The Samsung S3650 AKA Corby was priced at PKR 14K (around US$175) as of 1 November 2009 - not cheap by any means, but I'd heard it would be $190 and was prepared to cry a little.
It's your standard 2G slim touch-screen cell-phone that has all the works, minus WiFi. For nubs, this means it has 80mb internal memory, Bluetooth wireless, USB capability, a 2MP camera, a Media Player that plays wav, mp3, mp4, wmv, midi and standard cellphone format media files (video + audio). Plus you can send / receive emails, and there's a separate Samsung web-browser v.1.0. It also has a bunch of shortcut buttons that take you straight to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, ImageBucket and other popular "community websites", as well as a Google Toolbar.
Oh, and before I forget - it has a straight out touch-screen, so you're not going to fold open or slide up / down any keypad. Everything is on-screen and will need to be touched. No stylus included and no stylus necessary, really, because the touch-screen is very responsive. (I haven't been able to locate the screen calibration options so far, but haven't had the need to reconfigure anything anyway.)
There is no way that you can prop the Corby like this without invoking the warranty.In terms of appearance, and as you can tell from the promo pic above, it has a black front face. This is fixed and can't be changed, unless you have an airspray can and some paint handy. The cover on the reverse side is interchangeable, and you have 3 different covers boxed in to begin with. I got the yellow flavor which came with 1 yellow, 1 festive yellow (which was the same thing but with a fancy little spiral design printed on it) and 1 black back cover.
It's slim, but healthier than Naomi Campbell.I guess the only drawback with the Corby is that you don't get a virtual QWERTY keyboard on-screen. You only have the standard numbered keypad, which means if you're going to text, you're going to have to hit the on-screen "2" key three times to enter "C". It's not something for which you'd want to hold a grudge against Samsung, but just to let you know, this is what you get.
The sound-quality / reception is good. (I haven't tried the speaker-phone option yet.) The phone isn't heavy and won't give you a bicep workout if you're making a long call. I haven't challenged Samsung's claim of the 4-hour talk-time, but I'll take their word for it. I'm re-charging it right now after 3 days of random use.
The package is very nicely done - a box within a box. I mean, I actually felt I'd bought something worth $175, so that's a good thing. 1 green mushroom goes to Samsung on the packaging design and quality.
Here is what you get -> 1 phone handset, 3 back covers, 1 battery, 1 charger, 1 really neat earphone / mic set, 2gb micro SD card, and a manual plus warranty card.
I'm no expert on cellphones and don't want to be one, but this phone is better than anything I've used so far. Let's be real now - it's an iPhone wannabe, and a really nice one.
Final score 88%
32 comments:
Thanks for the review. I am looking forward to buy this one.
i'm sure you won't regret it ^_^
i've had it with me for almost a month now, have dropped it twice (no damage lol), and had to charge it only maybe 3 times.
good phone!
Thanks for your detailed review.
I would like to ask, to text, is there a dictionary feature?
The dictionary, yes there is a built-in dictionary. I actually tried to see if it works, and it does, and it's pretty good :)
And thank you for taking the time to go thru the review!
(however, i don't think you can access the dictionary while txting. you can access it from the menu separately, but not while composing an SMS!)
So does it mean there isn't a T9 function while composing a message?
oh T9 is totally there, of course. i thought you meant to ask if there's a shortcut button that takes you directly to the dictionary while punching in a text message.
yes T9 is there. i've never really used it in any cellphone, but it's there.
hope this helps!
Yes! Thank you so much. It really helped:)
hey thanks for your review, and... what about emoticons? can you chose some for SMS graphically or you have to type the :-) ?? can you receive them/send them? resolution is nice enough or is it kind of pixelated? thanks in advance pal
yes, you can choose from a number of emoticons / smileys.
by the way, thanks for asking this important question because i didn't know that myself before, lol!
the display is flawless. no pixels at all! this is one of the best screens i have ever seen in any cellphone.
oh, and by the way, here is a bonus -> you have 4 different font styles to choose from. there is the standard 'type writer' arial font, and three other handwriting typefaces :)
Good Review.
