’t really major on music. There is just 30MB of internal memory. Admittedly, this is expandable with SDHC microSD cards but it isn’t a lot to get started with these days. And while you can boost the memory you are stuck with the dreadful battery. I managed four and a half hours of non-stop music from a full battery charge, with the phone staying alive a bit after music playback was cut off, so that I got a total of 6 hours of life from it. The Soul, remember, managed 11 hours 40 mins of non-stop music from a full charge and a total of more than 17 hours of life.

Other applications not already mentioned include an FM radio, alarms, calendar, memo tool, task manager, calculator, unit converter, timer, stopwatch and voice recorder. Oh, and there is access to Vodafone’s Mobile TV too.

Verdict

The Steel is very much a middle-of-the-road handset in features terms, though its build quality is impressive and usability well thought through – if your hands are large enough.

If you like this phone it might be worth checking out the not so different but better all round Soul. It is available all over the shop including from Vodafone where it can be had in either its grey and black incarnation or a shade of pink. It too is free on various Vodafone contracts, though you are starting at £30 a month on 18-month plans rather than £15.

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Samsung S5600, S5230 touchscreen phones get Announced

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Samsung has just officially announced the S5600, and along with it, the S5230. Both are touchscreen phones that feature Samsung’s proprietary TouchWIZ user interface, but the S5600 looks to be the more well-featured phone of the two despite the S5230 offering a bit more touchscreen real-estate.

The S5600 comes with a 2.8-inch 240×320 QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera with 15fps video recording, Bluetooth 2.1, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS 900/2100, HSDPA 7.2Mbps connectivity, and an internal memory of 80MB expandable via microSD card of up to 8GB in capacity. It’s also pretty small and compact as it only measure in at 102.6 x 55 x 12.9mm in size.

Meanwhile, the S5230 features a 3-inch 240×400 WQVGA display, 3-megapixel camera, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1, and 50MB internal memory with support for microSD cards of up to 8GB in size. Understandably, it’s slightly bigger measuring in at 104 x 53 x 11.9mm.

No word yet on the pricing of both phones, but they are already confirmed to be released in Europe with the S5230 getting outed first in April and the S5600 following in May. We have yet to get confirmation if they will be made available outside Europe.

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Toshiba unveils Snapdragon-based TG01 Touchscreen phone

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Toshiba isn’t a newbie when it comes to making mobile phones though its availability is just limited to Japan only. However, that is about to change as 2009 is the year they’re finally joining the globally mobile phone market with the launching of the Toshiba TG01 touchscreen phone.

The Toshiba TG01 is the first phone to feature a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor which will no doubt help make it one of the speedier phones in the market. It also boasts of a large 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen (the largest to date) display, WiFi, HSDPA, GPS, and runs Windows Mobile 3.1 with a Toshiba 3D user interface. It will come with a camera though no specific details were disclosed just yet as to its megapixel rating. Measuring it at a mere 9.9mm in thickness, this has got to be the slimmest touchscreen phone to date.

Here’s a video of the Toshiba TG01 live in action:

We’ll probably get more details as to how much, when it will be released, and what other goodies it’ll come with at the World Mobile Congress where it will most likely make an appearance. Nonetheless, this early on, the Toshiba TG01 phone looks to be quite promising, and if priced just right, this has the makings of a future best-seller.

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Samsung M110 Solid

The Samsung M110 Solid is also known as the Samsung M110 & as the Samsung Solid for short. It is a highly robust handset which will withhold the elements of dust & water as well as being dropped onto a hard surface from up to one metre. The casing is a rubber material & the handset is fully sealed to protect it from water splashes & dust damage. Its built in features are not particularly highly specified but this handset is built to withhold the elements not to perform amaze its user with technologies. It comes with a CSTN type screen which is 1.5 Inches in size & displays up to 65k colour with a screen resolution of 128 pixels by 128 pixels. This versatile & hard wearing handset weighs 95 grams & its dominions make it easy for the user to carry with them at all times as its height is 109mm, width is 48mm & it is 17.9mm in thickness.

The user can keep in contact with others by using the built in messaging services which include text messaging, multimedia messaging & enhanced messaging. The multimedia messaging service on the Samsung M110 Solid allows the user to share their pictures with other compatible messaging contacts. A multimedia message can contain a picture with text which is a fun & easy way to share experiences with others. A predictive text option allows the user to start to type a work which will automatically be completed by the predictive text service, this allows the user to type a text message quicker & using fewer keys when typing. A built in SOS message feature allows the user to send a SOS message when required & it is easy to access for those more difficult situations. A WAP browser can be found in the phones menu system which provides a XHTML web browsing feature which allows the user to gain access to information & services.
The Samsung M110 Solid comes with a built in VGA digital camera feature with a zoom option which allows the user to capture a quick shot at any time. The camera feature is easy to use & the user can use the CSTN screen as a viewfinder. This mobile phone may be practical but the camera feature comes with a good selection of setting which include photo effects, photo quality & a shot mode. The user will not feel alone with the Samsung M110 Solid as a mobile companion as the phone comes with a built in radio feature which provides the user with music entertainment when required. The user can download games to suit their gaming style & taste which provides gaming entertainment for the user. This practical handset comes with a flash light which allows the user to turn their M110 Solid into a touch with a simple switch.

