Despite its full QWERTY keyboard, the Samsung B3310 is a compact little phone, and that straight row of number keys really marks it out as something different.
User Friendliness Summary
Those numeric keys are fairly difficult to use, and the QWERTY keyboard is rather dinky.
Feature Set Summary
The full QWERTY keyboard is the best feature her. It’s joined by shortcuts to Facebook and MySpace, and a two-megapixel camera.
Performance Summary
The EDGE data speeds are slow, and the camera low-spec.
Battery Power Summary
Battery life is average, with 300 minutes’ talktime and 380 hours’ standby.
Full Review and Specification for the Samsung B3310
It’s a bit of a risk for manufacturers to release a phone with a completely different design. On the one hand, people may love its novelty; on the other, it can put off more people than it attracts and end up being just a novelty phone. The Samsung B3310 is certainly different, and a budget social networking device to boot – so how does it do?
Style and handling on the Samsung B3310
The Samsung B3310’s design innovation is that the numeric keypad runs along the left-hand side of the phone in one row. It’s definitely different but there is a reason for it. Slide out the QWERTY keypad and that row of numbers makes up a fourth, numeric row on your keypad. What is a good idea in theory doesn’t always work in practice.
There will be plenty of occasions when you want to make a quick call and not slide out the keypad, and typing in numbers in this format is a slow and unnatural process. And when you are using the QWERTY, the numbers are printed at a 45° angle to make them readable in both landscape and portrait formats – in truth, they’re difficult to read in either.
The keyboard is also somewhat fiddly, especially for fatter-fingered users (this phone is definitely targeted at the youth market). But when you do slide it out, the screen switches quickly and smoothly from portrait to landscape.
Shortcuts on the Samsung B3310
A slim toolbar runs across the bottom of the screen with shortcuts including inbox, compose a new text message, Facebook and MySpace. Access them by scrolling with the D-pad. It seems a bit odd to have MySpace included and not Twitter, but maybe we’re not the best demographic to judge.
Web browsing is not designed for heavy usage. There’s no 3G, making loading websites a slow process, and the two-inch screen is rather small for viewing and requires lots of scrolling.
Camera on the Samsung B3310
The camera is basic at best, with a two-megapixel resolution and no flash. It does have a little mirror on the back, which is apparently good for lining up self-portraits – it’s certainly too small to check your appearance.
The zoom keys, which are also the volume keys, are on the left-hand side within easy access of your thumb. You can alter the settings manually or use the auto settings – the former option worked best for us. For example, indoor snaps were drained on auto setting, but switching to fluorescent manually worked much better.
The verdict on the Samsung B3310
We admire Samsung for trying something different, and the row of numeric keys is a noble effort, if ultimately disappointing. There are bound to be some people who love it, and the price is certainly right, but we can’t see it taking off in the mainstream market.
