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Samsung B2100 Solid Extreme / Xplorer Review |
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1st June 2009 There seems to be a small but significant market for rugged phones - and the Samsung B2100 seems to be the toughest phone yet from one of the big five manufacturers. Sold under various names including the Samsung B2100 Solid Extreme and Samsung B2100 Xplorer, this particular model is the UK "Solid Extreme" version in red. There's not much in the box - the phone itself, a manual, battery, charger and a stereo wired headset. If you want a microSD card or data cable then you will need to pay extra. You can see more unboxing pictures here.
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Although it is unlikely that you'll buy the B2100 because of it's camera, the 1.3 megapixel unit is fairly decent, if simple. There's no flash, but a virtual iris control can adjust the brightness of a picture.. this takes a little practice to get right, and it can lead to an image being underexposed or overexposed. The B2100 does have some basic image editing functions which can help to fix the pictures you have taken.
The camera also lacks autofocus, but it copes with most things quite well. Again, if you are using the B2100 regularly for photographs, then you will probably want a data cable to transfer the images.
The following are some unretouched shots (rotated only) from the B2100. Click on the image for the full picture.
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The camera is certainly good enough for snapshots of things that you see when you are out and about.
The user interface on the B2100 is pretty typical for a low-end Samsung handset. Even on the limited resolution screen of this phone, it is simple enough to use and there are plenty of keyboard shortcuts to speed things up.
The keyboard is very rubbery though, and although the key travel is good, it does feel a little odd. The navigation pad is very stiff, and a little difficult to use.
We found that call quality was OK, but slightly muffled due to the waterproof casing. It is certainly good enough for day-to-day use.
In terms of raw technical specifications, the B2100 doesn't offer particularly great value for money.. until you take into account how tough it is. This phone will survive experiences which can kill most other handsets stone dead, although we didn't test the B2100 to destruction, we do think that this will be quite difficult to break. If you regularly expose your phone to harsh environments, then its robustness will probably pay for itself quite quickly.
The Samsung B2100 Solid Extreme is an exceptionally durable handset, but this durability does tend to compromise other handset features. Music playback is good, and the basic camera is surprisingly useful if a little fiddly to use. The web browser is the weakest part of the phone, even taking into account the lack of 3G.
It's an attractive looking device, and the toughness should be appealing to many consumers. And it's hard to beat the B2100's party trick of working under water!
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