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Samsung Galaxy Note. First Look
Today, large companies, especially corporate giants like Samsung, do not surprise users with extraordinary products... |
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Review of GSM-handset Samsung S3500Live images of the Samsung S3500
Table of Contents:
Sales package:
PositioningSo far Samsung have seen a lot of success with models mimicking the designs of their flagships, yet retailing for almost half as much. And while these offerings have attracted new audiences, they never stirred up any conflicts between various user groups. Perhaps, Samsung was the first phone maker ever to not only pioneer this approach, but also apply it across a wide variety of models. For reference, up until 2008 over at Nokia their primary fears centered around the chance of compromising top-of-the-range solutions by using resembling elements of design in some of their low-end phones. But then they made some dramatic changes to their strategy, so now they are trying to cover all price brackets in one line-up, such as the Prism, that includes an ultra low-end clamshell, as well as steep fashion-savvy offerings. The main goal here is to take these target audiences as far apart as possible by any means, be it via downgraded feature packs, pricing poliies, or even release dates (in which case the flagship solution always gets to the market first in order to generate better sales and show itself in a more favorable light in general). Therefore, the future of all copycats hinges entirely on how the market perceives the original design. It's been almost a year since the release of the Samsung U900 Soul (the third generation of the Ultra line-up). While its performance on the market has been fairly decent, the U900 Soul has still some way to go compared to its predecessor in terms of sales. However that's not the point here, what we are getting at is that the Samsung S3500 is the embodiment of that cheaper counterpart concept (for the U900 Soul) we have just broken down. It's worth nothing that the S3500 comes with less sophisticated materials, meaning that all things considered it's the U900 Soul tailored for the mid-tier, which is a pretty interesting proposition.  The S3500 addresses all kinds of audiences at once as it suits both men and women, plus a wide variety of additional color schemes extend its reach even further. As far as slider-type phones are concerned, the Samsung S3500 offers great value for money, and it'll take a while for it to get out of fashion on top of that. Obviously, it's not the only phone of this caliber out there, but the gist is that the Soul's design gets to be one of the main selling points, which is something the S3500's competition will never have. Back to the table of contents>>> Design, Size, ControlsThe Samsung S3500 comes in a variety of color schemes, which has always been a distinctive feature of Samsung's mid-range phones. Our sample unit came in silver, which is the most low-key trim out there, although we picked it on purpose, so as to show you how this phone compared to the U900 Soul design-wise.        The S3500 will also come in: red, blue, black and some others. As of today, it's not exactly clear what colors will be available immediately after the phone's release and what trims will have to wait.      Measuring 99.8x48x13.9 mm and tipping our scales at 96 grams, the S3500 is a palm-friendly handset, plus it feels very sturdy in the hand. Its glossy lacquered plastic ensures that the phone's casing won't pick up any scratches or scuffs during your everyday routine, unlike some top-of-the-line Ultra-branded phones.     The spring-loaded mechanism works pretty well too - the halves slide back and forth effortlessly. On the left there are volume controls, while the opposite side features a dedicated camera button and Samsung's proprietary interface connector used for plugging in chargers and headsets. On the downside, the S3500's memory card slot is housed under the battery. The 2 MP camera module is mounted on the back of the top half, meaning that you can only use it when the phone is slid open.  Back to the table of contents>>> DisplayThe handset makes use of a 2.2 inch TFT display (34x46 mm) with a resolution of 240x320 pixels showing up to 262 K colors. This is a decent unit as far as color reproduction goes, indoors the S3500 outputs a bright, juicy image. And outdoors we found that the phone's screen got washed out, was not as bright and occasionally we had to stare at it to read information. The display accommodates up to 9 text and 3 service lines. All fonts are large and very readable; the same goes for SMS and dialing screen. Back to the table of contents>>> KeypadThe S3500's navigation cluster is a breeze to handle, thanks to its large buttons that reduce the possibility of accidental presses to the minimum. The phone's four-way navipad is on the smaller side, but is still fairly ergonomically-friendly. The numberpad is housed on a metal slab, with each row separated by horizontal strips. The good news is that these keys offer some tactile feedback - not much more you could hope for, considering that most keypads of this type are pretty average in terms of ease-of-use. All buttons are lit in white.    Back to the table of contents>>> BatteryThe handset utilizes a 800 mAh Li-Ion cell. The maker S3500’s cell as being good for up to 240 hours of standby and 2.5 hours of talk time. Within European networks the phone lasted around 2.5 days (one hour of calls total and three hours of music). At the same time, in Moscow it managed to stay online for 2 days at 1.5 hours of calls. That’s why the S3500 will stay up and running for at least 2 days with average load, however under certain circumstances you might squeeze up to 3 days of operation out of it. It takes the handset 2 hours to charge from empty to full. No higher-capacity cells are available for this model.  Back to the table of contents>>> ConnectivityUSB. In the menu you may select one of three modes: Media, Mass Storage, Samsung PC Studio. When connected to a PC via USB, the S3500 automatically recharges itself. While in the USB Mass Storage mode, the S3500 shows up on the desktop without requiring you to install any additional drivers, so right after plugging in it’s ready to work. Data connection speeds top out at 950 Kb/s. There is also EDGE class 10 connectivity for GSM networks. Back to the table of contents>>> Memory, Memory cardsThe phone ships with 42 Mb of onboard memory – this storage space, give or take, is available to the user right out of the box. The S3500 also comes with a file manager, enabling you to copy files to/from the memory card. In our test the handset had no problems handling a 8 Gb microSD memory card. Back to the table of contents>>> PerformanceThe S3500’s performance is very typical as far as Samsung’s current device generation is concerned and is pretty moderate, although, on the other hand, we could hardly demand more from a product of this class. As it stands today, new applications can be uploaded only over the air (wap). Back to the table of contents>>> CameraThe handset comes packed with a 2 Mpix camera without auto focus (CMOS).  The following resolutions are supported:
 ÊFour quality levels are available:
You better use the best quality settings available, since they won’t be all that bigger in size, but you will appreciate the boost in quality.        The user is presented with a couple of shooting modes as well:
       Speaking of the standard options you get with the S3500, these are the White balance (Auto, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy), frames for the resolution of 320x240 pixels, three effects (Black&White, Negative, Sepia). You won’t be able to adjust ISO, but the exposure settings are at your disposal instead. The handset also packs a x8 digital zoom, which proves to be pretty much worthless, though. Video. Video. The device captures video in two resolutions – 240x320 pixels and 176x144 pixels at up to 15 FPS. Its video quality, however is nothing special. Back to the table of contents>>> ImpressionsThe reception quality put up by the S3500 is in line with other Samsung-branded devices. The ringtone volume is quite decent, as it can be heard in various environments. The silent alert is average strength-wise, no significant improvements have been made here. The Samsung S3500 is available for 140 Euro a piece, which brings about an interesting collision, since the D900i (Samsung's flagship device from three years ago) goes for the same money. And while both phones seem to be fairly interesting, the S3500 is a better choice given its fresher design, plus slightly more advanced software. Arming a mass-market phone with Bluetooth chat functionality Samsung have made a statement about what area they are focusing on. On the other hand, though, the rest of the phone's feature pack isn't much different from any other Samsung-branded handset. All in all, the S3500 is a likable phone that will be quite popular, especially some of its more flamboyant variations. Related links:
Back to the table of contents>>> Eldar Murtazin ([email protected]) Published — 19 March 2009 Have something to add?! Write us... [email protected]
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