Nokia 6700 Slide Colorful Smartphone

Today Nokia unveiled its new mid range 3G slider phone by the name Nokia 6700 slide. This new mobile phone is made for design curious customers and comes with six fresh colors. This cell phone has a compact size and its aluminum finish feels fantastic in hand. Because of its size and design this gadget can easily fit into your jeans pocket. This new device runs on Symbian OS v9.3, S60 rel. 3.2 and is packed with a 5 mega pixel Carl Zeiss optics camera with auto focus and LED flash allowing you to capture and share moments as they happen. Your pictures can be edited on the go and uploaded to the web directly from the camera menu. The 6700 Slide supports up to 16GB and comes with a 2GB card in the standard sales package.For connectivity in this handset with pc or other mobile phone there is Bluetooth v2.1 and USB v2.0. The Nokia 6700 slide can give its best battery time of 300 hours on standby and 4 hours of talk time and music play back of 29 hours. And as for the entertainment in this device there is a FM radio and music player, which won’t let you to get bored. The Nokia 6700 slide is available with the price around 160 Euros.
The Nokia 6700 cell phone features include a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, a 2.2-inch screen display, supports HSDPA and HSUPA, Symbian S60, FM radio, bluetooth 2.1, music player, a 2GB MicroSD card in the box, aluminium frame, also boasts over 12 days standby and four hours talktime. The Nokia 6700 is compact size, modern design and aluminum finish feels great in the hand, it looks and colored a little like 4th gen iPod Nano. The Nokia 6700 will be available in Q1 2010.Nokia's dogged commitment to producing a wide range of handsets for a wide range of budgets and types of interest continues with the 6700 Slide.

The slider format is one that has slipped in popularity with the rise of large screened handsets of varying degrees of smartphone capability. But it is a format that still has lots of fans.

Sliders tend to be small, their number pads are hidden away until needed, and you can perform lots of activities without bothering to slip them out of their hiding place behind the front facia.

Quick, easy, one-click access to features via buttons rather than a touchscreen are the order of the day.

The Nokia 6700 slide doesn’t have to do much to get recognised, coming as it does in six stunning colours. It’s not short on features either and with social networking and 3G at its heart, this is one very connected device. The aluminium frame and 2.2-inch screen round off quite a tasty package.

Aluminium, pink, petrol-blue, red, lime and purple are the colour choices on offer for the Nokia 6700 slide, each more striking than the last. Pictures are well catered for with a five megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and a dedicated camera button.

HSDPA and HSUPA will keep users well connected whilst 29 hours of audio playback will be music to headphone fans’ ears (the 6700 also boasts over 12 days standby and four hours talktime). On board FM radio and music player will help to keep the beats alive. Based on S60, the 6700 slide also makes it easy to share pics and make the most of social networks whilst editing and uploading shots is a breeze.

Expected to land in the first quarter of 2010, the 6700 is estimated to retail for €160 before taxes and subsidies.

Enough from us, check out the 6700 in all its glory below.

Nokia 6700 photo
Nokia 6700 green model
Nokia 6700 all colors
Nokia 6700 bule phone
Nokia 6700 diffrent colors phobne

Nokia 6600 Fold Features And Pics

The accessories that come with the phone are the usual ones: a charger, a microUSB cable, manuals, software CD, handsfree with remote control on the line. The only thing we do not find in most phones is the cover. This cover is another proof that women are the target for 6600 fold.

The phone is extremely compact. I could not believe it is so thin. With just 15.9 mm, is thinner than most candybar phones. Weighing about 110 grams it seems slightly large for a phone of this type, but that is because it has many metal parts. The 110 grams are not at all excessive, the phone makes you a first impression of compact phone that is pleasant to hold it in your hand. It fits in any pocket, without problems.

6600 fold is made out of quality materials. I already said it looks solid, I will mention it is shiny. That makes it look good, but attracts fingerprints. The phone is available in two colors, black and purple. The problem with fingerprints is more evident for the black version.
Most clamshell phones stay closed with the help of some little springs that hold them in this position. 6600 fold has a different but interesting approach. The phone stays closed because of small magnets, which are located inside, above the screen and the keyboard. The magnets are colored and well masked. Moreover, the opening is made by pressing a button on the right side. When I saw this, I remembered the Ericsson T28.
On the sides, it has only one button and two connectors. On the right is the button that opens the flap and the plug charger. On the left we find the microUSB port. On the backside, we have the camera with a dual LED flash.
The graphic interface of 6600 fold is Nokia's S40 5th Edition. It is the operating system that Nokia installs on all its phones that are not smartphones. The menus are easy to use after you familiarize with them, even if they sometimes are not the intuitive.
The Nokia 6600 Fold is the sibling to the similarly specified Nokia 6600 Slide, and it can be considered to be the replacement for the current Nokia 6555. It's a dual-band 3G phone with a QVGA main display and 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, plus microSD expandable memory with a 512MB card included in the box. There's a multimedia player plus an FM radio, with a stereo wired headset in the sales package.

Like the 6555, the 6600 features a smooth back when it is open, along with a concealed display that can be woken up by tapping the phone twice. Inside the 6600 Fold is a 2.1" 320 x 240 pixel OLED paneland a secondary video calling camera. The keypad is a fairly coventional layout, taking advantage of the increased space available on a clamshell phone.

Nokia 6600 Fold As with the slide, you can double-tap the 6600 Fold to silence an alarm or reject a call, something that seems to be practical to have on a clamshell phone.

From the outside, the Nokia 6600 Fold is a strikingly elegant phone. Inside there's a practical and sensible layout, so overall the combination of usability and style is very appealing.
One annoyance is the camera - on the Slide it is a 3.2 megapixel unit, on the Fold it's only 2 megapixels. Despite that, the camera has the same video capture capabilities of 320 x 240 pixels at 30 fps or 640 x 480 pixels at 15 fps. In addition, pictures can be uploaded directly to Flickr or other photo sharing services.

Talktime on 3G is around 2.5 hours with up to 10 days standby time. The 6600 slide weighs 110 grams, which is a little heavier than most of the competition, but in terms of size it is fairly compact at 88 x 44 x 16mm.

Sony Ericsson K610 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K610 review

Sony Ericsson K610 is a new addition to the K-series but with a twist - it is one of the smallest mobile handsets available with 3G support and video calls. But if that is not enough, the mobile packs in a 2 megapixel camera and a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card slot. The classic shape and design would most probably appeal to the male audience, and one thing's for sure - you could always find place for this little fellow in your shirt's pocket.