This robust handset comes with two megabytes of built in memory & it supports expandable memory in the form of a MicroSD™ memory card which the user to add & remove to suit their storage needs. The Samsung M110 Solid supports Bluetooth® wireless technology which allows the user to transfer files & data using a wireless connection between devices. The battery will provide up to 8 hours of talk time when fully charged which is ideal for the user on the move. The phone works on a dual band network which covers GSM 900 & 1800 which will automatically switch between the two bands.
Samsung M110 Solid Specifications & Features
Screen
1.5 Inch CSTN 65k Colour Screen (128 x 128 Pixels)

Imaging
VGA Camera
Digital Zoom
Viewfinder
Shot Mode (Normal, Multi, Timer & Self Shot)
Photo Effect (Grey, Negative, Sepia, Emboss & Sketch)
Photo Quality (Super Fine, Fine & Normal)

Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
EMS (Enhanced Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
Predictive Text

Sound
FM Radio
Polyphonic & MP3 Ringtones
Vibration Alert

Entertainment
Downloadable Games
Organiser
Phonebook
Calendar
To Do List
Clock
Alarm
Calculator
Mobile Tracker
Splash Resistant
Dust Resistant
SOS Message
Flash Light

Connectivity
Bluetooth®
GPRS

Network
Dual Band (GSM 900 & GSM 1800)

Internet
XHTML Browser
WAP 2.0

Memory & Talk Time
2 Mbytes Memory plus MicroSD™ Memory Card Option
8 Hours Talk Time
400 Hours Standby

Weight & Size
95g
109 x 48 x 17.9 mm

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LG KC780

LG seems to have tried to get as large a screen as possible into the slider format of the KC780 without overwhelming your hands. I’m not certain the format works, to be honest. Even with the slide down this is a big phone measuring 105mm tall, 51mm wide, 13.7mm thick and weighing 90g. Open the slide and it is more than 140mm tall. Yet the screen isn’t that vast at 2.4in and 240 x 320 pixels.

Contrast those dimensions to the aforementioned Renoir (106.5mm x 53.9mm x 17.2mm, 136g) and the Cookie (106.5mm x 55.4mm x 11.9mm, 89g) both of which share a 3in, 240 x 400 pixel screen. The long and the short of it, if you’ll pardon the pun, is that the sheer ‘viewability’ to size ratio of the KC780 isn’t that hot in comparison.

Still, the front screen’s quality is nothing to grumble about and the front buttons are large and easy to handle. The front screen can display icons for four shortcuts, which you can select by using the large D-pad. Though you can’t change the shortcuts, and are stuck with messaging, profiles, music playback and a favourites menu, you can edit the latter and populate it with up to nine shortcuts.

You can also set the main screen to flip through background images, which can have animations built into them. I have to say, though, that with all the usual status information also displayed on the screen, everything feels a bit crammed and untidy.
For further quick access to stuff, the Clear button beneath the screen calls up the dashboard when the phone is in standby mode. Left and right presses on the D-pad toggle between a calendar, date and time, and images views, the latter cycling through photos automatically and offering manual controls via the up and down D-pad buttons.

While I am covering off usability it is worth noting that the number keys inside the flip are large and responsive. I found them easy to use at speed. And another plus is that LG has done its usual trick of mapping all its menu options to number pad keys so you can either use these or the D-pad as you prefer.

The camera is the main selling point of this phone so I ought to get onto that quickly. The Schneider Kreuznach lens is touted as a key feature (and it makes a change to see that name rather then Carl Zeiss). Other pushed features are face detection and smile shot. The former ensure a face is the focal point in a photo, the latter waits till the subject smiles before it automatically takes its shot. Then there is beauty mode which does a bit of auto adjusting to remove shadows from a face. For the face and smile gizmos to work I found I had to be quite close up to the subject.

All of these face related features seem a bit gimmicky to me. What really matters is overall image quality for everyday photos and shooting at 8-megapixels isn’t necessarily a guarantee of super quality images.

I’m not sure I like the fact that there is no lens cover and the lens is flush to the back of the phone’s casing. It is an invitation to scratching. But the main problem I found during testing was shutter lag. The camera did shoot unblurred images, but with a moving subject they weren’t quite what was anticipated. The cat was looking downwards when I clicked. Still, the photo is sharp enough, comparing well with my other 8-megapixel cameraphone cat photos.

There is an LED flash and macro mode. Auto white balance was sometimes a let down. The snowdrops, always a good test at this time of year, are over exposed, for example. My standard shots, the white chair and the coloured dish, the latter photographed indoors under ordinary household lighting, are both perfectly acceptable.

Video shooting runs to a maximum resolution of 720 x 480 and there is a special shooting mode designed for high quality slow motion playback, which could be fun to play with.
The LG KC780 isn’t a phone with vast memory stores with its 140MB of internal memory available for music and other files. However, microSD card slot on the right side of the casing lets you add more, and there is an FM radio to augment the audio fun. There’s no specific support for podcasts and the headset connection is proprietary, with a one-piece headset and those in-ear buds that simply won’t stay in my ears. This phone is a bit of a no-no for hardened music fans, then.

LG’s M-Toy makes a repeat appearance here. The phone uses its accelerometer to assist with some gaming features. You can play darts, go fishing, play baseball and get a ball round a maze for example. But the accelerometer isn’t activated in all apps, and most irritatingly it doesn’t function in the rather lacklustre and disappointing web browser. Then again, you won’t be browsing very often as this phone is tri-band GSM but lacks 3G, making browsing speeds on the slow side.

Other applications include Calendar, memo maker, voice recorder, Muvee Studio (for making photo slideshows with music), alarm clock, calculator, stopwatch, unit converter, and TV-out. You don’t get cables for the latter. There is also a document view for common document formats, though the screen is a bit small for any kind of serious use of this feature, plus you can use the phone as a webcam via Bluetooth.

LG rates the battery as good for 250 hours of standby time, 3 hours of talk. Without Wi-Fi or 3G to challenge the battery, I managed a three day stint between charges.

Verdict

The KC780′s camera might shoot at 8-megapixels, and do so quite well, but it is not without its shortcomings, and the remaining features of this phone are somewhat limited and squarely rooted in the mid-range sector.

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