Samsung Corby II

Available now
10th March 2011

The original Samsung Corby (or Genio in the UK) was a huge sales success, showing that there is real consumer demand for clever touchscreen "feature phones" that don't necessarily compete with high-end smartphones in terms of features or cost.

So, the new Samsung Corby II takes the same basic approach as the old Corby and makes some useful improvements. We think the biggest enhancement is the inclusion of WiFi - the old Corby was a GPRS/EDGE device only. WiFi support means that the Corby II can be used to access social networking sites, send messages and browse the web at no cost if connected to a suitable wireless LAN.

The second improvement is the screen size - up from 2.8" to 3.14", although the resolution stays at 240 x 320 pixels. The original Corby has a capacitive screen, so we assume that the Corby II does too.

Samsung are pushing the Corby II on its social networking and instant messaging support. Combine this with the brightly coloured and attractive exterior and the competitive price tag, then you can see that the Corby II is very much aimed at a younger market.

On the back is a basic 2 megapixel camera with the usual Samsung features such as panoramic shooting. The camera can also capture and play back basic video at 320 x 240 pixels at 15 frames per second. Of course, there is also a multimedia player.. in this case supporting MP3, AAC and Windows Media formats plus an FM radio and a 3.5mm audio socket.

MicroSD memory is supported up to a maximum of 16GB, and the Corby II has Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity as well.

It's a fairly compact device at 110 x 61 x 12mm and coming in at 102 grams in weight. Available colour schemes are quoted as being black/yellow, black/pink and snow white.

Due sometime from late April onwards, the estimated retail price for the Samsung Corby II is around €165 at launch. Although the "Corby II" name will be widely used, we suspect that this handset will be branded as the "Genio II" in the UK.