Main advantages

• 3G with video calls
• 2 megapixel camera
• Memory card slot
• Bluetooth 2.0 incl. stereo Bluetooth support
• Small size
• Comfortable keypad

Main disadvantages

• Photo quality issues, no autofocus, QCIF video only
• No FM radio
• No Infrared port

Sony Ericsson K610 is in the medium class of mobile phones and is aimed at people who need functionality and reliability at the same time from their phones - it's seems to us that it's targeted mainly at the office workers - it has a classic design, high-tech features, compact size and has everything that's necessary to back up your daily schedule. In fact, as regards to the functional characteristics of K610, it is fully identical to Sony Ericsson W710 with the added 3G features.

The K610i version of the phone is to be sold in Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. The other version K610c is for Mainland China. Recently, Sony Ericsson announced another new version of the phone to be manufactured - K610im which will be a black, i-mode version of K610. I-mode is a network operator service for direct handling of iMail, for browsing the Internet and viewing online content.

Before we start, though, we should warn you that the phone we tested was a beta version so there are some bugs we found and we are more than sure that they would be fixed in the final version. We won't mention those as we go along the review though, because the bugs are a pretty common thing in a pre-release version.

As regards the retail package, the box should include a stereo headset, a USB cable and a 64MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card along with a Memory Stick Duo Pro adapter but as we have always said - the contents of the retail package are market and country dependant.

Size does matter

The dimensions of the phone are pretty similar to those of K750 with a slight difference in the thickness and weight in K610's favor. The new 3G handset measures exactly 102 x 45.2 x 16.9 mm and weighs no more than 89 g without the memory card which puts it among the top five or so lightest 3G devices in our catalog. It has larger display than K750 with a diameter of 1.8" but unfortunately, uses the same resolution of 176 x 220 pixels. Make a note, though, with a thickness of 16.9 mm the phone is only 3 mm thicker than the famous Motorola V3 RAZR.

The construction of the phone is very solid - so solid in fact, that it looks as though all the details and elements are etched into some uniform bar instead of put together.

The test phone had a very nice matt silver finish which added to the overall "classic" looks of the phone. The keys themselves look as if they are made of the same material as the body which, of course, is highly unlikely but adds a great uniform feel to the design.

The only downside to the phone is that it really didn't look as if it's an expensive device. Don't get us wrong, it doesn't look cheap or anything, it's just that it doesn't possess the flashiness of an expensive business or fashion phone. And it's not one of those, either.

That's not necessarily a drawback, however, since some people don't need a phone that makes a fashion statement and they usually look for a design as subtle as possible.

The phone is available in two color variants - one in red and the variant we got to test - the silver one

Sony Ericsson K800 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K800 review

Sony Ericsson K800 is one of the handsets we were so anxious to test that we could hardly wait for the phone to be brought in the office. Its highly advertised Cyber-shot camera made us as restless as kids on Christmas morning. Once we got it and before we started working on this review we spent a good deal of time experimenting with the exciting 3.2 megapixel camera. Not that we haven't seen a better camera, no! The thing is that this good camera just happens to be a good mobile phone, too.

Key features:

• A 3.2 megapixel Cyber-shot™ camera with autofocus
• Xenon flash
• Integrated image blogging support
• Memory card slot with hot swap functionality
• 3G support with video calls
• Great MP3 player
• FM radio with RDS
• Infrared port
• Bluetooth stereo support (A2DP)
• Multi-tasking support

Main disadvantages:

• A bit oversized
• Somewhat uncomfortable keypad design
• No EDGE or Wi-Fi support (K790 has EDGE, but no 3G)
• Records video in ancient QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolution only
• Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) card type is still very new and unpopular

Sony Ericsson falls in the market niche of highly functional devices for which size is not that important. It's a camera phone and the devices we like to call camera phones are phones that boast a digital camera that's on par with the low-end digital cameras on the market. Speaking of camera phones, nowadays we see an increase in the maximum image resolution. We see implementation of new features which not long ago belonged to the world of the digital cameras only - such as specific scene modes, xenon flash, auto focus. Recently announced Nokia multimedia phones would even have optical zoom. The camera functionalities of the mobile phones are becoming increasingly important since the battle for the ultimate multimedia device continues - a device that can take great pictures, capture hi-res video, one that plays high-quality music, one that you can browse photos or play games on, one that helps you organize your daily schedule and browse the Internet, and in the same time functions equally well as a regular phone. Right about now buying a new mobile phone is always a bit of a trade-off on some of those things. There is no perfect phone.

In today's review we are going to take a look at a handset that makes a big stride in the quest for the ideal mobile multimedia device - a camera phone that still has its flaws, of course, but that shows us clearly the direction in which the industry is going to and thus turns into a symbolic device for us. Yes, we are talking about the Sony Ericson K800 Cyber-shot mobile phone. It has GPRS and UMTS support, memory card slot, great camera, a great MP3 player, stereo Bluetooth support, FM radio, integrated image blogging service and Google search and last but not least - a great 3.2 megapixel camera with an integrated real xenon flash.

The phone will be manufactured in two versions - one will be designated K800 and the other one - K790. The difference between the two is that the first one is produced with 3G UMTS support and a second VGA camera for video calls but no EDGE support, while K790 will have only EDGE support. The availability of the two models would be market-dependent, of course.

Before we start, though, I should warn you that the phone we tested was a beta version so there are some bugs we found and we are more than sure that they would be fixed in the final version. We won't mention those as we go along the review though, because the bugs are a pretty common thing in a pre-release version. As regards the retail package, the box should include a stereo headset, a USB cable and a 64MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card along with a Memory Stick Duo Pro adapter but as we have always said - the contents of the retail package are market and country dependant.

All those numbers

The phone design follows the trend of all K-series phones of SE. It's really nice and it's only half a centimeter longer than the well-known K750, although at first sight it seems a lot bigger than K750. Otherwise the measures of both phones are pretty close to one another. K800 has dimensions of 105 x 47 x 22 mm and weighs 115 g. Just for comparison, the dimensions of K750 are 100 x 46 x 20.5 mm, while its weight is 99 g.

We got to admit that the phone's construction is pretty solid and the construction quality deserves a compliment. The weight on the other hand is perfectly balanced and doesn't feel much at all.

Sony Ericsson K600 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K600 review

We have tested the Sony Ericsson K600 with 3G support. It's similar to the excellent K750 in many things. The camera is worse, but it has two instead. Want to step into 3G? We have a proposition for you.

