Samsung Corby Review

Samsung had organized an event way back in September, a blogger meet to explore this form of reaching out to it’s potential market. We at Fonearena were invited for it too. It was a great event and we got to understand a lot more about Samsung and their strategies.What was completely surprising was when they launched the Corby. This ‘cheap’ touch screen phone was completely unexpected and it did cause a stir in the market.With our readers clamoring for a review of this device, we got one from Samsung for a review.

Let’s have a look at some specs for this phone.

2000 contacts memory

500 SMS memory

2MP camera

Capacitive touch – 2.8″ screen and QVGA resolution

Bright colours

Social Networking sites support

These are the highlights of this device. Priced at approximately INR 8000. The Corby has become a successful product for Samsung. So much so that it has spawned an entire line.

The Corby we received was a black and yellow phone. This combination is perhaps the best one for the Corby as the yellow is bright and really brightens up the day. being glossy in finish, the grip of the phone comes from the red coloured rings at the are raised on the back (yellow portion), giving this device a youthful look without compromising on utility.

Over the course of a few weeks we had the chance to examine this device from almost every angle.

On the design front, this is a rather wonderfully crafted device. The shape is intriguing and pretty good, sufficient to differentiate you and itself from the crowd. The Star 3G which would be a similarly sized device does not look as great as this.

The layout of the call, end and return buttons is pretty good, though my only grouse is with the latest design Samsung has adopted of not backlighting the physical keys. It’s a completely poorly thought design decision.

The layout of the lock key is pretty good, though it could have been raised a little bit for easy access and usage. The camera key is perhaps placed in the worst possible place, being next to the lock key, there were many moments I pressed the lock key instead of the camera button. Additionally the camera key is also placed unergonomically. I had many issues in holding the device without touching the screen and clicking a picture. This is one area where Samsung has definitely not thought through and it reflects in the placement of keys.

The volume keys are pretty good and no complaints there. Though I don’t think zooming a picture is possible while clicking because of the placement.

The screen is one area where Samsung has not disappointed. It has a QVGA screen and a big one at that. Even though in this date it’s pretty poor resolution,  I think at the above price it’s a great deal. Capacitive touch, a feature reserved only for high end touch devices, makes its entry into the entry level touchscreen phone market. Kudos to Samsung for doing this. Even though it’s not as great as the iPhone, the Corby does really well to take on established touchscreen devices from the entire spectrum and make them taste dirt. I found the touch to be responsive mot of the times, the rest of the times it was a bit too sensitive. maybe because I was treating it like a resistive screen. The colours were bright and the did not seem washed out or dull on the screen.

From the screen let me jump to the to the camera. The camera on this baby is a simple 2MP affair. It has various settings any good 2MP camera would have. Video quality is pretty ok too for this device. A point to take note is that the camera takes really good pictures. I was mighty impressed with it. For a 2MP camera, it’s quite good.

Here is a shot from the Camera

corby camera

Music wise, this phone is a beast. I must say that even though this phone has a mono speaker, it’s way louder than most phones. I was actually speechless at the kind of output this device had. It was louder than even the 5800 XM. Music wise, the Corby is a very strong contender. Nothing comes close to this phone in terms of music output.

Internet experience on this phone was pretty ok. The browser on the Samsung Corby is a pretty average browser, no fireworks here. But it does it’s job well and that’s what matters.

Some of the interesting features which deserve a mention are the dictionary, PDF reader and the widgets. Widgets on this phone actually make things a lot easier to accomplish. All the social networking sites can be accessed from this device and even photography sites. Uploading pictures is a piece of cake. In terms of usage, this device is simple to use and that’s a good thing.

There were some things which I found rather unpleasant on this device. Firstly, the screen would automatically at times act as if someone is trying to unlock it and beep, this when it was absolutely lying still and nobody touching it at all. Secondly, the absence of a sensor. When talking on the phone, due to an absence of a proximity sensor, there were times when I accidentally pressed a button on the screen.

The most important factors in a phone are call quality and battery, let me tell you about it as I conclude my brief review of the Samsung Corby. Call quality on this device was very good, I did not have any problems making or taking calls, conversations were loud and clear without any sort of interference. Battery life on this phone is pretty good, easily lasting a couple of days with moderate usage.

Overall the Corby is a great buy for the college teenager out there and for the girls. It’s a great touchscreen phone with a lot of funk.  Makes the Star look old in terms of looks.

And with the WiFi and 3.2MP camera coming to the Corby, it’s only set to get better.