Can you tell me how to access the Menu while am on a Phone Call ?
I can see Back, Log , SMS and a few other options but not the Menu option.
Thanks.
Hmm I haven't tried that myself - will check and update the next time I get a call, lol
Also would you know where I can find a Call Filter Application to Block unwanted Calls.
Thanks.
I'm quite sure you can block unwanted numbers on the phone without having to install any 3rd part software.
Hi,
Does anyone know how to change the date and time? I have the phone for 3 days now and still haven't figured it out!
Thanks
sure doc - from the main screen, first press on the little Menu button on the bottom right corner. inside the menu, go into the Settings menu (the Settings button is in the bottom right corner again on the first page of the Menu). right in front you'll see the 'Time and date' option.
i just bought the corby :) but how do you press a key when you're on call? like for eg., when you call any customer service number. i cant figure it out... pls help!
not a problem! when you dial or receive a call, take a look at the screen for the square-shaped LOCK icon / touch button. press and hold it until the screen unlocks, and then you are free to use any option you want, e.g. keypad, speaker phone etc. (you can also hold the unlock button on the right-hand side of your phone set.)
it's important for the screen to lock because you might accidentally touch it with your cheek or ear (for those with big ears lol) and drop the call or something accidentally.
does this help? ^_^
^^
yes... thank you! :)
As per your article says no WIFI built in this Samsung GT-S3650.Is there any possiblity to make the cell works like WIFI with any softwares.Because through internet is more expensive.We can download any softwares through WIFI in office with out any charges?
hey nice review i wanna get this ceel now.can u tell me are there lik wallpaper options apart frm the wallpapers shown in advertisments?and overall how is it i mean ANY problems?plz me gna get it frm ma pocket money thats why being pesky:0
i'm afraid there's no wifi on this phone :( and wifi can't be loaded on this phone by d.loading some program etc it's a hardware feature~
and bia - i've had this phone for almost 5 months now and have had no problem at all. i've even dropped it twice lol and everything is just as good as it was back in november ^_^
about wallpapers - sure, you can change or even make your own wallpaper! or are you referring to the changeable back case?
ok thanx alot that really helped:)as ppl were saying that there are complaints about this cell so wanted to no frm sumone whose using it.thanx again yar
sure thing doc~ i'm more than happy with this phone and have no plans of switching it with anything else at all. like i said earlier, this is the phone i've always wanted ^_^
thanx alot man.appreciate it.
well after readin the review as well as the post m looking forward to buyin tht phone all my doubts r cleared once i get my pocket money as well as job promotion money m buyin it :P
but does this phone hang?
number of times the corby has hanged or crashed on me -> 0.0000%
number of times i've dropped it since november last year - 7
number of scratches or cracks on the screen or anywhere on the body - 0
do i have a screen protector pasted on - hell yes :D
will sticking on a screen protector ruin the screen response? - not at all!!
i've had this phone for almost 6 months now; do i want to change it - no thanks, this phone is just what i want. the talk time is still right up there, and i charge it for 2.5 hours every 4 days.
it's STILL a great phone!
my samsung corby has no signal inside the house. can anyone please help me.. thanks..
hello, sorry to hear about your problem! it could be possible that there is an issue with your phone set, or maybe it's electronic jamming or too many walls. or all three at the same time :) you might want to have it checked - i've had my corby for almost a year now and have had absolutely no complaints. i've even dropped it from the roof of my car straight down to the ground - still works like new. looks pretty busted though :)
my samsung corby has no signal inside the house. can anyone please help me... what should i do?
hello, sorry to hear about your problem! it could possibly be an issue with your phone set or with your cellular service. if you are getting good signals outside your house, then the problem is with your mobile service provider - switch to another provider.
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