Key features

• UMTS support
• Two cameras, video call
• Quality display
• Built-in radio with RDS
• 1.3 MP camera with light diode
• Quality MP3 ringtones

Main disadvantages

• No memory card slot
• Very sunk keypad buttons
• No "switch off animation" option in the menu

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There is a group of people, who will want to be prepared for the 3rd generation network upon any terms. Nowadays, there are few phones for these people, which get along with 3G. Another good offer is the new Sony Ericsson, called K600.

It stands next to the K750/W800 models in the company profile and has in fact very similar feature set. The K600 only has a poorer camera. It is almost a megapixel less; the second video call camera, mounted on the front side, partially compensates for the lower resolution.

Indistinguishable from metal

The classic body construction has proportions of 104 × 45 × 19 millimeters. A little bit less fatness would suit better to such a small phone. The weight of 105 grams puts it amongst the phones with medium size. This is exactly the right choice for those who need to know that they have something in their hands, but at the same time don't want their shirt pockets deformed.

The colorful design is silver with black elements and lines on the sides. They optically lighten the phone fatness. From the reaction of those, who have seen the K600 live till now, we can judge, that the design of the newie is successful. It is an interesting combination of the retro style of the hi-fi devices from the 90's and supertemporal urban interpretation.

Those, who will only look at Sony Ericsson K600 and don't take it in hands, can only guess that the silver chassis is apparently plastic. The illusion of metal is perfect at first sight.

From all sides

There are two buttons on the right side. Dependent on the menu, they function as a volume controller, camera zoom, and display illumination in inactive mode; also show phone information when in active mode. Below is the camera shutter release button.

Beneath are the charger and handsfree connectors. Why did Sony Ericsson come back to the authentic connector type, when the newie is equipped with the new Fast-Port connector? The microphone is mounted above the slots; the eyelet for a strip - in the center.

Above is the main switch button - a classic feature of Sony Ericsson and Nokia. Next to it, under the cover is the infrared port, along is the status LED. After a long time, from the time of the old fellow T68i, LED is back again, informing, for example about the new messages. However, it's not really good. It is weak and - try to look around you - who of your friends places its phone with the upper side facing him?

There is a rubber cover on the left side; below is a place for connector, equipped with USB cable. Here are also two locks, which hold the back cover in its place. The opening mechanism is solved in a clever way and contributes to the excellent solidity of the phone. You will get to know the whole system from the pictures. You'll find a 900 mAh battery under the cover. The indicated battery life reaches 370 hours stand-by and 500 minutes talk time.

Pity that they aren't upwards

I mean the buttons. The construction side of the keypad is high quality, the ergonomics, however, doesn't impress much. I am not talking about the keypad layout, we have used to the location of the buttons from this brand - they are well placed. Only the buttons are sunk in such a way, so if you go over it with paper edge it won't hitch. That's why it's no easy and comfortable to push them and customers with fat fingers will have problems while writing.

The main operating button is a five way joystick, which has exactly the advantage, which the buttons lack. Its upper edge is high enough and is not shaky. It is very precise and for the whole time when using K600 I have "misfired" only few times.

The keypad illumination is rich blue. It doesn't single out the button forms, but directly the characters and numbers. The light however is not strong enough, so in the darkness it is not easy to see the keys' location.

Sony Ericsson K300 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K300 review

The new Sony Ericsson K300 is a cheap and elegant phone equipped with built-in camera, plenty of interesting functions and immensely fast Java applications. In terms of design it picks up again the legendary T610 model. Its initial price, however, was set at less than 170 euros.

The first news about Sony Ericsson K300 was published as early as November last year. At a discussion forum back then a blurred photo of a somewhat small mobile phone appeared. Its code name was Kristina. Many people did not trust that information, many other considered it even spurious. Fortunately, it turn out not to be a fraud and the new Sony Ericsson K300 is now lying on our editor's desk.

Key functions

built-in camera

·  40-channels polyphonic or MP3 ringtones

·  email client

·  fast Java with 3D support

·  menu graphics

Main disadvantages

• passive display
• small address book capacity
• no repeated events in the calendar
• GPRS of Class 8 only

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Familiar style

In no way does the K300 model renounce its parents. Take one quick look and your doubts will disappear. We have been offered another device manufactured by mother Sony and father Ericsson. The new model is closely related to the current K500 model. In fact, both phones have almost identical functions. What is different about the new model is its slightly poorer equipment and lower price.

The first impression the phone leaves is of a solid device, whose keypad resembles a certain relation to the older T610 model. The phone is available in two main color versions - silver and silver-blue.

When you see the phone for the first time, your attention will be attracted by the wider margin around the display, which optically outstands far more in the phone's silver-blue version than in the plain silver one. Nevertheless, this detail does not disturb the well-balanced image of the whole device for it gradually curves the upper edge of the phone and continues onto its back side. The keypad takes up approximately one half of the front side of the phone.

The stand-by will probably please you

Sony Ericsson K300's size is 100 × 46 × 21 mm; together with its weight of 85 g it fits into the category of small and light phones. The antenna is built-in, as usual. If you take a close look at phone's side parts, you will find nothing else but the QuickShare button placed on the left side of the phone, which shortcuts the start of the camera. On the top edge is the switch-on button, accompanied by the dark slot of the infrared port. Under the latter is also hidden the unobtrusive state diode. The only thing to be found on the bottom side of the phone is the system connector, which is just the same as the connector of the older Sony Ericsson models. It provides enough support for all equipment extras.

The plastic shell of the battery spreads over nearly the whole back side of the phone; the latter includes a bulging tiny mirror which serves for taking self-portraits using the built-in camera. Right next to it you will find the camera lens. The shell that hides the battery is quite thin, so creaky sounds come out every time you press the cover, no matter how much effort you put into this.

What keeps body and soul together is the lithium-polymer accumulator of 700 mAh capacity. According to the information provided by the manufacturer, it should be enough for 300 hours in a stand-by mode and up to 420 minutes of phone calls. Our experience from the phone's testing proved this rather high-standard holding time. Yet, we did not have enough time to measure it properly. As for the charging time, the accumulator needs about two hours to get fully charged.

Something in the keys' design stumbles

The distribution of the keys is similar to the keypads of other new Sony Ericsson mobile phones. Right under the upper edge of the display you will find a pair of soft buttons, which manage the main controlling functions of the phone. Their role changes during the work with the phone, with the current one being displayed in the bottom state line of the display.

The phone has a five-way joystick, which is relatively embedded, but is still quite comfortable and easy to control. On both its sides you will find the correct key and a button, which gets you back to a higher menu level. Perhaps many users will find the button that serves for starting the WAP browser unnecessary; fortunately, its functions will be possible to change in phones, which are offered separately, besides the official promotions of the mobile operators.

