Home page » Mobile Phones

Search:

Refine search for Mobile Phones

In general I found this software package to be pretty good and notwithstanding my key-tapping problem I like the way the menu system works. Samsung has used it before. Basically, you choose an application from the icon based grid. For settings within applications you get a range of numbered options, pick one and the next tier of options appears overlayed onto this. It makes seeing what’s available for any particular application easy.

Of course there is a camera. With no shortcut button on the phone casing you can only turn the camera on via the handset menu and the task requires two key presses. The lens is on the front of the casing, but you can’t use the front screen as a viewfinder to take pictures of yourself as you often can with clamshells.

The camera lacks a flash or self portrait mirror, but you can manually change the ISO setting between 100, 200 and 400 as well as have it and the white balance on automatic. As ever I chose the automatic settings for the test shots.

My standard reference shot is a multicoloured tray, taken indoors with ordinary household overhead lighting.The Samsung's effort is reasonably good as is the outdoor shot of flowers. The vibrant pink and bright white in this photo are both well reproduced.

The third shot, again taken indoors, this time in a café with fluorescent lighting overhead is not as sharp as it could be and the bright whites are over exposed in places.

Battery life was reasonably good. I played MP3 music non stop from a microSD card. It was not possible to force the screen to stay on, and it dimmed after ten minutes of inactivity. A low battery warning was given after 6 hours 39 minutes, and the music player turned off to conserve power. The phone then issues further warnings after 6 hours 44 minutes, 6 hours 53 minutes and 7 hours 4 minutes, with it finally powering down after 7 hours and 5 minutes.

Verdict

The SGH-D830 is a marvel of design, particularly when it comes to thinness. Samsung has incorporated a wonderful screen too. However, thinness aside, I found its size in the hand a bit much at times. It was awkward to open the clam, while the flat keyboard was a barrier to efficient use, despite its large keys.

Add your comment

© 2003-2009 TrustedReviews & IPC Media
About Us | Contact Us | Legal | Privacy | RSS