The keypad left me somewhat puzzled. Even though the keys are big enough for comfortable and fast writing, the distance between them is sufficient, and their uplift is not bad at all, it is a mystery for me why one does not write on them as well as expected. Apparently, the blame is to be pinned on the touch layer used under the keys, which lacks a sure final press; besides that, pressing the keys requires too much effort.

Sony Ericsson K510 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K510

Sony Ericsson K510 is a new tri-band bar phone with the classic Sony Ericsson K-series design. It will be sold at a reasonable price and as far as our impressions go it would become a price/performance champion. The tri-band GSM 1.3 megapixel camera phone will be labeled K510i for the European market, K510a for the Americas and K510c for China Mainland.

Main advantages:

• Compact size and weight
• Really fast user interface
• Very good quality 1.3 megapixel camera
• Lithium-Polymer battery
• Good web browser with RSS feeds reader
• Bluetooth & IrDA

Main disadvantages:

• Low resolution display
• No memory card slot
• No FM radio
• Poor music player

Sony Ericsson K510 comes in the upper lower class of mobile phones and is aimed for every day use of people who want functionality and reliability from their phones. It's neither a luxurious piece nor a powerful device. The phone offers very good camera performance for its class, good connectivity features and very fast response in such small dimensions.

The regular Sony Ericsson bar

Sony Ericsson K510 looks just like a normal Sony Ericsson bar phone and cannot surprise in terms of design and construction. The size of 101 x 44 x 17 mm and the weight of 82 g make it a rather small device and when held in hand it feels very comfortable and easy to operate with. The black and silver combination is elegant and suits the phone's shape very nicely. However, the design of the phone cannot mislead you to think that K510 is an expensive phone.

The construction of the phone is very solid and stable. It did not produce a single creak or any other sound during the testing period. It feels very comfortable in one hand and the proportions of the phone are perfect.

The front side of the phone is made out of black plastic and the four functional keys and the navigation joystick stand out with their silver color. The main speaker is located at the top with a Sony Ericsson sign found just below it. A silver line frame designates the display and below it is the keypad.

Now the use of joystick for navigation can be a reason for many protests from disgruntled clients. The infamous SE joysticks tend to gradually stop working in the course of using the phone for let say a year. Sony Ericsson realized the fact and is trying to improve their design in order to seal the joystick from dirt and dust which actually lead to its short life fate. Many users think that the company should start producing their handsets with 4-way navigation pad instead with a joystick but truth is that the joystick is incredibly comfortable means of navigation… as long as it works, of course.

The two soft keys and the Back (on the left) and clear C (on the right) buttons surround the navigation joystick. Below them are located the numeric keys. The four silver keys and the joystick are made out of plastic while the numeric keys are made out of some different rubber-like material.

The back cover features the camera lens and the self-portrait mirror, all located on a bulging silver ring. The rest of the back is black. The camera lens is located rather deep in the phone construction, probably for protecting it from scratches. Below the camera balloon is the speaker grid, which is in an interesting form. There is also a vertical Sony Ericsson sign embedded on the battery cover.

Both lateral sides are silver and have one button on each of them. The left side shelters the camera release button. On the right side is the Activity menu button. Unfortunately, this time the design lacks the traditional side volume swing key and that may turn out as a bit of disappointment for all Sony Ericsson fans.

The battery cover opens easily when you push it upwards in its bottom part. When you lose the cover, the Lithium-Polymer battery is visible, covering the SIM card bed beneath it. Sony Ericsson deserve compliments for supplying the phone with such a good battery. According to the manufacturer, it should provide the handset with 360 hours of standby time and 7 hours of talk time. Of course those numbers are strictly indicative. Pitifully, we couldn't test the K510 battery life since we used the phone heavily during our tests and thus the battery life we experienced was not indicative for the real-life performance of the phone. Unfortunately, there is no memory card slot in the Sony Ericsson K510

Sony Ericsson K550 disadvantages

Sony Ericsson K550 review

Already a magic word in the world of mobile phones, the Cyber-shot brand, has now received a new member. The Sony Ericsson K550 is a feature-rich cameraphone with an enjoyable 2 megapixel camera, nice imaging applications, FM radio and a memory card slot. And all that at a reasonable price that may attract your attention. Anyways, if we’ve managed to grab it, feel free to join us on a tour with the K800’s little brother.

Key features:

• 2 megapixel camera with auto focus
• Active lens cover
• M2 memory card slot (comes with a 512MB card)
• FM radio with RDS
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Bluetooth support
• Multi-tasking
• Small size

Main disadvantages:

• Low resolution display
• Camera not as good as the Cyber-shot brand suggests
• Records video in ancient QCIF resolution only

The Cyber-shot revolution has done only good to the Sony Ericsson sales. It proved rather successful and that is the reason why the manufacturer naturally releases a more affordable cameraphone to the masses. Sony Ericsson continue their long line of bar phones which are either camera or music-oriented with the K550. The midrange K-series continuation comes again in a small shell with a tight fit waist. At only 14 mm thickness, it surely packs in some nice features. So let’s continue with our review, but bear in mind that in the case of Sony Ericsson the Cyber-shot logo does not necessarily mean great camera performance but enhanced imaging capabilities.

The Sony Ericsson K550 is going to be produced in two distinct versions. The first one is the K550i and the second one the K550im which is an i-mode version of the mobile and is the first i-mode phone by the manufacturer bearing that Cyber-shot logo. The test handset we received is in fact namely that i-mode version. It carries certain differences and as such those will be duly noted. Nevertheless, it gives us pretty much the full picture about the more widely-distributed would-be version – K550i.

An impressive start

Sony Ericsson K550 leaves nice impression at first sight. It measures 102 x 46 x 14 mm and weighs only 85 g. The handset design is styled with the new Sony Ericsson style – circular navigation keys and thin metallic alphanumeric keys. This is obviously the design that is going to reign in the Sony Ericsson camp this year as we see it on almost all their latest bar-shaped mobiles.

Above the 262K colors TFD display with a 176 x 220 pixels resolution there is only an in-call speaker grill and the Sony Ericsson brand name. The display itself has a silver rim all over which adds a certain stylishness to the design. Below the display there are the navigation keys which have a silver finish.

The left side of the device features a dual volume key and the regular Fast Port used for connecting the headset, the charger and the data cable. The port is indeed the regular one use by Sony Ericsson but is unusually positioned on the left side. In fact we saw that same solution in the Sony Ericsson W880. That is the same reason why the bottom side of the device is pretty bare.

The top side on the other hand accommodates an On/Off key and the Infrared port.

The right side of the device features a camera shutter key and a dual volume key which serves the double purpose of zooming in and out when taking pictures or shooting video. There are also two small sliders which in fact lock the battery cover.

Flipping the phone over reveals the active lens cover. Sliding it down activates the camera interface automatically. The active cover in fact covers not only the lens but also a self portrait mirror. Just beside the cover there are two powerful LEDs which serve the purpose of a photo flash as well as a flashlight when used with the Light application that is preinstalled in the phone.

Once you slide open the two sliders which lock the battery cover it is removed with an ease. This type of locking mechanism seems rather stable and secure.

Once the cover is removed, the battery and the memory card slot are revealed. The battery is a standard Sony Ericsson BST-33 Li-Polymer with a capacity of 950mAh. There is no official information about how long the battery is supposed to endure, but our impression is that Sony Ericsson K550 does nice in that department. With a moderate use the fully charged battery was capable of enduring at least 4 days. The same battery in fact is used in Sony Ericsson W850 and W880.

The SIM card bed is under the battery. It’s a regular Sony Ericsson one meaning that the SIM card is easy to slide in and hard to slide out.

Generally we are pretty pleased with the design and construction of the Sony Ericsson K550. It feels nice to touch and fits perfectly in your hand.

Samsung X830 disadvantages

Samsung X830 review

The controversial Samsung X830 won’t leave you indifferent. It is a MP3 player with 1 GB of built-in memory on one hand, and a mobile phone, supporting Bluetooth and EDGE on the other hand. The unusual design also draws the attention – it will amuse some, while it will definitely inspire others.

Key features

• 1 GB internal memory
• Small size
• Quality music reproduction
• Keypad lightning
• EDGE support
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack

Main disadvantages

• Unusual keypad layout, keys located in two columns
• Bad location of the built-in camera lens
• Unstable construction of the swivel hinge mechanism
• No memory card slot
• No email client
• Low quality of retail package headphones
• Software issues

The topic of the this year’s Christmas time when it comes to mobile communications was clearly the music player capabilities of mobile phones. After the music-oriented models such as 5200 and 5300, the specially designed smart phones such as 3250 Xpress Music and 5500 Sport Music Edition of the Finnish brand Nokia and after the top Sony Ericsson W850i and W950i Walkmans, here comes the Korean Samsung. The untraditional X830 model again predisposes to thoughts, whether the music players’ integration into the world of mobile phones won’t take to an exactly opposite direction.

We have already met

The X830 concept comes from the SPH-S4300 model, being available from the first quarter of 2006 in Korea; we have already seen this model on the CeBIT Fair in Hanover. Physically, Samsung appears more like a music player than like a mobile. The multimedia functions in a phone are essential for a certain group of people. On principle, however, we expect that the phone functions won’t suffer from the multimedia ones. Unfortunately, the manufacturers often do this.

The overall phone design is contradictory in many ways. To some it may look stylish, to others – the new form may look rather controversial. True fact is that the dimensions of 84 x 30 x 19 mm are at least unusual and hardly remind of an ordinary phone. I thought that the Samsung weighs less at first sight. The weight of 72 g however was no such a big surprise, having in mind the phone size. Yet, from current models it compares only to Sony Ericsson J100 in terms of weight.

According to the available information Samsung X830 will be sold in six color variants: blue, green, orange, pink, white and black. I would unambiguously prefer the more conservative black variant. I didn’t like much the orange-silver cover of the sample model we had for testing.

Ah, those swivel hinges

There aren’t many models with rotating construction on the market. Unfortunately the Samsung X830 swivel mechanism is not very successful. The disadvantages aren’t visible at common manipulation, but the construction won’t stand at thorough testing. The deflections in closed, semi open and fully open positions may be felt clearly and you have to get used to them in the phone’s everyday use. Moreover, while in closed position the lock mechanism does its job satisfactory, but when opened, it fails to lock the upper part in an upright position. A little consolation is the fact, that rotating it about ten degrees activates the opening mechanism, which provides the movement to the upper position side. So, you don’t have to push it all the way up.

Opening the phone with one hand is easy due to its width of only 30 mm. It’s enough to turn the phone with display down and push with thumb to the right side board. It’s easy for right-handers; left-handed people have to make bigger effort. Right thumb manipulation is after all simpler than pushing with the other left hand fingers.

The outsides

The Samsung body is made of plastic covers, supplemented by metal buttons. One such button serves for locking the music player controls; the lower edge of the same side features the traditional eyelet for a neck strip. The opposite side incorporates two buttons, intended for volume control. The cover of the common connector for headphones, data cable and charger is situated above them.

To loosen the battery cover, use the buttons, located on the upper. They seem more as dummy buttons, because pressing them is practically impossible and removing the battery will cost you some more efforts and strain. The battery cover takes ? of the mobile’s back side; the built-in camera lens is located on the remaining area.

The provided battery is Li-Ion with capacity of 800 mAh and maximum indicated lifetime of 120 h in stand-by and 3 h of talk time. The real values move about two and a half days in stand-by mode. Using the music functions shortens the battery charging cycle, of course, but still it easily lasts one day without need to be charged.

Samsung Z540 disadvantages

Samsung Z540 review

n the end of last year Samsung announced their UMTS slim clamshell Z540. This review comes quite late, but yet we decided to publish one since the 3G black beauty is still an attractive proposition. The impressive display in a thin UMTS clamshell combined with a 1.3 megapixel camera makes the mobile quite an interesting market contender.

Key features

• Elegant design
• Impressive display
• Fast UI responses
• External music control buttons
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• Big internal memory

Main disadvantages

• No memory card slot
• Four-way control button prone to errors
• No graphic themes
• Camera application works slowly
• No infrared

The Samsung Z540 falls in a very large market niche. The phone has 3G UMTS support, a QVGA display and a 1.3 megapixel camera. In addition, Z540 is supplied with 140 MB internal memory and provides MP3 player features.

A somewhat RAZR design

The design of Z540 is very nice. It's very precise and plain and makes the phone look elegant. The black surface and the indented lines in the plates make it look a little rough but not crude. The phone feels very comfortable when held in hand both when opened and closed. When it's opened, it is very easy to use and the weight balance is perfect.

On the bottom of the front cover are located two loud speaker grills. Just above them are the music control buttons. The frame with the SAMSUNG sign and the outer display is above them. And in the top end we find the camera lens. The back panel is far simpler. It has only four rubber taps in every corner and the battery cover in the lower part of it. The top side of the closed device accommodates a neck-strip hole. On the left side is the two-way volume control button. On the opposite right side are located the camera release button and the USB port, which is protected by a plastic cap. The secondary camera for video calls is situated in the swivel joint of the clamshell construction in the middle of the phone. When the phone is opened, the camera is on the right side of the joint.

When opened Z540 looks very nice and the keypad leaves very good impressions in terms of design. The phone, however, feels a bit rough and narrow.

Almost perfect construction

The construction of the Z540 clamshell seems very stable and solid. The solid feeling is assisted by the metal or metal-like plastic that the phone is made of. It feels very cool and strong in one's hand. The dimensions of the phone are 99x50.5x14.9 mm. The opening mechanism works fine and the phone can be opened using one hand only. The device didn't produce any creak sounds neither showed any loosening in the construction except for the battery cover. It plays and creaks a little. The arresting mechanism of the cover doesn't seem to work properly and cover loosens. Otherwise, the construction is done perfectly. The location of the side buttons seems comfortable.

This phone doesn't catch fingerprints easily. Only the outer display is prone to that. The matt material of the front and back cover does not catch any fingerprints at all which is great. Dust is a bigger problem, though. It collects between the upper and lower part of the phone in the clamshell swivel joint. Those parts should be wiped once in a while in order to keep the phone clean.

The battery cover is easily opened. Underneath it is the 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery. The SIM card bed in right next to the battery but you cannot slide in or out the SIM card without first removing the battery. There is no memory card slot.

Samsung Z560 disadvantages

Samsung Z560 review

The Samsung Z560 is a feature-packed clamshell which is equipped with some of the latest technologies in the mobile industry - HSDPA, a 2 megapixel camera with auto focus, microSD memory card slot and a really large 2.3" TFT display with a QVGA resolution. Although neither of these carries the "wow" factor seen in other mobiles, it certainly promises a real enjoyment of your mobile experience. Well, truth be told - it manages to live up to that promise and you are welcomed to read on our detailed review.

Main features

• Slim design
• 2 megapixel camera with auto focus
• Hot-swap microSD memory card slot
• HSDPA 1.8 Mbps plus EDGE and GPRS
• Touch-sensitive external music keys
• Stereo loudspeakers

Main disadvantages

• No FM radio
• No Infrared port
• Records video in the outdated QCIF (176 x 144 pixels) resolution only

Well this year no one is talking about 3G anymore. The magic word is definitely HSDPA. The High-Speed Downlink Packet Access is a 3G mobile telephony protocol that comes as an upgrade to existing 3G networks and the current deployments of the technology allow for a downlink speed of 1.8 Mbit/s, 3.6 Mbit/s, and 7.2 Mbit/s. You can imagine what the increased bandwidth speed means - quicker downloads, streaming of mobile content with increased quality and finally, a wireless modem connection for your notebook wherever you go. Well, those are really nice prospects for the mobile industry and for us, the consumers in particular. We would see more and more of HSDPA-enabled handsets becoming commercially available and of course, more and more of those reviewed here at GSMArena.com. The Samsung Z560 is among those products. It is already available to markets worldwide as well as several other solutions by other manufacturers - such as the Motorola RAZR V6 maxx which seems as almost identical to the Samsung solution.

Further on, the Samsung Z560 clamshell comes as an upgrade to the 3G Samsung Z540 which we reviewed almost a year ago. The successor has an updated camera, a new lighter design, a larger capacity battery, and the added benefit of a microSD memory card slot.

Slim and wide

Now the Samsung Z560 leaves an impression of a really slim handset while in the same time when the flip is closed it measures a good 16 mm of thickness. Besides being slim, it is most definitely one other thing - really wide.

With the flip closed the central part of the outer panel is taken by the secondary display. It is a 65K colors TFT one with a resolution of 96 x 96 pixels. Below it are several touch-sensitive keys which come in good use when you use the Z560 as a MP3 player. Above it is the 2 megapixel camera lens.

When you open the flip there is no way of not noticing how large the main display is. It is a 256K colors TFT one with a QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution and it measures a good 2.3" in diagonal. Above the display is the in-call speaker grill, while below it is the secondary camera used for video calls. The keypad is really nicely elaborated and besides the usual functional and alphanumeric keys it also has a dedicated shortcut key for video calls and a second one for a nice shortcut menu.

The left side of the Samsung Z560 features a port for plugging the charger, headset or data cable. Beside the port is the dual volume key. The bottom and top part of the device are pretty bare.

The right side of the handset accommodates the microSD memory card slot and the camera shortcut key. The stereo speakers are positioned respectively on the left and right side of the flip near the bottom. They are not visible - only their apertures are.

The back of the Z560 is bare too. The battery cover is removed with a slide. You can see the SIM card bed above the battery but in order to put in or take out the card you have to remove the battery first. The Z560 is equipped with a 900 mAh Li-Ion battery which according to the manufacturer should keep the device going for up to 320 hours in standby mode and up to 3 hours and 40 minutes of call time. In reality the battery lasted 2-3 days with moderate talk times of 10-15 minutes a day.

Generally, we were pleased with the ergonomics of the Z560. We did notice a flaw though and it concerns opening the clamshell single-handedly. On the left side of the Samsung Z560 there is a recess where you can rest your finger in order to open the flip. It works okay and you can open it with a relative ease. On the right side however there is no recess and opening the device with your left hand proves pretty much impossible.

Other that that we are pleased with the way the device feels when held in hand and due to its wide form-factor it is nice to talk on, too.

Siemens CX75 disadvantages

Siemens CX75 review

Siemens CX75 is the first phone of the new series to hit the market. Unlike its successful forerunner it can boast of a megapixel camera, Bluetooth, memory cards support and finer display. Moreover, it features a slightly extravagant design.

Key features

• Bluetooth
• Memory card slot
• MP3 player
• Megapixel camera
• Very good phonebook
• Rich extras menu

Main disadvantages

• Much too embedded joystick
• Display is better quality, but smaller than the one of the forerunner
• Unattractive graphics in the main menu
• MP3 player does not run in background
• Controversial design

Just about a year ago we were testing Siemens CX65. It was the first mobile of Series 65. It stood out among the competitors due to its rich functional menu, its huge display and its brilliantly elaborated phonebook and calendar. It hit the market in June, at an initial price of about 270 euros. Since then, however, its price has fallen to half the original one, so it is no wonder Siemens CX65 has become an immensely favorite mobile among the consumers.

Yet, a year in the mobile technologies is quite a long time... The market requires innovations and hence a new successor is on the way. Struggling to meet customers' requirements, Siemens mobiles has designed the new Siemens CX Series 75 model. The phone was officially presented together with other models of the same series at this year's CeBIT fair..

It is moving up

One quick look at the new Siemens CX75 is enough to reveal the aspirations of this phone to let go the middle class and move a little bit upper in the mobile hierarchy. The phone is decorated with chromium elements and looks special and luxurious. As you will see a bit further in the review, the range of its functions is also very wide. Already the previous CX65 model was one of the middle-class phones best equipped ever. However, technology moves forward bringing along common achievements that once used to be innovative. As a result, in the new model you can look forward to a megapixel camera, Bluetooth and memory cards support.

It seems that the equipment of CX75 is richer in order to partly cover the gap, which flew open after the missing successor from the S series. The only mobile within the Siemens brand to be better equipped will be the SXG75 model, designed as a multimedia device. It will be shooting at exquisite and pretentious users, who appreciate and are willing to pay for a 3rd generation net support, a 2 MP camera and other types of equipment.

Gleaming all over around

Lying in front of us is a phone meant to serve the mass users. Its design, however, is quite extravagant and I dare foresee this detail will probably discourage many customers from buying the mobile. When I first saw the phone, I thought there was far too much chromium placed on its covers and tended to look at it with certain contempt. Nevertheless, step by step, I have become to like the design. Compared to the rest of the mobiles on the market, including the older Siemens CX65, the new phone looks representative and pretty luxurious. It will be offered in two color versions - metallic gray and beige-silver. We obtained the former as a tester.

Compared to its forerunner, CX75 has grown in all directions - it is 110 × 48 × 19 mm (Siemens CX65 was 108 × 46 × 18 mm). The increase in weight by 8 g to 98 g is also quite significant. The basic difference, however, between both generations is most evident in the design.

The most interesting part of the new phone is its upper edge. It is utterly even and buffed up, and can be therefore used even as a tiny mirror. The reflection is, however, quite oblong, because the surface is round, continuing into the front side of the device, where it modifies into two narrow parallel strips creating a frame around the display. The functional part of the keypad is also chromium and glossy. It is basically where the strips around the display pass on accomplishing this way the front cover design. As not a single finger print can stay invisible on phone's glossy surface, I do not doubt many dactyloscopy fans will love the device.

The display is not so big to reach the glossy margins. The space in between is covered by grey, metallic-like surface. All this is protected by a gloss cover, on the top of which decorating signs with the manufacturer's logo (above the display) and the type of the device (below the display) are placed. Moreover, the protecting glass cover is thick which, together with the grey background, enables for impressive shadows of those signs in daylight.

You may easily pass the earphone slot for it is an extremely narrow oblong rent placed above the display. I should not forget to mention the tiny slot mounted on the top edge of the device. Even though it looks like an eyelet for a string, there is no way you fasten one here. It is a tack point for the automobile handsfree holder. The rest of the front side of the phone is occupied by the numeric part of the keypad, whose big grey keys are decently designed to create a well-balanced entity.

Who has dug this hole?

The parts of the phone's sides that reach the margins of the front cover have a silver nuance. The silver hems copy the fillet at phone's top part and extend to its rear side. Here you will find the manufacturer's logo engraved in a silver strip. The rest of the phone's sides and the entire back cover have been designed in a darker tone of silver-grey polish.

Surprisingly, it is not the camera that catches the eye on the back side of the phone the most, but the huge hole of the external antenna connector. Considering the fact that the majority of users will hardly ever use this connector, it could have been stylishly hidden. Next to the abyss with golden bottom is the unobtrusive silver frame of the camera lens. The latter is oblong and slightly embossed. Here the manufacturer has placed camera's main parameters, using a small size font. In the model we were testing, the lens was mounted a bit sideways from the middle of the glass cover. Let us wait and see if the final design will show any improvements.

A removable cover creates the rest of the back side of the device. Under it there is a lithium-ion battery of 750 mAh capacity, which is expected to supply the phone with energy for 250 hours in a stand-by mode or 300 minutes of calling. Unfortunately, we have not had a chance to test battery's real durability yet. Under the cover there is a standard Siemens bed for the SIM card. I mean, if you need to remove the card, be sure you have a big nail and a lot of patience. Otherwise you will break it.

PAlthough Siemens CX75 looks like a metal mobile, its covers are plastic. Constructional work is quite good. And still, a bit stronger pressure makes the phone gives out slight creaky sounds. Any comparison to the forerunner, however, reveals positive changes.

Siemens S75 disadvantages

Siemens S75 review

The new Siemens Class S is not just a "boring" mobile phone meant for work. Apart from luxury elegancy, brilliantly elaborated functions and fast data transfers, it offers an excellent MP3 player and a high-class camera. And what about the price? It's so low that it is hard to believe.

Key features

• good price/performance ratio
• brilliant phonebook
• fast data transfers with EDGE
• improved MP3 playback
• 128MB memory card

Main disadvantages

• poor display resolution
• unstable software
• loud click sounds of the buttons

All Siemens mobile phones from the S class are famous for their excellent working features. In particular, the latest S65 model has become very popular for its decent outlook, large display, superb phonebook service, calendar and messages, as well as for its Bluetooth and marginal orientation towards multimedia functions. Obviously, the manufacturer has decided to supplement it with several entertainment applications in order to keep the pace with the competition. And here we have Siemens S75 - a music mobile for managers.

Good job

Siemens S75 looks very luxurious. Its front cover is made of black shiny plastic material, touched with chromium plated elements: the frame around the display, the decorative band above the metal grid of the speaker, the manufacturer's logo and the rectangular frame of the control button. The entire front side of the device is flanked with silver-like plastic material, which is trimmed in the middle part of both sides, thus making the phone look narrower. L

Looked aside Siemens S75 reminds a sandwich. Both top and bottom courses are silver. In between them there is a dark grey section, in which several elements are mounted. On the right side of the phone you will find buttons for volume control of the earphones, while on the left side the camera release button and the music player button are to be found. In the bottom part of the left side you will also see a dark glass, which is basically the infrared port. The bottom side of the device is occupied by the system connector, which is identical to the system connectors of the rest of the models from the 65/75 series. Above the connector you will find a large memory card slot. To open it you will need a pen or a similar sharp object.

On the top of the phone there is a small slot, which reminds an eyelet hold. However, it is nothing else but a bracket for the car holder. If you hang Siemens S75 on your neck, it will be swinging upside down as the real eyelet hold is located on the bottom side of the device, below its removable back cover. The back cover is entirely silver. Below it you will find an 820 mAh Li-Ion battery, which is said to support up to 300 hours of stand-by performance and 300 minutes of phone calls. By this very moment I have been intensively testing Siemens S75 for full two days. Nevertheless, the battery indicator is still half full.

Note: in the course of writing this review I finally managed to discharge the phone completely

side buttons

Siemens S75 features a camera located in the upper area of its back cover. Here you will find the lens in a chromium-plated frame, a flash LED and a tiny square mirror for self-portraits. As usual in all Siemens models, the back cover of the phone also hosts the uncovered and rather ugly external antenna connector.

card

The phone has a solid construction. It did not creak once no matter how hard I would twist or press it. This fact comes to supplement the good impression this luxury phone gives at first sight. The dimensions of the phone (103 x 47 x 19 mm) and its weight of 99 g send it into the category of medium big and medium heavy mobile phones.

Click, click, clap, clap

Alike the front cover, the buttons of the keypad are made of shiny black plastics. They are separate and small, but at the same time stand out enough to significantly assist touch control. Press is relatively firm, but at the same time quite loud. I myself find it so loud that I fear it may disturb a lot, if the phone is used in quiet environment.

Similar to the SXG75 model, Siemens S75's control key is in a distinct chromium rectangular frame. Selected options are confirmed by a press on its middle part. On the sides there are two context keys and a standard pair of green and red receivers. Besides, on the left there is an additional key, which opens music files, and on the right - a key for direct access to the internet browser.

Apart from the loud clicks, the keypad is brilliant. In general, keys are easy to manage, even if quite small. Fast SMS writing is not a problem. The keypad is backlighted in white, but it is only the legends of the keys that shine. Side buttons have been smartly done as well. They do not need to be pressed strongly, but are somewhat difficult to find by touch.

Samsung X700 disadvantages

Samsung X700 review

Here is the remarkable Samsung phone with classic shape, X700. Its features are so rich that it can face up the best models of the competition. Among others, it features a 1.3 megapixel camera, EDGE Class 10, a microSD memory card slot, and stereo speakers.

Key features

• Attractive conservative design
• Large, top-class display
• microSD memory card slot
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• Stereo FM radio
• EDGE Class 10
• Loud stereo acoustic performance
• Stereo Bluetooth earphones
• Memory card access through USB Mass Storage

Main disadvantages

• Somewhat unhandy keypad
• MP3 player does not get minimized
• No ringing profiles
• Pictures cannot be viewed in fullscreen mode
• Camera lacks flash
• Melodies stored on memory card not possible to set as ringing melodies
• 200 KB size limit for attachments sent via email

Samsung has always been known for its clamshell mobiles, which dominate its portfolio even nowadays. The last Samsung model with classic shape was Samsung C200, almost impossible to find on store shelves anymore. The new X700 model, however, comes to certify that the South-Korean manufacturer "has not lost all love" for this type of mobile phones and that it is not only clamshells it is good at.

Class is all

Samsung X700's dimensions of 108 x 44 x 19 mm and weight of 95 g file it into the category of medium-big and medium-heavy phones. It fits in one's hand pretty comfortably. I appreciate a lot the fact that designers have abandoned unnecessary fashionable whims and have kept to conservative, but still quite attractive looks. Black color together with silver rims conforms perfectly to this decision.

All black parts of the phone, except for the keypad, are made of plastic material similar to rubber. In result, the covers are not slippery and there are no fingerprints left on the surface. Construction is solid. It does not creak even if grasped strongly.

From all around

Front cover is divided into two more or less equal parts - one for the display, and one for the keypad. Above the display you will find the manufacturer's logo, as well as a silver band covering the speaker grill. The system connector is situated below the keypad. It is protected by a cap and is of the typical Samsung type. The cap itself is hooked to the phone body and is impossible to lose.

On the left side of the device is the swing volume control button and one of the two stereo speakers available in the phone. The right side is much more interesting. Here you will find the microSD (TransFlash) memory card slot, the camera release button, and the earphones connector covered by a practical folding capping strip. In the very top part of the right side is located the second stereo speaker.

A major part of the rear side of the phone is occupied by the battery, which has no cover protection. Above the battery lies a silver ring with the megapixel camera lens, accompanied by a mirror for self-portraits. If you prefer to carry your mobile hung around your neck, use the eyelet located on the oval top part of the device.

Samsung X700's battery is lithium-polymer and is easy to remove. According to the manufacturer, a single charge of the battery of 800 mAh capacity should be enough for up to 450 hours on stand-by or 450 minutes of calls. Under the battery you will find a tiny drawer. Press it with the edge of your nail to pull out the SIM card.

Brilliant displays are Samsung specialty

Samsung has always been famous for its brilliant displays. Samsung X700 is no exception to the rule. It has an active TFT display, which displays 262K colors on a surface of 176 x 220 pixels. In terms of contrast, animation speed and color performance this display is among the best ones. On the other hand, it is a bit too embedded and therefore rather dark under direct sunlight. Depiction is extremely fine despite of the larger size of the display (30 x 38 mm).

If you leave Samsung X700 inactive for some time, a big digital clock accompanied by the respective date and day of the week appears on the display. Furthermore, smaller icons alert you about the number of received messages and missed calls, without the necessity of activating the display. The only drawback here is that all above mentioned details remain hardly visible under strong light.

Keypad scores less

The keypad is one of the weak links in Samsung X700. Control and menu navigation are performed through the main four-way button with a confirming central part. On both sides of the control button there are two soft keys. Beneath them are the standard green and the red receivers and the correction C button.

Numeric keys are organized in a block with no spaces. The only feature that helps touch orientation to a certain degree is the cascade form of the keys, that is, the bottom part of each key is slightly elevated if compared to the top part of the key below it. Besides, there are horizontal silver strips above the 2, 5, 8 and 0 keys, which however serve as decorative elements rather than as touch orientation tools.

According to my opinion, the most serious drawback of Samsung X700's keypad are its densely positioned keys. Keys are small and pretty stuck together, which often leads to pressing two neighboring keys at a time, instead of one. That is why I recommend you to use your nails rather than your fingers when you work with the keypad. It is all about getting used to it. A little bit of practice is all you need to start writing smoothly and seamlessly.

The keypad is evenly illuminated in white. The green and red receiver keys are the only ones to maintain their original color. Samsung X700 offers an interesting function, due to which you can select whether the keypad should always be backlighted when the display is illuminated, or it should get illuminated in evening and night hours only. The time range, in which backlight is active, can be modified from the main menu of the phone. In terms of energy saving the keypad backlighting is automatically switched off if the battery is running out of power. Low energy levels also lead to deactivation of the display, and block the camera and the music player applications.

Note: During the tests the key number 2 fell off the keypad. Even though I managed to put it back into its nest, it would not hold - a problem that could be solved with a small drop of glue. The only excuse in favor of Samsung is that the testing model does not represent the retail version of the phone.